The Lepanto opening is a type of opening in the board game Diplomacy

Diplomacy (game)

Diplomacy is a strategic board game created by Allan B. Calhamer in 1954 and released commercially in 1959. Its main distinctions from most board wargames are its negotiation phases and the absence of dice or other game elements that produce random effects...

. Developed by Edi Birsan

Edi Birsan

Edi Ersalesi Birsan is a game designer and an independent business owner in the Maritime Container Inspection industry, and one of the best-known American players of the game Diplomacy...

, it is used by the generally weak Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, in alliance with Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, to defeat Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. It is named after the Battle of Lepanto

Battle of Lepanto (1571)

The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece...

, in which the Turkish fleet was destroyed by Spanish and Italian forces led by a nominally Austrian commander.

Standard Lepanto

When playing the Lepanto opening, Italy usually opens in Spring 1901 with Fleet:Naples—Ionian Sea (to prepare for the convoy to Tunis), Army:Rome—Apulia (preparing to be convoyed), and Army:Venice HOLD (to conceal Italy's intentions and protect against a stab from Austria).

In Fall 1901, Italy then plays Army:Apulia-Tunis, with Fleet:Ionian Sea convoying the army. He then builds a fleet in Naples, a common site for Italian builds. This allows him to play in Spring 1902 Fleet:Ionian Sea—East Mediterranean and Fleet:Naples—Ionian Sea, with the army in Tunis holding. He can then spring his attack in Fall 1902 with Army:Tunis-Syria (convoyed by the fleets in Ionian Sea and the East Mediterranean). This positional advantage is usually fatal to Turkey, as he will likely be under attack by Austria as well.

Problems

The chief problem with the Lepanto opening is that, if he is aware of it, Turkey can easily counter it. He does this by playing Fleet:Ankara-Constantinople in Spring 1901, followed by Fleet:Constantinople-Aegean Sea in Fall 1901, with a fleet build in Smyrna in the Winter. In Spring 1902, he then plays Fleet:Smyrna-East Mediterranean, bouncing Italy's move. Therefore, Italy must usually pretend to negotiate an alliance with Turkey against Austria, using the army in Venice (ordered to HOLD) as a decoy.

Another problem lies in the fact that Italy does not get any supply centers other than Tunisia until 1903 at the earliest. Also, until this supply center has been gained, only the army in Venice will be defending Italy, leaving it open to an attack by either Austria or France.

Blue Water Lepanto

Manus Hand's Fall 1901 continuation of the Blue Water Opening . The Austrian (who opened to the Adriatic) sails to the Ionian in Fall of 1901 to be the victim of an arranged dislodgement by Italian fleets in Naples and Tunis. Austria's fleet then surprises the Turkish player by retreating eastward to form part of the convoy chain that carries an Italian army to Turkey.

Key Lepanto

The Key Lepanto is an uncommonly employed variation of the Lepanto opening. The moves are the same as for the standard Lepanto, but rather than holding, Italy plays their army from Venice-Trieste-Serbia (usually with Austrian support to foil Turkey's Army:Bulgaria-Serbia). The Key Lepanto variation is rarely seen, as it requires great trust on the part of the Austrian player that Italy will not simply decide to stay in Trieste.

External links

• Original article by Birsan describing the Lepanto opening.
• article on the Key Lepanto by Tony Swinnerton
• Online library of Diplomacy openings.
• Guide to playing Italy from Wizards of the Coast
  Wizards of the Coast
  Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
  
  .
• Article from Wizards of the Coast
  Wizards of the Coast
  Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
  
  on playing Diplomacy. See section on Italy.
• Sharp, Richard, The game of diplomacy. London : A. Barker, 1978. Online version (retrieved October 2009). See chapters on Italy, Turkey and Austria.
• Article The Blue Water Lepanto; The Diplomatic Pouch
• Article The Blue Water Lepanto Revisited; The Diplomatic Pouch