1.Sometimes, but I believe those are called "Systems".
2.Yes, to name a few, the French defense, the Sicilian defense, the King's Indian Defense.
3.No. Some openings are meant to be offensive, some defensive, and some are just plain useless(1.f3).
4. As a beginner- None. You should focus on tactics and Endgames, and save Openings for later. Just learn basic opening principles, develop toward the center, don;t move too many pawns, etc.
1. Except for the London System (which is a good opening for a beginner to learn) openings are not scripted regardless of what the opponent does, for the most part. There are numerous "Book" openings where both sides have memorized the same opening line or variation from a book such as Modern Chess Openings. These contain many possible moves and responses for both sides. 2. Yes, they are called defenses. 3. Control the center, develop the pieces, protect the king, maintain a solid pawn structure. 4. The symmetrical ones as much as you can, 1.e4,e5; 1.d4,d5; 1.c4,c5 but you are going have to play against nonsymmetrcial openings as well. You can't control what your opponent does. If you can get a hold of the book Ideas Behind the Chess Openings by Ruben Fine.
Wanting to get better at chess, I read something about chess openings. A common theme is that one way to improve is play one opening for about a year. Typically, I just play an e4 opening and move on to some safe moves and hope that my opponent makes a mistake. I actually don't know much about openings in the first place. So that being said, here are a few questions...
1. Are chess opening moves scripted....meaning, I move my pieces into the opening regardless (more or less) of what my opponent moves?
2. (this may be a dumb one...) Are there openings for black? Are these called defenses?
3. Do all openings do the same thing (protect the king and advance the pieces)?
4. Which ones should I concentrate on (being a beginner)?