General Remarks
The opening move 1.Nc3 develops the knight to a good square where it attacks the central e4 and d5 squares. Although quite playable, 1.Nc3 is rarely seen; it is only the eighth most popular of the 20 possible first moves, behind 1.e4, 1.d4, 1.Nf3, 1.c4, 1.g3, 1.f4, and 1.b3. As of February 6, 2009, out of the over 500,000 games in ChessGames.com's database, only 644—about 1 out of every 780—begins with 1.Nc3. The third-ranking 1.Nf3 is 66 times as popular. Some very strong correspondence chess players employ 1.Nc3 frequently, and it is also occasionally seen over-the-board.
The fact that White has made an unusual first move does not mean that knowledge from d4/d5/e4/e5 openings must be thrown out. In general it is a different move order to achieve the same position.
The reasons for 1.Nc3's lack of popularity are that it does not stop Black from occupying the center (unlike 1.Nf3, which prevents 1...e5), and it blocks White's c-pawn from moving, thus making it impossible to play c3 or c4 (which are often desirable moves) without moving the knight first. In addition, after 1...d5, the knight's position is unstable because Black may attack it with ...d4. Although 1.Nc3 develops a piece to a good square (unlike 1.Na3 or 1.Nh3), and does not weaken White's position (unlike, e.g., 1.g4 or 1.f3) or waste time (unlike, e.g., 1. c3), the above-stated drawbacks make it an inferior way of attempting to exploit White's first-move advantage. Of the 644 games with 1.Nc3 in ChessGames.com's database, White won 34.8%, drew 23.9%, and lost 41.3%, for a total winning percentage of only 46.75%. White scores much better with the more popular 1.e4 (54.25%), 1.d4 (55.95%), 1.Nf3 (55.8%), 1.c4 (56.3%), and 1.g3 (55.8%).
Read more about this topic: Dunst Opening
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