I won't be discussing openings for awhile in my future reviews, but I simply have to discuss Harald Keilhack's DER LINKSSPRINGER 1.Nc3, a marvelous investigation of the eccentric (so far!) development of the queen's knight on the first move. Keilhack also wrote a large tome on 1...Nc6 with Rainer Schlenker, so he has put a lot of thought into the associated ideas. DER LINKSSPRINGER 1.Nc3 is written in German, but without taking anything away from Keilhack's excellent text explanations (including a 16-page discussion of themes), one can get most of what's essential (including all games and analysis) without any knowledge of German. The word "Linksspringer," by the way, means "the knight to the left," contrasting with Khalifman's use of "Rechtspringer" ("the knight to the right") to characterize the analogous 1.Nf3.

The move Keilhack investigates (1.Nc3) is also called the "van Geet Opening" and occasionally the "Dunst Opening." It strikes me as sound (most first moves for White are, after all), and arguably as productive of challenging and complex play as most other moves (the exceptions being 1.e4 and 1.d4 and probably 1.c4 and 1.Nf3). Obviously there's an initial disinclination to feel too excited about a move that allows both 1...e5 and 1...d5 (and even 1...c5). But the relevant issue is whether White's first-move advantage suffices to create difficulties by confronting the opponent's center or otherwise creating play. Keilhack spends 399 pages and 46 Sections to show that such is the case.

The author naturally devotes somewhat more energy to White's ideas than Black's, but there is a surprising number of games and enough analysis out there to form a good basis for looking at both sides' play. Apart from correspondence grandmasters such as Ove Ekebjaerg and van Geet himself (who drew Spassky in an over-the-board game with it), several other leading correspondence figures have investigated 1.Nc3 and the book makes it clear that they have contributed a great deal of independent analysis to this opening. We also find 1.Nc3 employed over-the-board by some well-known players such as Bellon, Ermenkov, Hector, Horvath, Rashkovsky, Rogers, and others.

1.Nc3 has many ideas associated with it. Before getting on to the interesting ones, it can be used as a transpositional tool, e.g., if the opponent replies 1...c5, White can enter a Closed Sicilian by 2.e4 and 3.g3 (or try for an open Sicilian following 2.e4, 3.Nge2 and 4.d4). The sequence 1...c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 and 5.e4 will often transpose to an Open Sicilian. If 1...e5, White can try out a Vienna Game by 2.e4, or some sort of Three or Four Knights Game after 2.Nf3 and 3.e4. As another example, 1...e6 2.e4 d5 3.d4 or 1...d5 2.e4 e6 3.d4 is a French Defense, and in that case the book offers several options for both White and Black. For most opponents, one would employ such a transposition only if that particular player might be made uncomfortable by it, and use the pure 1.Nc3 lines otherwise.

Keilhack divides the book into 46 sections with 99 thoroughly annotated games (i.e., each game containing many of the most important subvariations). Rather than talk abstractly about the move 1.Nc3, let me point out a few of the lines that can arise, to give a flavor of the book:

(a) 1...e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 (2...d6 3.d4) 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 with lines such as 4...Nf6 5.Bg5 Bb4 (alternatives are of course covered, e.g., 5...h6? 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Ndb5! and 5...Be7? 6.Nf5!) 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Qd4 Be7 8.e4;

(b) 1...c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 (2...e6 3.d4 d5 4.e4!? cxd4 5.Qxd4 is a typical sideline, or perhaps main line!) 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bg5, one of several anti-Sicilian ideas;

(c) 1...d5 2.e4 (not the only move but it leads to the largest section of games and analysis) 2...d4 (2...dxe4 3.Nxe4 covers 50 pages - this is a particularly interesting line; 2...c6, 2...Nf6, and 2...e6 are also handled) 3.Nce2 e5 4.Ng3. This a main line with countless ramifications, similar to the Knight's Tango 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.d5 Nce7 5.e4 Ng6. Instead of 4.Ng3, 4.d3 is also played with King's Indian/Modern Defense themes;

(d) 1...d5 2.e3 e5 3.Qh5!. This can be surprisingly effective, because after a defense of the e-pawn such as 3...Qd6 (or 3...Nc6 4.Bb5 Qd6), White plays d4 and in many cases the move Qe5(+) will give him some advantage!

(e) 1...f5 2.e4! fxe4 3.d3, etc.

(f) 1...g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2 (transposing to 1.g3 g6 etc., from which this normally arises), for example, 3...c5 4.d3 Nc6 5.f4 (Larsen also played 5.a3!? here) 5...e6 6.Nf3 Nge7 7.0-0 0-0 8.a3!? intending Rb1 and, say, Ne4-f2 or b4, Larsen-Gheorghiu, Havana 1966.

And that's just the beginning! Notice that all these lines are extremely double-edged (no symmetry here) and most if not all of them result in non-standard positions that force both players onto their own resources. Keilhack showed his interest in and feel for reversed positions in an earlier book on the Tarrasch Defense to the Queen's Gambit, and that is also in evidence here, e.g., 1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 d4 3.Nce2 e5 4.d3 c5 5.f4 f6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.g3 Bd6 8.Bg2 Nge7 is a position from the Modern Defense reversed (1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.c4 d6 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Be3 e5 6.d5 Nce7 etc.). There are many more examples, e.g., from the Dutch Defense and King's Indian.

As with other Kania books, the layout and diagrams are excellent. This is a hardback edition with a funny and dazzling cover picture by the graphic artist/caricaturist Frank Stiefel. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to get off the beaten path, but at the same time avoid openings in which one simply plays a set number of safe and relatively uninteresting moves (e.g., the King's Indian Attack or Reti Opening). If nothing else, this opening can be used as a fresh alternative system to your usual first move. I suspect that even top players will eventually come around to taking 1.Nc3 seriously and exploring its ramifications. For information on how to order, see http://www.kaniaverlag.de/.