US Dollars
EURO
British Pounds
Australia
Canadian Dollar
Hippopotamus, Anyone?
Many chess players would like to learn an all-purpose chess opening, especially an opening that can be deployed with either color, White or Black, almost regardless of the opponent's moves. Only a few chess openings fit that description, possibly the King's Indian formation and a handful of others. One candidate for such a "universal" system is the Hippopotamus Opening, perhaps the most irregular of the irregular chess openings.
This unusual debut can be reached by many move orders with either color; for example, White can play 1.g3, 1.b3, 1.d3, 1.e3 or other first moves. He will normally fianchetto both Bishops and place his Knights on d2 and e2, leading to typical positions like the one pictured below:
Here each Rook's pawn will likely advance a single square, and White will often delay castling in favor of other maneuvers. This system, the Hippopotamus Opening, is fluid and flexible and almost hypermodern - almost, but more accurately an "anti-modern" chess opening. In fact, this creeping forward with pawns to the third rank is a very old strategy, dating to the ancient pre-chess game of Shatranj.
A little history. Many old games can be found that touch on our theme, mostly experiments by Black involving 1...g6 with ...e6 and a fianchettoed King's Bishop. But the first proponent of this Hippopotamus structure was John Crittenden Thompson (1889-1971) of Newcastle, England. In the years after World War II, visiting Grandmasters often faced J.C. Thompson and his Hippopotamus in simultaneous exhibitions, where in the 1950s Thompson defeated GMs Tolush and Janosevic using this early "proto-Hippo" layout.
Few chess players, however, took any notice of the Hippopotamus Opening. Even Boris Spassky's adoption of the Hippopotamus in a World Championship match led to little research into this plan of development. Spassky used the Hippopotamus Opening twice in his unsuccessful 1966 bid to dethrone Petrosian, the reigning World Chess Champion. And though Spassky failed to beat Petrosian in this their first match the Hippopotamus Opening served him well, yeilding two draws with the Black pieces.
Spassky - Petrosian, Moscow 1966
The principal idea of the Hippopotamus Opening is coordination and harmony in piece placement, while offering no weaknesses for the opponent to target. The Hippo player will strike in the center or maneuver for position according to the disposition of the opposing forces. Known as the "Scorpion" in Russia, this opening is largely a system for counterattack, appealing to those players who like to experiment with unusual chess openings. Keene and Botterill (The Modern Defence. Batsford, 1972) note that, "Such strength as the Hippopotamus has derives from the resilience of a cramped but not compromised position, and the dangers White will run of...being tempted into a rash advance", while Andrew Martin (The Hippopotamus Rises: The Re-emergence of a Chess Opening. Batsford, 2006) observes, "The idea is that Black develops within his first three ranks at the beginning of the game. He will construct a solid, stable yet flexible position, wait to see what White is doing and react accordingly."
All very well, but in chess nothing comes for free - and the extreme flexibility offered by the Hippopotamus Opening carries a price. The opponent can dictate the course of play and is free to occupy the center or mount any number of quick attacks. So make no mistake: anyone employing the Hippopotamus Opening can get crushed in spectacular fashion. The opening is nevertheless fun to play and promises creative opportunities from the first move, as seen in the following pair of games.
It is still difficult to find study material on the Hippopotamus Opening, and interested players have to make do with passing references and footnotes. For those wishing to persue this "ugly" chess opening, some slight information may be found here, here and here.
Ultimately, however, the beauty of the Hippopotamus Opening is seen in the inner logic, the internal harmony of the system - not in its outward appearance, which offends the "opening esthetic" of some chess players. Here the eye of the beholder should recall the following poem by Ogden Nash:
The Hippopotamus
Behold the hippopotamus!
We laugh at how he looks to us,
And yet in moments dank and grim,
I wonder how we look to him.
Peace, peace, thou hippopotamus!
We really look all right to us,
As you no doubt delight the eye
Of other hippopotami.