well, its not just a mechanical set of moves-chess.
as a player, how do you describe yourself? offensive? defensive? do you like sharp, closed games? unexpected plays that make 'em think? something classic and safe?
well, its not just a mechanical set of moves-chess.
as a player, how do you describe yourself? offensive? defensive? do you like sharp, closed games? unexpected plays that make 'em think? something classic and safe?
THS40's question is a good one, because a good opening is one that suits your personality as a chess player. Apart from that, almost any first few moves are part of an opening system, though some are more recommendable than others.
good openings to start with (imo) are:
1.e4 rational/most logical, opens bishop and queen(for later) for a quick kingside castle
1.d4 for a more closed game/a bit slower. does keep the option of queens gambit (a safer 'gambit' (1.d4 d5 2. c4)
1.c4 is the popular but more complex english opening. hunting the opponents center pawns, trying to flank the center.
1.Nf3 is a flexible and not so complex opening mostly followed by a move with the e or c pawn. (common is 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 (Reti opening)
these are the ones that helped me most starting out (honestly they still do 95% of the times)
THS40's question is a good one, because a good opening is one that suits your personality as a chess player. Apart from that, almost any first few moves are part of an opening system, though some are more recommendable than others.
good openings to start with (imo) are:
1.e4 rational/most logical, opens bishop and queen(for later) for a quick kingside castle
1.d4 for a more closed game/a bit slower. does keep the option of queens gambit (a safer 'gambit' (1.d4 d5 2. c4)
1.c4 is the popular but more complex english opening. hunting the opponents center pawns, trying to flank the center.
1.Nf3 is a flexible and not so complex opening mostly followed by a move with the e or c pawn. (common is 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 (Reti opening)
these are the ones that helped me most starting out (honestly they still do 95% of the times)
Well I usually like e4 or nf3 is something I also do a lot as well. I guess what I really want to make sure I do is have good development of my pieces.
1. e4 works, then apply opening principles-->control the center and develop pieces and castle quickly. Check out http://exeterchessclub.org.uk/content/ten-rules-opening
If the guy is aking about e4 in general and piece placement in general, it doesn't matter the style, it's all about general principle3s/rules. Watch out all those kinds of tutorials and hints and then look at Morphy's games, who punished those who didn't apply them. Start with the Italian for e4 and the pawn queen game for d4.
I like e4 e5, move the bishop to c4 and then nf3 for white. Try to develop from there. I think that is at least the start of the "bishop's opening". I usually can get 10 or 12 moves into the game safely even with stronger players. The middle then is where my inexperience starts to show... just my impression... Good luck!
All the major openings are good. To choose one, you should either find some information for them and if you understand them put them into your repertoire, or not stick with a certain opening repertoire at all but rely on general principles only. If you understand some opening's purposes and its style fits you, then you should play it, otherwise not, because all they are relatively equal by themselves.
There are many players that don't have an opening repertoire until they get over 1500-1800 rating, but that doesn't prevent them from playing well. The purpose of choosing specific openings to play is nothing else but exchanging in-game thinking time for out-of-game preparation time, and you should do that only if you have enough time to devote to studying openings.
Otherwise it's better to stick with general principles only and improve in other fields, such as mistakes' reduction, watchfulness (seeing good candidate moves and spotting threats), calculation (finding the way a tactical combination will go), strategy and other general skills. It's much better to invest in them before studying openings, because with fewer efforts you'll achieve a larger result. Moreover, then it will be much easier to choose a set of openings.
I also don't have an opening repertoire, I play about 4-5 defenses against 1.e4 for example, which is not very appropriate. But I don't think that sticking with a specific opening will help me improve much, at least not at my current chess progress state. It's better to get acquainted with general chess strategy (because openings consist mainly of strategy), and then you'll be able to analyze different openings and see what each one's features are and whether they suit you well.
If you have never played a King's Gambit, how could you say whether to do so or not, or how could you choose between the Caro-Kann or the Modern Defense against 1.e4? You can't find the answer at those openings' theory, because all sensible openings have been investigated thoroughly and ways for equality have been found for both sides. It's up to your preferences to choose. Neither can you reject an opening for being "theoretical" and hard to study or choose it for being easy (or vice versa), because it is the same to your opponent too.
So, my advice is: don't stick to a specific opening until you are convinced you have to do so. It's better to instead play different openings, and when you review your game after playing it, look what opening it was, what are the general ideas in it, did you and your opponent stick to them (which is not at all necessary or good) or did you turn into another opening at some point. This way you will be able to get acquainted with openings easier and better. Pretty much every combination of moves in the beginning that makes sense is classified as an opening, if you find what positions and what moves work well for you you'll be able to find what openings to play. But don't do it in the reversed way.
does the beginning of a game end after 10 or 11 moves; and then we are considered into the middle game? i find that by the 12th move the opening or beginning is over, is this how most players think?
Judging by your rating, I'd say not to worry too much about openings. Play each game starting with 1. e4 or 1. d4. You may want to alternate them and see which kind of game you feel most comfortable playing.
In the meantime, study/practice tactics.
Yeah I know what you mean my rating is falling fast. I just want to know a good way to develop my pieces.
I generally call "an opening" the phase of the game until each side has a clear plan. That's until the pawn structure gets formed and until the pieces get developed. When you start playing pawn breaks or attacking enemy's weaknesses, you are in the middlegame. It can be anywhere in the game. You can sometimes enter an endgame after, say, 10-15 moves.
About some specific opening moves, here's one possible general system:
For Black:
- on any opponent's first move except for 1.c4 and 1.e4 play 1...d5;
- in case of 1.c4 and 1.e4 play 1...c6 and then 2...d5;
- if you have played 1...d5, on your second move play 2...c6 if your opponent attacks (or threatens to exchange) your d5 pawn with his second move, otherwise play 2...Nf6;
- whenever you can pin a king's knight with your light squared bishop do so. If your opponent tries to break the pin, capture it, but not earlier;
- once you have pinned the opponent's king's knight with your light squared bishop, play ...e6 and ...Nbd7.
This is very general and can sometimes be not appropriate, but it will generally give you solid positions with Black and let you easily draw.
For White:
- play 1.c4;
- on any move from Black except for 1..b5 or 1...d5 play 2.Nc3;
- in case of 1...b5 or 1...d5 play 2.cxb5 or 2.cxd5;
- on your third move play 3.g3 and then Bg2;
- after that play what you think is appropriate at the position - be it d3 and then bringing you queen's bishop along the c1-h5 diagonal or playing f4, or e3 then d4, or Nf3 then d4, or anything else.
Of course it's harder to come up with a system for White than for Black because White should play more agressively, therefore his play should be more connected with the enemy's weaknesses and it's hard to expect what they will be. But for Black it's easy to find some moves that will work, if not in all, at least in most of the positions.
Generally it's good to have pawns that attack the central squares - d4, d5, e4 and e5, and pieces that protect / attack those squares too. If there are open diagonals it's good to place a bishop on them, also a rook on open files. If you follow those ideas it should generally be easy to have a good game. All you have to make sure is that your pawns are protected from being captured, that they are attacking central squares and squares where you think the opponent may want to place a piece, and to try to place your pieces so that they can move to as many squares as possible, with a bonus if they can move through the center.
I hear that e4 is supposed to be a good first move, not sure if it is true, but I guess I don't really know good ways to help develop my pieces to put them in a strong poistion. Any suggestions would be cool