Ruy Lopez isn't it obvious? ˆWˆ
Good opening to study
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Mar 1, 2022
0
#7
There are a lot of Sicilian variations so if I were to do Sicilian, I would have to find a good variation
Mar 2, 2022
0
#10
Scandinavian is not the way to go.
Taking short cuts is not the way to go. You should try the "Big 4" against 1.e4, and see which positions make the most sense to you, and then get books on that opening.
The "Big 4", by the way, in response to 1.e4, are 1...e5, 1...e6, 1...c5, and 1...c6.
That's the best way to learn. Back in 1995, I was playing the French (2 moves deep that is) not even knowing I was playing the French. IT came naturally, and that is what determined the study path.
Just looking for a short cut approach is not the way to go.
In the beginning, your opponent will not know the theory anyway. As you get better and your opponent strength gets higher, you dig deeper, but you have a strong basis. You take the short cut approach and you will start failing against higher opposition and need to start over with a sounder opening.
Unlike what others will tell you, which is "play this because I play it", I am not going to blindly tell you to play the French simply because I do. I am being dead honest when I say this. Learn one of the Big 4, but it should be the one out of those 4 you are most comfortable with, not one because someone else plays it.
More Powerful King!? ??
Contrary to popular belief, I do think the Scandinavian is very playable at the lower levels as it is not too difficult to learn and people don't really know how to play against it properly.
The Caro is a very solid option, though it will require more studying than the Scandinavian of course.
Mar 2, 2022
0
#14
ThrillerFan wrote:
Scandinavian is not the way to go.
Taking short cuts is not the way to go. You should try the "Big 4" against 1.e4, and see which positions make the most sense to you, and then get books on that opening.
The "Big 4", by the way, in response to 1.e4, are 1...e5, 1...e6, 1...c5, and 1...c6.
That's the best way to learn. Back in 1995, I was playing the French (2 moves deep that is) not even knowing I was playing the French. IT came naturally, and that is what determined the study path.
Just looking for a short cut approach is not the way to go.
In the beginning, your opponent will not know the theory anyway. As you get better and your opponent strength gets higher, you dig deeper, but you have a strong basis. You take the short cut approach and you will start failing against higher opposition and need to start over with a sounder opening.
Unlike what others will tell you, which is "play this because I play it", I am not going to blindly tell you to play the French simply because I do. I am being dead honest when I say this. Learn one of the Big 4, but it should be the one out of those 4 you are most comfortable with, not one because someone else plays it.
These are probably the best openings for black against e4, but other openings like the Owen's, St. George's, Pirc, Nimzowitsch, and Alekhine's can all be played almost as well by an experienced player.
Mar 2, 2022
0
#15
blank0923 wrote:
Contrary to popular belief, I do think the Scandinavian is very playable at the lower levels as it is not too difficult to learn and people don't really know how to play against it properly.
The problem though is you get past the lower level and you have to start over with a new opening because you'll get crushed by higher players.
At the lower level, you can play 1.a4 and 2.h4 and win. That is not the point.
Would you rather play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the Piano, and then play a complex piano piece (Bethoven's 9th) 2 years later? Or would you rather play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the Bazooka, and then try to play Bethoven's 9th on the Bazooka?
Go with something that is sound at all levels. Worry about the basic ideas at the early stages and the deep theory later on.
rums26 wrote:
study em all *evil grin*
In all seriousness I think this is the best approach..
Interestingly, there is this one GM who gives the Scandinavian as one of his top 3 choices against 1.e4 for lower-rated players (along with 1…e5 and 1…c5), because it immediately fights for the center (though it costs some tempi) and encourages the player to make an initial forward thrust, as opposed to playing more passively (even if solidly and soundly) in the first moves as he claims would be the case with playing 1…e6 or 1…c6 after 1.e4.
Mar 3, 2022
0
#18
Learn najdorf sicilian the absolutely goat against e4 and you can go for grunfeld aginst d4
As white you can play queens gambit,catalan and trompowsky if you r d4 player
If you r e4 player you can go for Spanish or Italian and learn advance French and caro along with open sicilian and you would be ready to play e4
Remember you should have engine backed preparation in openings whatever you play with black and white against all the option opponent can throw at you
I_LEARN_WITH_GIRI wrote:
Learn najdorf sicilian the absolutely goat against e4 and you can go for grunfeld aginst d4
As white you can play queens gambit,catalan and trompowsky if you r d4 player
If you r e4 player you can go for Spanish or Italian and learn advance French and caro along with open sicilian and you would be ready to play e4
Remember you should have engine backed preparation in openings whatever you play with black and white against all the option opponent can throw at you
You do realize he is looking for something "that isnt theroy dense". right?
ThrillerFan wrote:
blank0923 wrote:
Contrary to popular belief, I do think the Scandinavian is very playable at the lower levels as it is not too difficult to learn and people don't really know how to play against it properly.
The problem though is you get past the lower level and you have to start over with a new opening because you'll get crushed by higher players.
At the lower level, you can play 1.a4 and 2.h4 and win. That is not the point.
Would you rather play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the Piano, and then play a complex piano piece (Bethoven's 9th) 2 years later? Or would you rather play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the Bazooka, and then try to play Bethoven's 9th on the Bazooka?
Go with something that is sound at all levels. Worry about the basic ideas at the early stages and the deep theory later on.
If the OP's goal is NM and beyond, then yes I would agree the Scandinavian will not be able to carry him all the way there.
However, the Scandinavian is a very good stepping stone into other openings as the pawn structure can be found in other openings as well.
Also, the Scandinavian is not something that everyone studies. I have played the Scandinavian in multiple tournament games against 2100 USCF rated players, and have gotten relatively comfortable positions out of the opening.
That said, if the OP is willing to devote a lot of time to the opening, then I recommend other openings as well, but no harm in learning the Scandi
I'm not improving as much in terms of rating levels so I've been considering a chess opening that's not theory dense and is easy to learn. I've been leaning to Scandinavian but I'm just wondering if there are any other good openings.
-Ryan