Originally posted by tvochess* Black Mustang Defense 1.Nf3 Nc6;
Bird, Elephant, Dragon... Any others?
* Bullfrog Gambit 1.d4 Nf6 2.g4;
* Canard Opening 1.d4 Nf6 2.f4;
* Clam Variation 1.e4 e5 2.d3;
* Crab Opening 1.a4 e5 2.h4;
* Elephant Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5;
* English Orangutan 1.c4 Nf6 2.b4;
* English Rat 1.d4 d6 2.c4 e5;
* Fried Fox Variation 1.e4 f6 2.d4 Kf7;
* Giraffe Attack of the Vienna Game 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.Qg4;
* Great Snake 1.c4 g6;
* Halibut Gambit of the English Opening 1.c4 b5;
* Hawk Defense 1.d4 c5 2.d5 Nf6 3.Nf3 c4;
* Hedgehog a pawn formation adopted usually by Black that can arise from several openings;
* Hippopotamus Defence a name for various chess opening systems in which Black moves a number of his pawns to the third rank (usually a6, b6, d6, e6, g6, h6);
* Kangaroo Defense 1.d4 e6 2.c4 Bb4+;
* Kingfisher Gambit of the Dutch Defense 1.d4 f5 2.Nc3 d5 3.e4;
* Lizard Attack of the Dunst Opening 1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 d4 3.Nce2;
* Lobster Gambit of the Latvian Gambit 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.g4;
* Medusa Gambit 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g5;
* Monkey's Bum of the Modern Defense
1.e4 g6 2.Bc4 Bg7 3.Qf3 e6 4.d4 Bxd4 5.Ne2 Bg7 6.Nbc3;
* Mosquito Gambit of the Englund Gambit 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Qh4;
* Orangutan Opening 1.b4;
* Porcupine Variation 1.c4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.g4;
* Raptor Attack of the Trompowsky Attack 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.h4;
* Rat Defence 1.d4 d6;
* Scorpion-Horus Gambit of the Caro-Kann Defence
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d3 dxe4 4.Bg5;
* Sicilian Pterodactyl 1.e4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.d4 c5;
* Snail Variation of the Old Benoni Defense 1.d4 c5 2.d5 Na6;
* Snake Variation of the Benoni Defense
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 Bd6;
* Tortoise Opening 1.e4 e5 2.Bd3;
* Vulture Defense 1.d4 c5 2.d5 Nf6 3.c4 Ne4;
* Wasp Variation of the Elephant Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nxe5 dxe4 4.Bc4 Qg5;
* Whale Opening 1.e4 e5 2.c4;
* Wild Bull Defense 1.e4 Nh6;
Here is a quote from Ilya Odessky about what happens when you study a great man's game and try to put the concepts you 'learnt' into practice.
He, the great man, played against, if not a super-grandmaster, then a good grandmaster anyway. And you are playing just an ordinary master, maybe even a candidate master. Yet how come your opponent saw and played this strong move that the grandmaster didn't see? And what are you now supposed to play against this unexpected surprise? And immediately, all the you thought you had learnt, absorbed and understood-they go straight out the window. The position is not what you studied, the pieces are on different squares, and the subtleties of the other position that you studied do not apply in this one. And the result, you can feel, will certainly not be the same. And after the game, you experience events like a cold shower- twice. First, when you sign the scoresheet, and then again, when you realise that you understand nothing, and will never, ever be able to play like the great man.
