mmm... that's a good question... positionally based I guess like ...b6, that works okay, and is a more posistional based opening... still, caro cann is usually quiet, except when your opponent plays the advanced. Just try stuff out I guess.
Positional openings
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There is no opening that will only result in positional positions. Nevertheless, for Black I suggest the Caro-Kann and Slav (the pure slav, not the semi-slav) as these generally result in quieter positions. I play both. There are other openings, but with Black you're somewhat limited.
As White you have more flexibility. With 1. e4, 1. d4, 1. Nc3, or 1. c4 you can get a positional game against almost any defense if you choose the right lines.
Apr 29, 2015
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#4
Against 1.d4 prolly the Nimzo, or QID are pretty easy to learn.
Against 1.e4, the Caro is fairly easy. Or perhaps the Petroff.
Thanks for the input. What about the Stonewall (for both sides)? What do I have to consider studying the Stonewall? Is there any way to achieve such a position against 1.e4 as black?
Any opening can be highly tactical or highly positional, but there are tendencies, sure.
As White:
1.d4 (for more advantage, but requires more theory)
- vs. either 1...d5 or 1...Nf6 just play 2.c4.
2. c4 (little or no advantage, not much theory at all, can transpose to many different things)
As Black:
- French Defense, Caro-Kann (has some particularly sharp lines, but often similar to Advance French) vs 1.e4 if you like closed positions.
- Scheveningan setup vs. 1.e4 if you like Sicilians/open positions.
- I might recommend Stonewall vs 1.e4 if you like the Open Game, but 1...e5 is just.... rarely very positional in nature.
- Slav (more classical) or Kangaroo or Hedgehog (hypermodern) vs 1.d4.
1...c5 vs 1...c4, maybe go for the Botvinnik setup.
alex-rodriguez wrote:
which openings would you suggest me to study for White and for Black against 1.d4 and 1.e4?
I'm lazy so I figured out a way to study openings as little as possible. As White I decided against moving e4 or d4 on the 1st move because that would require an understanding of countless replies from Black. So as White I always play the King's Indian Attack. As Black if White's 1st move is e4 my reply is always the Sicilian Defense and I often wind up playing the Najdorf Variation. As Black if White's 1st move is anything but e4 I play the King's Indian Defense. My plan has worked. I can survive the opening knowing just 2 openings, the Sicilian as Black, and the King's Indian as both Black and White.
Its a pretty common repertoire idea KIA+KID to save time and then learn something quite indepth against e4, often KID players tend to choose sicilian in my experience, probably influenced by fischer and kasparovs choices.
However, the downside to this is that although initially it seems to save time, the KID, and in your case the najdorf and two of the hardest openings to become good at, and once you get to a stronger tournament level every player tends to have pet lines worked out against these openings, so it becomes a lot of work.
Thanks a lot! As White, can I play 1.d4 2.c4 3.Nf3 to avoid some of the more complicated lines (Grünfeld, Nimzo, ...)? And if so, what do I have to watch out for? What would be my plan?
I will definitely look into the Frech and Caro-Kann!
And what about the Dutch Stonewall against 1.d4? Is it suitable for a beginner?
The dutch stonewall is suitable for a beginner because the pawn structure is fixed and the ideas for black are usually rather simple. It is a very quiet opening thats for sure, but also passive in general. I think there are books on the dutch stonewall that recommend ways for more active play, as black's pawns are fixed and if black just sit around that is simply moving pieces back and forth defending and white has all the time in the world to setup all the pieces (can take like 10 moves to get all the pieces to the right squares), which isn't much fun if you ask me.
d4 c4 Nf3 is strongly recommended precisely to get out of main line Nimzo and Grunfeld. Black does have a lot of options on move 3 that you have to be aware of:
3..d5 transpose back into a QGD and you have to know your queen's gambit stuff as that is very standard for d4 openings (you can't play d4 if you don't know the QG lines).
3..Bb4+ is the Bogo-Indian. You have to know whether you are playing 4. Bd2 or 4. Nbd2 against that. I think 4.Nbd2 is better for you as that is less sharp and less theory.
3..b6 is the English defense. This is a positional approach by black and you just play normally.
3..c5 can be rather sharp. If you play 4.d5 thats the Modern Benoni which is fine for white but also complicated as there are books on this opening for black. And if black plays 4..b5!? thats the Blumenfeld gambit and I like black already. I recommend not going into any of that and play the simple 4. e3 to maintain a slight advantage.
Thank you very much, that helped a lot :)
Which setup would you recommend for me as Black against 1.d4 then, if the Stonewall is too passive? I definitely do not want to play passively, while I am a rather positional player, I do like to have an active plan. What about the Grünfeld? I really like the idea that I get my pieces out quickly and can attack the center. Or perhaps the KID?
Hi, I am a ~1400 OTB rated player and after my inactivity, I wanted to go beyond the basic opening knowledge I have now. I am a positional player and I get better results in quite positions rather than in wild, dynamic, complicated ones.
So I just wanted to ask, which openings would you suggest me to study for White and for Black against 1.d4 and 1.e4?