Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. c3

White wishes to build a big, two-pawn centre, and plays 2. c3?! to support pushing the pawn to d4.

This idea, c3 to support d4, is a common plan for White in many open games (games beginning 1. e4 e5): c3 after developing the knight is the Ponziani (2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3), and it comes after developing the knight and bishop in the Italian and Spanish games (3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 or e.g. 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. c3^[1]). However, played on White's second move without any pieces developed, it is simply too slow.

Black can respond vigorously with 2...d5 to eliminate transpositional possibilities. After 3. exd5 Qxd5⩱, there is no 4. Nc3 to chase the queen away and gain a tempo as the c3 pawn is occupying the square.

Staunton suggested that by avoiding taking the pawn, White could keep the game competitive: 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Nxe5 Bd6!? 5. Nc4 Be6 6. d4 exd3 e.p. 7. Bxd3⩲.^[2] However, 4...Qe7! is an improvement, which forces White to move the knight again and gums up White's play for the centre, as d4 will be met with exd3 e.p. and a discovered check. Black sweeps ahead in development to a reach a dominating position. 5. Nc4 Nc6 6. Be2 Bf5 7. O-O O-O-O⩱.

2. c3?! is very unusual today but has a long history. Staunton analysed the opening in his 1847 book^[2], writing that it was known under the descriptive title "the queen's bishop's pawn opening" in England. In his chapter on this line he offers a survey of previous analyses and notes,

This mode of commencing the battle was probably a favourite in the early days of European chess play, as Ruy Lopez has devoted more than ordinary space and attention to it in his often-quoted work of the sixteenth century.

Eric Schiller re-christened 2. c3 after MacLeod Call, who "was not a very good player, but he was persistent in his use of this opening. At the 6th American Chess Congress of 1889, he relied on his pet opening, but finished at the bottom of the crosstable."^[3]

In recent years some databases have begun to call this, confusingly, the "Lopez opening". Unlikely to be in reference to Ruy Lopez's book (from which 1. e5 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 is the better known line, which more usually bears his name), the misunderstanding may have arisen from a longstanding editorial gaffe at Wikipedia.

1. e4 e5 2. c3

Wikipedia has related information at Template:Sec link auto.

• Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.

• Modern Chess Openings: MCO-14. 1999. Nick de Firmian, Walter Korn. ISBN 0-8129-3084-3.