Chess Openings

What is the BEST chest opening?

hell if i know

Good question!

I really like what Konstantin Sakajew and Konstantin Landa write about it in "The Complete Manual of Positional Chess" (2017).

"The opening is a component, the importance of which grows with the growth in the pupil’s strength. At first, it is preferable for pupils to begin the game with 1.e4, because open games help to develop their appreciation of rapid development, and also their tactical sharpness. But the main thing is the importance of a ‘correct’ approach to the game. Trappy, offbeat openings should be excluded from the pupil’s repertoire at an early stage, so as to avoid bad habits. Quick development and fighting for the centre are the most important things to learn, and this is especially clear in open positions. Over time, especially once the pupil has reached first category (c. 2000 Elo) or candidate master (c. 2200 Elo), it is useful to start introducing closed openings into one’s repertoire, and to start to be able to play ‘with either hand’, with the point that such variation in openings is a significant plus at GM level. A player who has reached master level without ever having played closed/open games, will find it much harder to add them at such a stage – the basics should be established at a young age." (page 12)

I believe players under 1500 should mostly play e4-openings with white. The Italian is my favorite choice. A lot more important than to learn chess theory (variations) is to actually understand the goal of the opening, its plans and ideas. Reading a good and short (!) opening book (for beginners) is useful, there are some good Youtube videos available, and I feel it makes also a lot of sense to go through master games that feature the specific opening. I like the "old" chess much more because back then the players had to play with reason, logic and use their own ideas rather than copy what an engine told them to do.
The Scottish opening may be fine, too. The Spanish has too many variations maybe.

A lot of players nowadays just do what their favorite Youtubers suggest. So they then play the London with white and the Caro Kann with black, etc. But I personally don't think this is the right approach. Instead, I think it is most reasonable to choose the openings that help you best grow as a chess player. While it does make sense to experiment with a lot of different openings, lines and sidelines to become familiar with all kinds of structures, I feel it's best to play e4 with white, e5 with black as a response to e4 and d5 with black as a response to d4.

Another suggestion I would like to offer is to learn some opening tricks and traps - not to use them against other players, but to be well-equipped when someone tries those against you.

Jesus christ thats a lot to read man

Listen to D_H_Germany, he knows what he talking about.

Thank you. This is very nice of you to say. I firmly believe that this is the right approach to choosing the right opening.

Lately I’ve been having some good success with an under the radar opening called the ‘Rizz Gambit’. Although it takes a while to perfect, the main line is pretty simple. When it seems like the opponent is cooking you, hit em with ‘daddy chill’. From here you may need to hit em with ‘zaddy chill’ and if necessary ‘papi chill’. If the opponent is still showing no signs of getting cooked, you pull out your trump card and offer the insta if they’ll accept a draw. It’s been highly effective and 60% of the time it works 100% of the time.

oh goodness

hi

I LIKE THE DING DONG GAMBIT

The Kings Gambit is sooooo good.

Adventurous types play the Mad Cow with a cattle chute offensive. Those who castle queen / side in response can look forward to the Midgard defense. You can play the Mad Cow as both white or black to equal probability of success (or failure).

Also, with small modifications, you can play against almost any opposing opening while playing as white or black. What is more, almost no one prepares against the Mad Cow, giving you a better chance of winning against higher rated players (as my last opponent discovered 5xx vs 10xx), blitz).

I like the London

huh? oh hi!

I like to Cow opening