How many possible openings are there in the game of chess, if we define an that opening consists of each player making their first 3 moves?

(With one move there are 400 possible openings)

the difficulty rating of the problem seems
to suggest that there is a "rational"
method of solving this. is this the case
or is it merely a question of brute force
(as it appears to me) ?

Posted by Cheradenine on 2002-10-28 00:58:31