---

Every now and then, I encounter an opening I’ve never seen before. This is one of the great things with playing online chess!

This was a game of 15+10 rapid from last month where I was randomly matched against an ELO 800 rated player. In this case, however, they played the interestingly named, “Creepy Crawly Formation” (1. a3 e5 2. h3 d5), where White leads with the two outside flank pawns, while Black takes control of the centre files.

When I had a look at the database, apart from one historical game where the Creepy Crawly was played in tournament in Germany, (Lichenscheidt—Von Hanneken, 1862 Duesseldorf), the originator of this unusual opening is British IM Michael Basman (1946-2022). Basman was known for his creative style and for playing off-beat, unorthodox openings like the Creepy Crawly which he developed, but also the Grob (1. g4); the Borg Defense (1. e4 g5), a mirror image of the Grob (note: “Borg” is “Grob” spelt backwards!); and the St George Defense (1. e4 a6).

Basman passed away a couple of years ago from pancreatic cancer at the age of 76 years, and chess.com has a wonderful obituary written by @PeterDoggers that is well worth reading. I’ve also extracted the twenty-six Creepy Crawly Formation games played by Basman in tournaments in the 1990s in my database to a PGN that you can explore!

IM Michael Basman at the London Chess Classic in 2016
Wolfgang Jekel | CC BY 2.0

I had the black pieces in this game, and against the Creep Crawly Formation, I simply played according to opening principles. As a heuristic, even if the moves are not the most accurate, it’s usually still solid and fine. So, take the full centre with pawns, develop pieces, knights before bishops, castle.

However, one must respond to the opponent as well and I was surprised when White played (5. b4), looking to immediately expand down the queenside. It seemed that White was planning b5, which would pressure my knight on c6, so I played (5… a6). Although Stockfish calls this an inaccuracy (Stockfish was unafraid and recommended striking in the centre), it does in fact counter White’s intended (6. b5?!), which is now inaccurate!

Simply, after the trades (6… axb5 7. cxb5), Black’s a-file is opened, and thus, it takes away the potential sting of White playing Qa4, with an attack down the light square diagonal to Black’s king.

As we moved towards the middlegame, I had a strong sense that I was ahead as I had much better development despite the material equality. I was happy to trade some pieces, but this does have to be done carefully. Trade away too much material, and you lose your developmental advantage and the game moves back to equal! I realised this happened to me by around move 14, though I still felt that I probably had an advantage in initiative. On move 16, White played a sensible looking move with (16. Rd3?), seemingly attacking my d4-pawn twice. However, I now saw a new tactical plan – White’s queenside was completely smashed, and White’s king had a potential back rank problem. With the semi-open a-file, my queen’s rook on a8 had an expressway to launch an attack!

White didn’t recognise the threat and blundered by greedily capturing material (17. Rxd4??), as (17… Ra1+!) is almost back rank checkmate! White has only a single legal move, to sacrifice their knight to block the check (18. Nc1 Rxc1+) and open an escape square (19. Ke2). A couple of moves later, we had a very interesting bit of rotational symmetry as the same tactical motif occurred down the e-file! With (20… Re8+), White needed to sacrifice their knight (21. Nxe5 Nxe5) to avoid mate. For White, this might have one sacrifice too far and instead they ran the king (21. Kd3??), but there was no running. A mating net had been woven to trap the creepy crawly king and with (21… Nb2#) White’s king was caught! GG!

The big takeaway from this game is that against unfamiliar openings, it is usually good to simply play according to opening principles. Typically, you will not enter the middlegame a disadvantage.

Game: https://www.chess.com/game/live/105425428789

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2024.03.29"]
[Round "-"]
[White "MilesRio21"]
[Black "vitualis"]
[Result "0-1"]
[CurrentPosition "2b1r1k1/1pp2ppp/5n2/1P6/3R4/3K1N1P/1n1P1PP1/2r2B1R w - -"]
[Timezone "UTC"]
[ECO "A00"]
[ECOUrl "https://www.chess.com/openings/Anderssen-Opening-Creepy-Crawly-Formation-Classical-Defense"]
[UTCDate "2024.03.29"]
[UTCTime "04:27:50"]
[WhiteElo "812"]
[BlackElo "1284"]
[TimeControl "900+10"]
[Termination "vitualis won by checkmate"]
[StartTime "04:27:50"]
[EndDate "2024.03.29"]
[EndTime "04:43:28"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/live/105425428789"]
[WhiteUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/6101884.f07690ea.50x50o.a61d27c6c703.jpeg"]
[WhiteCountry "2"]
[WhiteTitle ""]
[BlackUrl "https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/3711094.f52a0759.50x50o.ab18600a8723.png"]
[BlackCountry "17"]
[BlackTitle ""]

1. a3 {[%clk 0:14:57.7]} 1... e5 {[%clk 0:15:08.3]} 2. h3 {[%clk 0:15:06.4]}
2... d5 {[%clk 0:15:16.7] Creepy Crawly Formation, Classical Defense $1 [-0.4].
This was developed and played by British IM Michael Basman (1946-2022), a
creative chess player with a penchant for playing odd and unusual openings $1
Basman played the Creepy Crawly Formation in tournaments throughout the 1990s.}
3. e3 {[%clk 0:15:13.4]} 3... Nf6 {[%clk 0:15:24]} 4. c4 {[%clk 0:15:22]} 4...
Nc6 {[%clk 0:15:16.5] When it doubt, it is rarely bad to play in accordance to
opening principles. Take the full centre with pawns. Develop pieces, generally
knights before bishops.} 5. b4 {[%clk 0:15:19.2]} 5... a6 $6 {[%clk
0:14:56.9][%c_effect a6;square;a6;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true][%c_arrow
d5d4;keyPressed;none;from;d5;opacity;0.8;to;d4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d4;persistent;false] I noticed that White
had opened their light square diagonal for their queen, with a potential Qa4 and
wondered whether this was a trick/trap in this opening. Thus, I played a6 to
defend the b5 square as after axb5, the a-file opens and the rook defends a4.
Stockfish wasn't concerned, preferring d4 [-0.4 $37 -0.1].} 6. b5 $6 {[%clk
0:15:17.1][%c_effect b5;square;b5;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] However, as
this WAS White's plan after all, a6 ended up being the correct move $1 [-1.1]}
6... axb5 {[%clk 0:15:05.2]} 7. cxb5 {[%clk 0:15:25.4]} 7... Na5 {[%clk
0:14:51.6]} 8. a4 $2 {[%clk 0:15:27.3][%c_effect
a4;square;a4;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
d2d4;keyPressed;none;from;d2;opacity;0.8;to;d4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
d4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d4;persistent;false] There is a certain
logic to a4, but White now falls significantly behind on development [-2.8]}
8... Bc5 $2 {[%clk 0:14:40.3][%c_effect
c5;square;c5;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
e5e4;keyPressed;none;from;e5;opacity;0.8;to;e4;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e4;persistent;false] I had the opportunity
to immediately attack in the centre, but decided to develop first. It's not bad,
but it loses an opportunity [-1.2].} 9. Nc3 $2 {[%clk 0:13:24.4][%c_effect
c3;square;c3;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_arrow
c1a3;keyPressed;none;from;c1;opacity;0.8;to;a3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
a3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;a3;persistent;false] But it's not easy to
play an unconventional opening $1 This is a mistake and surprisingly, Ba3 inviting
a trade of bishops is best [-3.3].} 9... d4 {[%clk 0:14:37.4]} 10. exd4 {[%clk
0:13:21.7]} 10... exd4 {[%clk 0:14:34]} 11. Qe2+ $6 {[%clk 0:13:24.4][%c_effect
e2;square;e2;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] An inaccuracy; White seems to be
inviting a trade of queens. I thought this would be fine for me with my
development advantage [-5.3].} 11... Qe7 $6 {[%clk 0:13:55.3][%c_arrow
c8e6;keyPressed;none;from;c8;opacity;0.8;to;e6;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e6;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e6;persistent;false][%c_effect
e7;square;e7;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] However, Stockfish thinks that
this wasn't necessarily [-3.4]. Nonetheless, I'm still completely winning after
the queen trade so there is a logic to simplify a winning position.} 12. Qxe7+
{[%clk 0:13:23.9]} 12... Bxe7 $6 {[%clk 0:14:03.3][%c_arrow
e8e7;keyPressed;none;from;e8;opacity;0.8;to;e7;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e7;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e7;persistent;false][%c_effect
e7;square;e7;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] Stockfish prefers capturing with
the king. This seemed to committal to me, and there would potentially be a
future Nd5+ from White's c3-knight. I I decided to capture with the bishop,
which seemed safer, and preserved my ability to castle [-2.3].} 13. Nce2 {[%clk
0:11:43.4]} 13... Bc5 $6 {[%clk 0:13:41.9][%c_effect
c5;square;c5;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true][%c_arrow
a5b3;keyPressed;none;from;a5;opacity;0.8;to;b3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
b3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b3;persistent;false] This is less accurate
than Nb3 to defend the d4-pawn. [-1.1]} 14. Ba3 $4 {[%clk 0:11:43.8][%c_effect
a3;square;a3;type;Blunder;persistent;true][%c_highlight
a3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;a3;persistent;false] This blunders the
d2-pawn, but the sequence isn't obvious...} 14... Bxa3 $2 {[%clk
0:13:28.8][%c_effect a3;square;a3;type;Mistake;persistent;true][%c_highlight
b3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b3;persistent;false][%c_arrow
a5b3;keyPressed;none;from;a5;opacity;0.8;to;b3;persistent;false] I didn't see
the best move, Nb3. Rather, I still had the perspective that I could simplify
and trade down. This isn't entirely correct as if I trade away too many
attacking pieces, then we're just going to be back at equality $1 [-0.2]} (14...
Nb3 $1 {[%c_arrow
b3a1;keyPressed;none;from;b3;opacity;0.8;to;a1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
a1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;a1;persistent;false,b3;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;b3;persistent;false][%c_effect
b3;square;b3;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] A tricky knight manoeuvre was
available, which I didn't see $1} 15. Rb1 Nxd2 {[%c_arrow
d2b1;keyPressed;none;from;d2;opacity;0.8;to;b1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
b1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;b1;persistent;false]} 16. Kxd2 Bxa3 {and
at the end, Black trades a knight for a bishop and pawn $1}) 15. Rxa3 {[%clk
0:11:47.8]} 15... Nc4 {[%clk 0:13:33.1]} 16. Rd3 $2 {[%clk 0:08:51.9][%c_arrow
a3a2;keyPressed;none;from;a3;opacity;0.8;to;a2;persistent;false][%c_highlight
a2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;a2;persistent;false][%c_effect
d3;square;d3;type;Mistake;persistent;true] A somewhat complicated position for
White to navigate. Notice White's smashed queenside and the back rank risks...
[-3.5]} 16... Rxa4 {[%clk 0:13:20.5]} 17. Rxd4 $4 {[%clk 0:08:06.9][%c_arrow
f2f3;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;f3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f3;persistent;false,d4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d4;persistent;false][%c_effect
d4;square;d4;type;Blunder;persistent;true] This blunders White's knight on the
back rank $1 [-5.7]} 17... Ra1+ $1 {[%clk 0:13:29.3][%c_effect
a1;square;a1;type;GreatFind;persistent;true][%c_highlight
a1;keyPressed;alt;opacity;0.8;square;a1;persistent;false,e1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e1;persistent;false][%c_arrow
a1e1;keyPressed;none;from;a1;opacity;0.8;to;e1;persistent;false] Almost
checkmate $1 White is forced to block with their e2-knight and create an escape
square on e2 $1} 18. Nc1 {[%clk 0:08:09.3]} 18... Rxc1+ {[%clk 0:13:37.5][%c_arrow
c1e1;keyPressed;none;from;c1;opacity;0.8;to;e1;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e1;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e1;persistent;false]} 19. Ke2 {[%clk
0:08:14.5]} 19... O-O {[%clk 0:13:20.1] King to safety, and developing the
king's rook into play $1} 20. Nf3 $4 {[%clk 0:08:17.9][%c_arrow
f2f3;keyPressed;none;from;f2;opacity;0.8;to;f3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
f3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;f3;persistent;false][%c_effect
f3;square;f3;type;Blunder;persistent;true] This blunders the other knight to the
rook, but it's a intuitive move. White's exposed king is trapped by a
combination of my attacking force, their their own pieces $1 [-7.4]} 20... Re8+
{[%clk 0:13:26.2]} 21. Kd3 $4 {[%clk 0:08:20.9][%c_effect
d3;square;d3;type;Blunder;keyPressed;undefined;persistent;true][%c_arrow
f3e5;keyPressed;none;from;f3;opacity;0.8;to;e5;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e5;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e5;persistent;false,d3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d3;persistent;false]
White had only a single move to avoid checkmate, the difficult to accept Ne5 $1
Now, checkmate is unavoidable $1} 21... Nb2# {[%clk 0:13:11.8][%c_effect
g8;square;g8;type;Winner,d3;square;d3;type;CheckmateWhite][%c_arrow
e8e1;keyPressed;none;from;e8;opacity;0.8;to;e1;persistent;false,c1c6;keyPressed;none;from;c1;opacity;0.8;to;c6;persistent;false,b2d3;keyPressed;none;from;b2;opacity;0.8;to;d3;persistent;false][%c_highlight
e2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e2;persistent;false,e3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e3;persistent;false,e4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;e4;persistent;false,c2;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c2;persistent;false,c3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c3;persistent;false,c4;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;c4;persistent;false,d3;keyPressed;none;opacity;0.8;square;d3;persistent;false]
GG $1} 0-1