18 Bizarre Chess Openings Named After Animals

22.01.2023

I spent hours compiling a list of all the chess openings named after animals. Today I share with you 18 of the most oddly named ones!

Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro
0:44 – lichess database explanation
1:34 – Kangaroo Defense (as black against d4)
2:51 – Scorpion-Horus Gambit (as white against Caro-Kann)
4:00 – Fried Fox Defense (as black)
4:47 – Chameleon Variation (as white against Sicilian)
5:46 – Lobster Gambit (as white against Latvian Gambit)
6:45 – Double Duck Formation (as black against d4/f4)
7:40 – Gibbon Gambit (as white against Grunfeld Defense)
9:19 – Dodo Variation (as white against King’s Gambit Accepted)
10:14 – Tortoise Opening (as white against e5)
11:34 – Vulture Defense (as black against d4)
13:31 – Horsefly Gambit (as white against Mexican Defense)
15:24 – Snail Variation (as black against d4)
16:22 – Mosquito Gambit (as black against d4)
16:55 – Porcupine Variation (as white against f5)
18:19 – Penguin Variation (as white against d5)
19:17 – Mongoose Variation (as black against e4)
20:50 – Monkey’s Bum (as white against Modern)
22:44 – Hippopotamus Defense (as black)
25:18 – Part 2 (Animal Opening Traps) Coming Next!

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20 Comments

  1. me and my friend came up with this silly opening (im not sure if it exists already) a3 followed by ra2, we called it the living room opening because it gives the rook a little living room

  2. Hippo is the best opening vid an engine

  3. what about the chameleon in the slav

  4. double duck is also counter strike tactical move kinda bizarre

  5. 1 main advantage for all of these: Surprise random people on online chess sites.

  7. I love learning animal names in English! thank you ! 😀

  8. I enjoyed much , Thanks

  9. Hippo is also good for countering cheaters who use engines. Levy Rozmen (GothamChess) used it to beat a computer cheater. It’s pretty hilarious.

    Here’s the video where he does it. https://youtu.be/l5MD6hn5PgI

  10. "youre not developing your pieces, youre putting your king in a precarious place" this is a contradiction, clearly the KING is being developed

  11. You should do a video about all the openings named after places.

  12. 24:10 Hippo-Defense
    The Main-reason to play the Hippo: Expose Cheater in a rapid game. For the average online A.I the Hippo is very time intensive to crack. Cheater will always fall into time-trouble.

  13. I feel we need a Naruto version of this

    <performs hand seals>

    "kangaru-boei-no-jutsu"

  14. Couldn’t a windmill tactic have been employed with the last game?

  16. You missed the most popular animal opening of all time … birds

  17. i think the fried fox is also known as the tumbleweed or drunken king opening if i dont confuze them

  18. Just came back to report I have started playing the scorpio horus gambit and absolutely crushing. Thanks for that!

  19. I have made a fried fox gambit too! e4 f6 d4 kf7 e5! If fxe5 then Qf3 check, and then black's position is worse

  20. Yes the fried fox, hikaru second favorite

Comments are closed.