The Van īt Kruijs Opening (also Vanīt Kruys) is a chess opening defined by the move 1. e3. It is named after the Amsterdam player Maarten van īt Kruijs (1811–1885) who won the sixth Dutch championship in 1878.
1. e3 is not a popular move; according to ChessBase, 1. e3 ranks eleventh in popularity out of the twenty possible first moves. 1. e3 releases the kingīs bishop, and makes a modest claim of the center, but the move is somewhat passive. The queenīs bishopīs development is somewhat hindered by the pawn on e3, and White usually wants to take more than a modest stake of the centre.
Black has a number of playable responses. If Black continues with 1... e5 a position similar to the French Defense, but with colors reversed, arises.
References
- Hooper, David and Kenneth Whyld (1996). The Oxford Companion To Chess. Oxford University. ISBN 0-19-280049-3.
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