I think everybody goes through the experience of looking for a first opening repertoire that they are truly happy with.  Some may resonate with my experience.  Others may wish to relate a different experience.  Still others may be able to point out where I might have some beginner-related misconceptions, and may not get what I want out of my chosen repertoires.  I welcome all comments.  Bottom line, I’m excited about diving into the KIA and Reti for white, and maybe the KID and 1… b6 for black.  Here’s the journey that has led me there.   If you want to skip the “journey,” and just give your thoughts on my questions at the bottom, that’s welcomed, too.

 

For the first several months I was following the basic advice for beginner openings (lessons on Chess Master and elsewhere, blissfully unaware of book associated with gambits, Sicilian, Ruy, etc.) This usually led me to an approximation of the Philidor.   Often though my position felt cramped, like there were no good moves immediately after the pieces were fully developed  (center pawns out, Ns and Bs out, castled, rooks connected.) The next few moves were mostly about trying to decide where I wanted to make piece trades for considerations of minor piece strength, space, pawn structure.  (As an aside, is this called positional play?)   As these considerations are not yet crystal clear to me, a lot of times I just didn’t see anything that looked clearly good so I would feel stifled in the position, or my fate left to chance.  (I’m working on it.  Studying “The Amateur’s Mind,” Silman, mostly.) 

 

I recently played the Sicilian once as white (the one game that shows on my recent games on this site.)  I was just following book in response to black’s 1… c5.  I experienced it for white much the way I’ve read about it.  The tension built up until one side (black in this case) initiated the battle.  When the dust cleared I was down a pawn.  I couldn’t find any plan that would give me an advantage, so ended up making a series of even material trades, and going into a rook and pawn endgame with an inferior pawn structure.  Granted, I was playing a much stronger opponent, but so far I can’t see why white would want to follow the Sicilian lines in response to 1. e4 c5.  I would prefer to avoid the Sicilian in the future, especially as white.

 

As a remedy to some of the problems above, I’ve lately been looking for something modern that could be played against most black defenses, and more tactics intensive, less positional, and gives me control of my game.  I found the Reti and really like it.  (“Hypermodern Opening Repertoire for White,” Schiller.)  I’ve tried it just on Chess Master so far, against Josh, age 6, rated 1200 (I suspect intended to emulate Josh Waitzkin at that age.)  I’d never been able to come even close to beating him with my Philidor, the little booger!  He plays a modern opening, has his pieces working together, and is aggressive.  With the Reti I almost beat him a couple times.  (I did if taking back a couple moves, but that’s not fair and square.)  Sometimes he initiates the attack on my king side before I’m entirely set up on the queen side (rook on a2 ready to be doubled up on an open file, queen on a1 doubled up with the fianchettoed bishop.)  Other times I’ve  succeeded in setting up the queen side only to have never used the queen on the diagonal, or doubled rooks, in battle, so felt like I wasted moves to set that up.  (This plays into why I like the KIA, below.)  Overall though, I like it.  There seems to be a number of good tactical possibilities coming out of the opening.  I find the resulting tactics very memorable, so feel like I’m learning a lot on every game.  Also, in studying the modern openings in general, I feel like I spend more time learning about tactics and positional considerations in the middle game related to that opening system, and less time reading about long book lines and branches.

 

I’ve played very little as black, and need to play it more.  My experience with the Reti caused me to want to find something similar for black.  In my search, I came across the Indian.  KIA for white, which looks to me like a simplified Reti.  And KID for black, which looks like it has a lot of variations, so I’m a little concerned that it might be too complex for me at this stage.

 

A friend loaned me some study materials last night, which included a video on KIA, so I’m now digging even deeper into opening systems for white, and still neglecting my play as black.   The KIA really got me hooked, though.  The opening position of the KIA looks exactly like the king side of the Reti, so I have the option to transpose to the Reti by setting up the queen side (a3, Ra2, Qa1) only if needed, or can get into the battle quicker if desired without the Reti queen side setup.  The KIA seems pretty effective as a modern opening, while remaining simple and versatile.  I tried the KIA against Josh (the little booger) last night and beat him fair and square!  Bottom line, I’m really excited about the KIA. 

 

Ah, but what to do for black?  I want to look into the KID but am concerned that it is too complex and doesn’t cover 1.e4 openings so not as versatile for black as the KIA is for white.  I may also look into 1… b6 for black.  “Play 1... b6: A Dynamic and Hypermodern Opening System for Black,” Bauer.  Maybe also called the Owen defense.

 

A few questions.  (This is from the perspective of a serious beginner, maybe the equivalent of 1300 on this site.)

 

1. Is there a modern opening system for black that is analogous to the KIA, or Reti, for white?  I’m looking for modern, versatile, and simple. 

 

I’m interested in learning more about the KID but wondering if it will turn out to be too complex and if my time would be better spent elsewhere on my first system for black.  The KID for black seems analogous to the KIA for white in that it’s initial king side bishop and knight position are the same, but there seem to be many more variations and longer lines for the KID.  Also, my understanding is the KIA is pretty versatile and effective against most black systems, where the KID is not appropriate for White’s 1.e4.

 

2. Thoughts on the 1… b6 Hypermodern for black to meet my needs and style?   Would it be similar to the Reti for white?

 

3.  If I do go with KID for black against 1.d4, what would you recommend for a modern opening against 1.e4?  Would the KID plus one other modern system cover me for defense against all or most of white's systems? 

 

4.  Should the KIA suffice for all situations as white, for a while, if I like it, or will I need other openings?

 

5.  As an aside, is there something inherent about modern opening systems for black, or black in general, that result in more variations within the system?      

Wow, what a long post!  I'm pretty sure a lot of people would have replied to this post had it been a paragraph shorter.

 

 To make it short I'll just answer your questions:

 

1.While the KIA is pretty versatile, it doesn't score well against semi-open openings like the Sicilian for some reason. You should include the KID in your repertoire as the same defense could be used against many of White's d4 opening. As it is not effective against the e4 openings, you can adopt the Pirc which has a lot of same ideas in the KID.

 

Both the KIA and KID have near-similar ideas. Some subtle ideas, like the fashionable exchange sacrifice in the KID and the advance of the b pawn to b4 (positional sacrifice) might interest you. The KID is a solid defense and, once thought to be positionally suspect, was brought back to the fore when Garry played it with great success. It also has the advantage of lessening the time for the study of openings. You should avoid the ...d5 highway of massive theory until your positional armament is up to the level required to play these openings. They require a lots of slow maneuvering. And another thing, there is no such thing as modern openings anymore; there are only modern lines.

 

 2. 1....b6 is very flexible and many of the later positions may be reached via transposition from many KID or Nimzo-Indian openings. I suggest yous stick to a few that you are planning to play before attempting to add it to your repertoire. At the level you are playing now it might be playable but it would be a whole lot easier to play with openings you are at home with. I am not sure what your style is though but one thing stands true: beginners have to play open games whether they like it or not. This has been prescribed by Reti and he couldn't impress it more upon a beginner. I haven't made any study into the Reti opening so I'm not in the position to make a comparison between the two hypermodern openings.

 

 3. I would recommend aiming for the Ruy Lopez but if you want to have something similar to the KID, I would recommend the Pirc. And yes, both are decent enough to cover all (yes, all) of White's opening tries. (KID for c4, d4 etc, Pirc e4)

 

4. It has trouble against semi-open openings like the Sicilian so I suggest learning some Sicilian lines or a special opening for it like the Smith Morra Gambit, Grand Prix attack etc just in case.

 

5. No. It's just that theory has evolved so much that variations are more influenced by tiny improvements which is easily available via databases and home preparation than because of a player's style.

 

Lastly, be prepared to read from many "You are a beginner! Study the endgames, bla bla bla study tactics bla bla bla". Every beginner does that. You deserve to only read replies which try to answer your questions. I hope some of my answers  would help in that regard.

 

 Good luck!

I'm also a beginner 1300+ and i like to play the ponziani opening.

Not many people know the opening and make faults.

The opening start with same 4moves as the Ruy Lopez (Spanish) =

1.e4 e5

2.Nf3 Nc6

Now in the Ruy Lopez the next move will be 3.Bb5  .

But in the ponziani the next move is 3.c3 .
Most of my opponents and computers-opponents now do 3. ... Nf6  .

Now the next moves goes like this:

3. ... Nf6

4.d4 exd4

5.e5 Ng4

6.cxd4 ...

Now white is controlling the center and is soon gonna get the B's in the game and then castle.

 

I hope u can do something with this ... 

To be honest, I did not read your whole post but rather just skimmed. My repertoire is pretty much all hypermodern openings, however, so I can probably answer some of your questions.

 

1. There is nothing that is all that close to the Reti for black. For white, you can prevent e5 and immediately begin to undermine d5 (if your opponent chooses to play it) through c4.

As black, however, your opponent has a choice of which pawn to move out. Being a move behind, you can really only prevent white from completely getting the center.

 

2. Playing b6 would allow your opponent to completely grab the center. It is a hypermodern approach, obviously, but it can also be a nightmare for inexperienced players. White has a very simple game with strong attacks supported by the pawn center.

In short, it is nothing like the Reti. The Pirc is probably a bit closer to it, but has the same drawbacks. I would suggest that you not get too hung up on something Reti-esque for black. Instead, I would supplement it with some variation of the Sicilian.

I know you mentioned trying it once, but this wouldn't even give the slightest taste of the many variations. Experience and experimentation is paramount to finding an agreeable defense to 1. e4 for black.

 

3. If you wanted something closer to the Reti, you should adopt the Queen's Indian and Nimzo-Indian. These do not allow white to achieve the ideal pawn center (as for black in the Reti).

 

4. The KIA is quite different than the Reti. I would say choose the one that you prefer and learn to shift the game towards familiar and comfortable positions.

 

As for other ideas, in the Reti, do not be too persistent in trying to setup Qa1-Bb2, as it is really only appropriate in a select few lines.

Thanks for all the info.  Very helpful.   I'll consider learning the Sicilian defense rather than the Pirc, against 1.e4.

 

I found yet another opening for white that I think is interesting.  The Colle.  Another example of fairly brief opening lines, fiancetto bishop, then quickly into the tactics.  I like the idea of learning to use the power of bishops on adjacent diagonals, too.   Seems like there's more simple modern openings for white than for black, maybe because white get's the first move.  I keep looking for simple modern systems for black against 1.e4 and keep tripping over yet another modern system for white :).  There is the Pirc defense.  Thanks for that suggestion.

 

I appreciate all the thoughts and will re-read them several more times as I settle some openings  for my next round of emphasis.

I really think beginners really need to learn how to play in the center, before they start playing hyper-modern openings. Before you give up the center with a move like 1...b6, you really should understand what your are giving up. I think that the most important thing for a beginners to do in the opening is get his pieces out quickly so he can learn how to use them in the middle game. These are the openings I play: As white: Giuoco Piano/Moller Attack, Giuoco Piano/7.Bd2, Evans Gambit. Against the Two Knights Defense I like 4.d4 exd4 5.0-0. I also play the Scotch Game from time to time. Against the Sicilian, I play the morra-smith gambit. As black after 1.e4 I play e5, I play the slav or the albin counter gambit against the queens gambit. These aren't the best openings in chess but they are all simple and allow quick development, and normally lead to open positions, and should give you good winning chances.  

A book you should get your hands on if at all possible is Chess the Easy Way by Ruben Fine. It's really old and might be out of print, but he explains 10 simple rules to follow in the opening, that make openings seem much more simple.    

pvmike, now you tell me ;)  I just the day before yesterday dropped $150 US on books on the KIA, KID, Pirc.  They should arrive tomorrow.  So I consider myself vested to try these openings for 6 moths.  I did play according to the basic rules for openings for the first 3 months, always starting with 1.e4 as white, so at least got a little feel for it.  I'll probably loop back around and try some of the gamits later.

 

I don't mind, by the way, being told that I might be making a mistake.  I'm very open in discussions, so that I can learn from the rest of you.

The KIA is a perfectly playable opening for beginners that don't want to study theory. Saying that it doesn't score well in semi-open positions is taken on the scores of FM, IM and GM games and if you want to have an opening that scores better, you're going to have to study theory.

The KID is a mirrored image of the KIA, but it is different because white moves first and the attacks white uses will be different than those black uses against the KIA. Also, the KID has fairly obscene amounts of variations.

The pirc and KID both have closed positions, so they are similar in that way, but the pirc has less variations (I've tried playing the pirc and it's too passive in my opinion, but it's still a solid opening that many enjoy).

1...b6 is playable, but the fact that you'll probably want to castle on the queenside or wait a long time to kingside castle makes it seem somewhat inferior (I have no knowledge of any 1...b6 variations, but that is my immediate deduction about the opening).

Make sure you like playing in closed positions because with your choices or KIA, pirc and KID you'll be seeing a lot of them.

And finally, on a side note, the reti and KIA are not the same. Reti just means 1.Nf3

I bounce around from opening to opening, but I finally think I have my repertoire in place.  Keep trying to find openings that suit your style.

I not saying that you making a mistake playing hyper-modern opening, when I first started playing I played Larsen's Opening for the longest time. For Beginners and even intermediate players studying openings isn't always the best way to improve your chess. I know a couple lines of the Piano 20 moves deep, but I haven't even played the Piano in a rated game, almost every game I play as white has been the Sicilian. For somebody rated around 1300 I wouldn't expect their opponents to play book openings for more than a couple moves. Focus more on the middle game and endgame.    

   I've always recommended that beginners start with e4 openings for white answered with e5 for black and study those possible openings. Those games tend to be full of tactics thus I avoid them. I always open d4 for white whether a QG line or the Trompovsky Attack.  Bg5 is very aggressive but I'm tired of the opening and could really us some study with the QG. D4 openings tend to be more strategic and hence positional. For black I feel you need two openings one for e4 and one for d4. For e4 I always use some Sicilian line. For a long time have I used the Scheveningen/Kan/Paulsen lines. They all transpose easily to one another. I feel they can get a bit cramped and have begun studying the Dragon. I actually played my first game where my opponent new the Yugoslav Attack and it is the first game I have ever played where we actually used the line even close to how the truly good players use it.The Dragon does make for a very aggressive tactical game. A lot of fun. The advantage to opening with c5 to e4 is that it gets the symmetry out of the game early. I have used the KID for quite some time against d4 but am looking for a change. Here again my game gets quite cramped and I'm tired of that. Also I have used the Dutch Defense Stonewall variation which is a lot of fun but weird as can be. I did use the Reti for some time but when I went down with it I really went down in flames.

 Beyond this I do recommend a classic book for the endgame that is out of print but can still be found Basic Chess Endings by Reubin Fine