Austrian Openings

`F Tri`	`A Bud`	`A Vie`	Games	Opening Name
`-Alb`	`-Ser`	`-Bud`	80	Balkan Gambit, Bud Variation, Player's Guide, Opening 1, FALL=Kendall Key Opening?
`-Alb`	`-Ser`	`-Tri`	73	Players Guide, Opening 1b, Balkan Gambit, Tri Variation, FALL=Ionian Gauntlet?
`-Alb`	`-Ser`	`-Gal`	56	Player's Guide, Opening 1a, Balkan Gambit, Gal Variation
`HOLD`	`-Ser`	`-Bud`	10	Houseboat Hungarian Variation, Roadhog, FALL=Kendall Key Opening?
`-Alb`	`-Ser`	`HOLD`	10	Player's Guide, Opening 1c, Balkan Gambit
`-Alb`	`-Ser`	`-Tyr`	8	Balkan Gambit, Tyrolia Variation
`-Alb`	`-Ser`	`-Boh`	6	Player's Guide, Opening 1-Variant, Balkan Gambit, Bohemia Variation
`-Ven`	`-Ser`	`-Gal`	5	The Southern Hedgehog
`-Ven`	`-Ser`	`-Bud`	5	Unnamed, FALL=Kendall Key Opening?
`-Alb`	`-Rum`	`-Gal`	5	Warthog, Russian Frolic, Rumanian Gambit Balkan Roadhog Variation
`HOLD`	`-Ser`	`-Gal`	4	Houseboat: Southern Hedgehog Variation, Roadhog
`HOLD`	`-Ser`	`-Tyr`	4	Houseboat, Roadhog
`-Ven`	`-Ser`	`-Tyr`	3	Unnamed
`-Alb`	`S Vie-Gal`	`-Gal`	3	Unnamed
`-Alb`	`-Rum`	`-Tri`	3	Rumanian Gambit, Hop, Step and Jump Opening
`-ADR`	`-Tri`	`-Tyr`	3	Player's Guide, Opening 2, Von Metzke Opening, Blue Water Opening Italian Attack Variatition, Italian Attack
`-ADR`	`-Rum`	`-Tri`	3	Hop, Step and Jump Opening, Blue Water Opening
`HOLD`	`-Ser`	`HOLD`	3	Houseboat; Crichton's Variation, Paranoia Defence Variation, Roadhog
`-Alb`	`-Tri`	`-Gal`	2	Unnamed
`-ADR`	`-Ser`	`-Tyr`	2	Blue Water Opening
`HOLD`	`-Rum`	`-Bud`	2	Houseboat, Roadhog, Hop, Step and Jump Opening
`-Alb`	`-Rum`	`-Bud`	2	Rumanian Gambit; McGivern's Variation, Hop, Step and Jump Opening
`-Ven`	`-Ser`	`HOLD`	2	Unnamed
`HOLD`	`HOLD`	`HOLD`	2	Unnamed
`-Alb`	`-Gal`	`-Tri`	2	Galician Gambit
`HOLD`	`-Rum`	`-Gal`	2	Houseboat; True Hedgehog Variation, Roadhog, Russian Frolic, Hop, Step and Jump Opening
`-ADR`	`-Rum`	`-Gal`	2	Russian Frolic, Hop, Step and Jump Opening, Blue Water Opening
`-ADR`	`-Ser`	`-Bud`	2	Blue Water Opening, FALL=Kendall Key Opening?
`-Rum`	`-Tyr`	`-Alb`	1	Rumanian Gambit; Tyroleses Variation, Hop, Step and Jump Opening
`-ADR`	`-Ser`	`-Tri`	1	Blue Water Opening
`-Alb`	`-Ser`	`S Ven-Tyr`	1	Balkan Gambit; Vienna Lemming Variation
`HOLD`	`-Ser`	`-Boh`	1	Houseboat, Roadhog
`-ADR`	`-Rum`	`-Bud`	1	Blue Water Opening, Hop, Step and Jump Opening
`-Ven`	`-Rum`	`-Boh`	1	Hop, Step and Jump Opening, Hedgehog; Fisher's Folly Variation
`-ADR`	`-Rum`	`-Tyr`	1	Blue Water Opening, Hop, Step and Jump Opening
`-ADR`	`HOLD`	`-Gal`	1	Blue Water Opening, Houseboat, Roadhog
`-Ven`	`-Gal`	`-Boh`	1	Unnamed
`-ADR`	`-Ser`	`-Gal`	1	Blue Water Opening
`-Ven`	`-Rum`	`-Gal`	0	Hedgehog (True Variation)
`-Alb`	`-Gal`	`-Gal`	0	Head-on Galician
`-Ven`	`-Gal`	`-Tyr`	0	Hedgehog; Alpine Variation
`-Ven`	`-Gal`	`S Bud-Gal`	0	Hedgehog; Dead Porcupine Variation
`-Ven`	`S Vie-Gal`	`-Gal`	0	Hedgehog, Porcupine Variation
`-Alb`	`-Tri`	`-Tyr`	0	Tyrolese Gambit

Excerpts from Diplomacy A-Z

BALKAN GAMBIT

(1) The family of openings F Tri-Alb, A Bud-Ser. This is a true gambit, since the player is giving up much of his ability to defend his home centres against Italy (and, to a lesser extent, giving up some Austrian influence in Rum) in exchange for the virtual assurance of gaining both Gre and Ser.

(2) A name given, like most, by Richard Sharp, to a particular group of Austrian opening moves in Spring 1901, all of which share in common the order A Bud-Ser (and usually F Tri-Alb). The name explains it all: a "Gambit" is a move that risks loss in one area for a hopefully better chance of gain elsewhere, in this case the Balkans. It is a commitment by Austria to taking up two centres in the south (Serbia and Greece) and is thus generally regarded as anti-Turkish. There are several variations, mostly involving A Vie, of which the Trieste, Budapest and Galicia versions traditionally account for a significant proportion of Austrian opening moves - indeed, Balkan Gambits are widely regarded as the only "sensible" alternative to the "Southern Hedgehog"). Notice should also be taken of the so called "Houseboat" variation of the Balkan Gambit, in which F Tri- Holds instead of moving to Albania.

The Balkan Gambit is most commonly defined as *any* Austrian opening which includes the moves A Bud-Ser & F Tri-Alb. In the 1960's it was common to see the Budapest variation (A Vie-Bud), an attempt to take three centres. In the early 1970's Italy often opened A Ven-Tri and accordingly the Budapest variation lost favour with the Trieste variation gaining in popularity (A Vie-Tri). The Balkan Gambit is a risky opening: if both Italy and Russia attack Austria in Spring 1901 it is unlikely that Austria will live to tell the tale. A commonly seen variation is the Galician (A Vie-Gal) which offers Austria some defense against most hostile openings. In the 1980's Italy has moved towards opening A Ven-Tyr, A Rom-Ven. Accordingly some Austrian players have used the rarely-seen Tyrolian variant A Vie-Tyr which, if Russia is friendly, gives Austria a strong position provided Italy has opened to Tyr and not Tri. Postal play has, on occasion, seen the Bohemian variant but this has nothing to commend it to Austrian players; even if England/France/Italy & Russia have all agreed to attack Germany. Finally in the early 1970's the A Vie H option attracted support from Don Turnbull, I presume as a result of FTF experience as this opening has not (to my knowledge) been played in a British postal game.