Best Chess Openings That Every Beginner Should Know
Newcomers to chess should consider learning the following openings to ensure they get off to a good start as both White and Black.
Breakdown of the Basic Opening Principles
Before diving into the openings, it's worth listing some of the key opening principles. The following seven principles have been passed down through generations and used by Grandmasters for centuries.
Develop, Develop, Develop - The most important thing to do in the opening is to develop pieces. Failing to do so will often give the opponent control of the center, giving them opportunities to build an effective attack, while the undeveloped player will struggle to gain any sort of foothold in the game.
Don't Bring The Queen Out Too Early - Given that the queen is the most powerful piece, many beginners rush to get the queen out as soon as possible so that it can start doing some damage. However, this is almost always a mistake, as the queen's importance means that it needs to be rigorously protected, giving the opponent the chance to attack the queen while simultaneously developing pieces, which can cause the player to spend much of the opening constantly moving their queen about.
Don't Move The Same Piece Twice - Following on from the previous point, moving the same piece twice in the opening is often a bad idea as it loses tempo and gives the opponent the chance to get ahead in the race to develop pieces. By moving the same piece twice, the player is wasting valuable moves.
Avoid Making Too Many Pawn Moves - Pawns play an important role in many openings, but making too many pawn moves can harm a player's development, as it's vital to activate knights and bishops in the opening phase of the game.
Develop Towards The Center - Gaining control of the center is something that players should constantly be thinking about during the opening, as doing so puts them in a fantastic position to win the game if they know how to capitalize. As such, when developing pieces, players should always be considering how they can develop in a way that threatens to gain control of the central squares.
Castle Early - Players should ideally be castled before move ten. Castling is a great way to protect the king, and failing to do so can leave it vulnerable to attack once the opponent has a few pieces developed.
Connect The Rooks - The final step to a strong opening is often to content the rooks. With the rooks protecting each other across a cleared back rank that has nothing more than a well-protected king on it, the player should be in a good position as the mid-game begins.
The Scotch Game is an alternative to the popular Ruy Lopez system. The opening's main benefit is that it quickly gives White plenty of space, particularly for their two bishops, which are both given open diagonals.The opening isn't without its issues, as it swiftly releases the tension and can make White's e4 pawn vulnerable later in the game. Still, it's a great opening to learn for those who want to gain early space and avoid all of the theory that comes with playing the Ruy Lopez.
The Italian Game is believed to have originated in the 15th century, making it one of the oldest openings still commonly used today. White and Black both get some control of the center and open up space for their queen and bishop with the e pawn push. Both develop their knights as Black defends the e5 pawn that White is threatening.The move Bc4 has multiple purposes. It puts pressure on Black's weak f7 square, develops a minor piece, helps control the center of the board, and allows White to castle on their next move. When playing as Black and in this position, be wary of the move Ng5, which sees White threaten to take the f7 pawn, forking the queen and rook. This is known as the Fried Liver Attack.
The Ruy Lopez is similar to the Italian Game but with the bishop on B5 instead of C5. Like the Italian Game, it's a solid opening as White has good control of the center with their pawn and knight and can castle with their next turn. The most common response for White in this position is a6, forcing White to decide what to do with their bishop. It may seem tempting to take the knight as it doubles Black's pawns. However, this is a dubious strategy as, generally speaking, bishops are slightly better than knights.It may seem that if Black plays a6, White can take Black's knight, then capture the hanging pawn on e5 with their knight once it recaptures the bishop. However, this would allow Black to play either Qe7 or Qg5, causing problems for White.
The Nimzowitch-Larsen Attack is named after Aron Nimzowitsch and Bent Larsen, who both commonly played 1.b3 or 1. Nf3 2. b3. It's an uncommon opening, especially at the beginner level, which makes it a good opening for newcomers to learn, as their opponent will likely be unprepared for it.The Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack lets players put their dark-square bishop on b2 early in the game, which helps to control the center and also gives White a dangerous weapon against Black's kingside, especially if they castle on that side. A common tactic for Black is to try and block White's dark-squared bishop with their pawn structure and to attack White's kingside, which can be underdeveloped in the mid-game if White isn't careful.The two most popular continuations from this position are 1. e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bd6 and 1. e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 d5 4. Bb5 Bd6. In both examples, White is trying to capture Black's knight and then take their pawn, which would be undefended.
The Sicilian Defense has become the most common response to e5, so it's certainly worth learning the move as both White and Black. However, the Sicilian Defense is a minefield when it comes to chess theory – entire books have been written about it. Therefore, the best strategy to adopt when encountering the opening as a beginner is to stick to basic opening principles -- control the center of the board, develop pieces, and castle early.The idea behind c5 for Black is that it discourages White from playing d4, their ideal move. The most common move for White in this position is to play Nf3, with the idea of pushing d4 next move. If cxd4, White has the move Nxd4.
The French Defense is the third most common response to e4, with e5 being the second. The idea is that Black wants to counter White by playing d5 next move, quickly challenging White for control of the center. It's a solid move for Black, as it usually leads to closed positions in the mid-game. This is handy when learning the game or playing against a higher-rated opponent.However, the increase in defense creates an offensive issue. The main one is that Black will likely struggle to develop their light-squared bishop due to Black's pawn structure blocking it in. The most common continuation from this position is 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3, defending the e4 pawn with the knight.
The Caro-Kann Defence is the fourth most popular response to 1. e4. The opening is similar to the French Defence (more on that later) in the sense that Black ideally wants to play 2. d5, quickly challenging White's e4 pawn for control of the center.One of the main benefits of the Caro-Kann Defence in comparison to the French Defence is that Black's light-squared bishop doesn't tend to get blocked, though it does prevent Black from moving their knight to the c6 square.
The Queen's Gambit is an opening that new players may want to learn after watching the show of the same name. The move may seem odd to new players, as Black is free to take the unprotected c4 pawn. However, White is likely to win a pawn back. The most common way for White to win the pawn back is with the move e3, which opens up the bishop to capture Black's pawn. Black can continue trying to defend the pawn, though they will likely find themselves in an awkward position.If Black doesn't take the pawn, then White enjoys decent control of the center and is free to start developing their pieces and get castled.
The King's Indian Defense is a common response to White's d4 and c4 moves. Black intends to play g7 within their next few moves, allowing them to castle and develop some center control with their pieces rather than pawns. Generally speaking, this opening allows both players to comfortably start developing their minor pieces. It also allows them to castle within the first ten moves without any real trouble.
The London System is very common for new players to learn as it usually allows White to safely develop their pieces and obtain a solid position moving into the mid-game. A common strategy for White in this position is to play e3 on their next turn; this defends White's dark-squared bishop while also allowing the light-squared to develop, letting White castle kingside.