Ware Opening

About this opening

With 1.a4 White pushes a rook pawn with no influence on the center: the Ware Opening prepares little beyond lifting the rook via a3, an idea illustrated by the Meadow Hay Trap 1...e5 2.Ra3. The Crab Variation 1...e5 2.h4 extends the eccentricity to both wings. Black simply takes the center with e5 and d5 and gets a pleasant position. Named after the American Preston Ware, who dared to play such openings in tournaments of the 1880s, it is a curiosity rather than a repertoire choice.