The term refers to openings that were popular a long time ago, but fell out of fashion. The Two Knights with 4.Ng5 and the Bishop's Opening are played frequently enough nowadays that the "museum opening" label is a bit of license on my part, but they are (considerably) less popular than they were in the 1800s and are at best second- or third-tier lines in contemporary play.
The Scotch was a good example of a museum opening until Kasparov started playing it in the 1990s (in fact, I think it was in that context that I first heard the term); now it's so standard that the "museum" label itself belongs in the museum. Another example is the Evans Gambit, though Kasparov's use of it in 1995 helped bring about a minor resurgence.
Dennis, what do you mean by “a museum opening”?-Thanks, great coverage!
The term refers to openings that were popular a long time ago, but fell out of fashion. The Two Knights with 4.Ng5 and the Bishop's Opening are played frequently enough nowadays that the "museum opening" label is a bit of license on my part, but they are (considerably) less popular than they were in the 1800s and are at best second- or third-tier lines in contemporary play.
The Scotch was a good example of a museum opening until Kasparov started playing it in the 1990s (in fact, I think it was in that context that I first heard the term); now it's so standard that the "museum" label itself belongs in the museum. Another example is the Evans Gambit, though Kasparov's use of it in 1995 helped bring about a minor resurgence.