Ok, I got the book by Bezgodov, its good, original and thought provoking, though clearly not for everyone.

Those of you who play the Wing Gambit against the Sicilian should definetly order this book quickly. Those looking for a decent surprise weapon could do worse.

All in all, I get the feeling that Bezgodov put a lot of Blood, Sweat n Tears into this work, and after going through the material he certainly convinced me that 2.a3!? must be taken very seriously indeed.

Two thumbs up.

Top 

Maybe.   

Still it seems an awful waste to pay a GM to write about such an off-beat opening, not to mention publishing costs and trees killed for paper. Obviously, someone at that publishing company believe in 2.a3. 

I would gladly play a3 in blitz myself, though I'd prefer to postpone it one move, hoping for something short and sweet like this: 

Wohl,A (2415) - Jones,R (2230) [B50]
ch-GBR, Torquay ENG (9), 2002

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.a3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Bc4 g6 6.b4 cxb4 7.axb4 Nxb4 8.e5 dxe5 9.Nxe5 e6 10.0-0 Bd6 11.d4 Nd7 12.Ne4 Nxe5 13.Bg5 Qxg5 1-0

Somebody has taken Craig seriously, as there is a 200 page book out on 2.a3, written by a russian grandmaster.

http://uscfsales.com/item.asp?cID=15&scID=39&PID=1095

Anyone volunteering to get it and report if it's worth having?!

1.e4 c5 2.a3 is named the Roel van Duyn Opening in the Netherlands, after a Dutch
politician and strong amateur who was World Champion of the Leidseplein, Amsterdam,
during the 70's.

Whoa, this discussion has been carrying on in my absence. When I originally started the debate on the wing gambit I expected it to be laughed at and then deleted - looks like the gambiteering souls here have made a stand. 

Anyway, that IECC game I played finished a while back. Due to my absence this is the first opportunity I've had to post the game, but here it goes. Black had to resign due to technical problems, but white has an edge in my opinion anyway, and with f4-f5 coming in soon, black is struggling.

(And yes, black played badly, but if the gambit can work in correspondence then OTB it must have a chance too, right?)
[Event "CL4-2003.17.07"]    
[Site "IECC"]    
[Date "2003.08.03"]    
[White "Evans, Craig"]    
[Black "Sauceda Castillo, Francisco"]    
[Result "1-0"]    
[WhiteElo "1895"]    
[WhiteCountry "WLS"]    
[BlackElo "1682"]    
[BlackCountry "MEX"]    
    
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.d4 Nf6 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.Bb2 e6 6.Nf3 d5 7.e5 Nd7 8.O-O
Nb6 9.a3 Na4 10.Bc1 Nc3 11.Nxc3 bxc3 12.Rb1 Qc7 13.Qe1 Na5 14.Ng5 g6
15.f4 h6 16.Nh3 1-0

Regards, 
Craig

Maybe I should use a board when giving my input...Oops!  Well done in proving me a fool!   

Okay...how about Nf6 preparing d5?  And if e5 Nd5, and white is forced to gambit if he wants to play b4!   

Oh, and one more thing...the USCL online ECO calls this the "Mengarini" variation.   

NeX iRae

Perhaps black could try e4 c5 a3 b5!?...

If white continues with b4 then c4 should slow down counterplay...although white will surely attempt to undermine with d3 (maybe not immediately).  No problems there though!  If white can waste time on the queenside, surely black can do the same?   

Maybe I'm just ranting...I welcome all to prove me a fool!   
NeX iRae