Do Chess Openings Reveal Your Personality?

Do Chess Openings Reveal Your Personality?

At school, when I first discovered chess, I played 1. e4 automatically. It seemed the most natural move to me, a move that enabled you to develop your king's bishop and get on with the game. After further study, I was attracted to 1. c6 as my first line of defence, adopting the Caro-Kann and Slav through the first part of my modest chess career.

Then I took a break from chess to raise a family and concentrate on my writing. Recently, I've returned to the game and discovered, to my surprise, that 1. d4 seems the most natural opening to me. I've tried 1. e4 but the positions now seem alien to me. Curiously, I've also been attracted to the dramatic variations leading from 1. e5 and the Sicilian, as black, along with the Queen's Indian and Nimzo-Indian. However, the Caro-Kann and Slav have reasserted themselves, so I'm a d4 player with white and a c6 player with black.

So why the switch from 1. e4 to 1. d4? Maybe parenthood has changed me. I suspect it has. And maybe that change is now reflected in my choice of openings, and the way I play chess.