Best opening for white

What is everyone's opinion on the best opening move for white? 

There are 5 candidates for best move

1.- e4

2.- d4

3.- c4

4.- g3

5.- Nf3

 

there are pros and cons to each of these moves and your personal interpretation of chess will have a lot to do with which one you consider best.

Many trainers and masters consider e4 to be better for beginners because of the more open positions arising from that opening (mostly). d4 makes it easier for white to take control of the centre but the positions arising are usually more complex (botvinnik, Mar de Plata, exchange grunfeld, Saemisch). The english can both lead d4 positions or independent branches and is fairly easy to learn but hard to master. Nf3 was considered best by argentine chess author Grau because it waits for black to reduce pawn flexibility before making a pawn move. I don't think g3 is as good as the other four moves but I don't have a concrete refutation.

Certain players like Hans Berliner or Sveshnikov have turned their carrier into a crusade in favor of their opening move and against others, while players like Smyslov or Larsen have played almost any move playable.

"... For players with very limited experience, I recommend using openings in which the play can be clarified at an early stage, often with a degree of simplification. To accomplish this safely will take a little study, because you will have to get used to playing wiith open lines for both sides' pieces, but you can't eliminate risk entirely in the opening anyway. ... teachers all over the world suggest that inexperienced players begin with 1 e4. ... You will undoubtedly see the reply 1 ... e5 most often when playing at or near a beginner's level, ... After 2 Nf3, 2 ... Nc6 will occur in the bulk of your games. ... I recommend taking up the classical and instructive move 3 Bc4 at an early stage. Then, against 3 ... Bc5, it's thematic to try to establish the ideal centre by 4 c3 and 5 d4; after that, things can get complicated enough that you need to take a look at some theory and learn the basics; ... Of course, you can also play 1 d4 ... A solid and more-or-less universal set-up is 2 Nf3 and 3 Bf4, followed in most cases by 4 e3, 5 Be2 and 6 0-0. I'd rather see my students fight their way through open positions instead; however, if you're not getting out of the opening alive after 1 e4, this method of playing 1 d4 deserves consideration. ... a commonly suggested 'easy' repertoire for White with 1 Nf3 and the King's indian Attack ... doesn't lead to an open game or one with a clear plan for White. Furthermore, it encourages mechanical play. Similarly, teachers sometimes recommend the Colle System ..., which can also be played too automatically, and usually doesn't lead to an open position. For true beginners, the King's Indian Attack and Colle System have the benefit of offering a safe position that nearly guarantees passage to some kind of playable middlegame; they may be a reasonable alternative if other openings are too intimidating. But having gained even a small amount of experience, you really should switch to more open and less automatic play." - IM John Watson in a section of his 2010 book, Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 4

Well there are 20 moves for white on the first move. If you are are starting out, I recommend you to use e4 (King’s Pawn Opening) it follows most general principles in the opening. d4 ( Queen’s Pawn Opening ) is the second best as it has many similarities between them but one such difference is the queen only has 2 squares to go to. c4 (English Opening) is a good move to as though it does not place a pawn in the centre it still attacks the centre. The problems is that the bishop will be block from its usual c4 square. Nf3 (Reti Opening) develops a piece and attacks in the centre but can transpose to other openings, black will usually respond d5. Nc3 (Van Geet) Opening has similarities with the Reti. b3 (Nimzo Larsen Attack) is an okay move as it prepare to fianchetto the bishop but it does not place a pawn in the centre or attack the centre. g3 is similar to b3. f4 (Bird’s Opening) does have influence in the centre but weakens the kingside. f3 (Barnes Opening) has the same story as f4.