Semyon Zinovyevich Alapin (; – 15 July 1923) was a Russian chess player, openings analyst, and puzzle composer. He was also a linguist, railway engineer and a grain commodities merchant. Biography Born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, into a Jewish family on , nephew of the Jewish memoirist Pauline Wengeroff. He was one of the strongest chess players in the Russian Empire in the late 19th century. He died in Heidelberg, Germany, on 15 July 1923. Legacy Today he is best known for his creation of opening systems in almost all major openings. Most of these are of little significance today, but Alapin's Variation of the Sicilian Defence is an important opening line that is often played by leading grandmasters. List of openings named after Alapin Alapin's Variation of the Sicilian Defence: 1. e4 c5 2. c3 Alapin's Opening in the Open Game: 1. e4 e5 2. Ne2!? Alapin's Gambit of the French Defence: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Be3!? Alapin's Defence of the Ruy Lopez: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bb4 Alapin's Variation of the Caro-Kann Defence: 1. e4 c6 2. c3 Alapin's Variation of the Dutch Defence (also known as the "Manhattan Variation"): 1. d4 f5 2. Qd3 Alapin's Variation of the Queen's Gambit: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 b6 Alapin–Steinitz Variation of the Evans Gambit: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. 0-0 d6 7. d4 Bg4 Sanders–Alapin Variation of the Evans Gambit: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. 0-0 d6 7. d4 Bd7 See also List of Russian chess players References External links 1856 births 1923 deaths Chess players from the Russian Empire Chess theoreticians Chess composers Jewish chess players Sportspeople from Saint Petersburg 19th-century chess players Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany