Best openings for Black

I have had some difficulty playing as Black.  I have tried the Sicilian but have not met much success.  Does anyone have any advice for Black openings to use?

I really enjoy the Caro-Kann against e4. It can definitely be quite closed which is a lot different than the Sicilian.

What about the Pirc?

At your level there is no reason to play the Sicilian. I would recommend sticking with the open games 1.e4 e5 for a while until you get better at tactics.

bad idea. It requires very accurate defence against any player with know how.

Follow expertise's suggestion and stick with the open game. It can tailor to any play style you may have and will teach you the basic principles of developmet and centre control etc.

Caro kann, while better idea than sicilian or pirc is still bad. Closed positions will stunt development in early stages as it is essential you learn about tactics. 

mountainchess wrote:

I have had some difficulty playing as Black.  I have tried the Sicilian but have not met much success.  Does anyone have any advice for Black openings to use?

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I have reviewed all of your games archive where you lost playing the Black pieces. You have lost a piece in every game without compensation. When you lose a piece when you are not forced to it is called a blunder.

The first recommendation I would make to you is do not play games unless they have a time control of 1 hr. or more. If you cannot get a game, then switch over to the 3 days per move format.

Rapid transit chess is for strong players that are practicing and sharpening:

1. Quickness in tactical sight from their tactics visualization pattern memory bank.

2. Reinforcing their memorized opening repertoire

3. Sharpening their clock technique for when they get into time trouble in regular time control rated tournament games.

4. Reinforcing their quick recall of their endgame technique visualization pattern memory bank while under time pressure in regular time control tournament games.

If you would lIke to know more please let me know.

I still play e5 and it suits me well !

More importantly, black enjoys the better pawn structure, which is really good for endgames.

Play the Modern Defense!  Some excellent books include:

The Modern: Move by Move - Lakdawala

Tiger's Modern - Tiger himself

Chess On The Edge Volumes 1-3 - Harper and Seirawan

NOTE:  The last is a games collection (roughly 600), but they are well annotated, and a good half of them are either a Modern or Reversed Modern (via 1.g3)

transpo wrote:

I have had some difficulty playing as Black.  I have tried the Sicilian but have not met much success.  Does anyone have any advice for Black openings to use?

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You seem to like the Sicilian. If it makes sense to you then play it. But play the Sicilian Dragon.

You can purchase online at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com for less thana dollar a book titled, "How To Think Ahead In Chess", by I.A. Horowitz.

In the book the author explains in diagrams words and variations the strategies of the Sicilian Dragon. The book is geared for your current rating.

Go for a Petroff (Russian) Defense vs. e4, and a Tarrasch vs. d4

Against e4, I play the sicilian Najdorf. 

Against d4, I prefer the Nimzo-Indian.

After, it's my choice...

i like 1. ...e6 for both 1.d4 and 1.e4

Sounds interesting.  I will look it up.

In your game Navorog v You on your 5...a6 you lost a pawn, with 6...b6 you lost another pawn, with 9...Be7 you totally missed Qxd7 and finally with 12...Nf6?? you totally missed 13.Qxf7#.

If you would like I again give you examples from other games in your archive.

The reason for the Sicilian Dragon is nothing other than that this is the opening with Black in response to 1.e4 that the authors recommend and explain very well to players rated 1200 to 1400. It will help you to understand and have a much more comprehensive perspective of the Sozin The book is less than a dollar on line.

Philidor defense works for me; also does Italian Opening.

Has mountainchess been here since 2012?

The French is solid but complex. The Caro-Kann is solid but quieter. The Sicilian is aggressive and risky, but very promising if handled accurately. The Scandinavian is probably one of the least theory-intensive openings. The Pirc (or the Modern, or the Rat) is complex and rather cramped, but unbalances the game enough to create winning chances for both sides. The Petroff is solid, symmetrical and rather drawish. The Ruy Lopez is more ambitious but also more difficult to handle correctly.

Objectively, all of these lines should lead eventually to a position with fairly balanced chances.