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I have been using this opening that I accidentally started using a lot and then got good results in Blitz games. I'm almost sure it won't last a chance in standard games but it made me curious about a bigger question:

If I can't find an opening variation (and it really is an opening, say it starts after 3-4 moves from the beginning of the game, not after 20!) in databases, does it mean that it hasn't been good enough to become famous? In other words, is the age of opening theory over with all the stronger ones already being developed and analysed?

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Yes, it is still possible to find new openings. The combinatorial space after 3-4 moves is such large, that there are still many uncharted waters in opening theory.

Many of such openings probably violate learned principles and are pruned by experienced players before going deeper into the game tree, but there may be undiscovered gems among them.

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    Pretty much everything under the sun has been developed for black against any opening. For white though, youll have an easier time figuring that out.
    – InfiniteFlash
    Apr 8, 2016 at 9:12
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    @InfiniteFlashChess I can believe that everything under the sun has been developed for Black (at least through the first half dozen moves) against such openings as the Ruy Lopez. But I bet there are unexplored defenses against such openings as 1.b4 or 1.Nh3.
    – bof
    Apr 9, 2016 at 3:39
  • @bof the difficult part is making sure that opening makes sense and is fundamentally sound.
    – InfiniteFlash
    Apr 9, 2016 at 4:02

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