Wikibooks

Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. a3

< Chess Opening Theory | 1. e4 | 1...c5 | 2. Nf3 | 2...Nc6

The delayed Mengarini Variation (French Wing Variation) is a variation of the Sicilian Defense where White plays a move that delays development for an interesting idea: playing the move b4. The move a3 itself is not the best choice since it does not control the center and does not develop any pieces.

Delayed Mengarini Variation
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black kingc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black kingd7 black pawne7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black knightd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black pawnd5 black kinge5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 white pawnb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 white knightg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 black kingb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)

r1bqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2n5/2p5/4P3/P4N2/1PPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R

Moves: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. a3

Black can respond in several ways, including 3...g6 to fianchetto the dark-squared bishop, 3...Nf6, 3...d6, and 3...e5.

When contributing to this Wikibook, please follow the Conventions for organization.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php?title=Chess_Opening_Theory/1._e4/1...c5/2._Nf3/2...Nc6/3._a3&oldid=4453726"