I'm trying to learn an opening, please help.

Hi! So I'm trying to learn the accelerated dragon and I need someone who can help me with that. Let me have black and start with 1.e4. If you can give me some tips after the game/games I'd really appreciate! 

"... Having read [Starting Out: The Accelerated Dragon by Andrew Greet (2008)] cover to cover, I recommend it to anyone who is eager to learn more about chess in general and the Accelerated Dragon in particular. This book is quite an achievement and it has much to offer to ambitious players. I also recommend it to those who already play the Accelerated Dragon, because it contains plenty of original material, and it is sure to deepen your understanding of the opening. ..." -FM  Carsten Hansen (2008)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627012235/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen111.pdf

Play the Accelerated Dragon by Peter Lalic

http://www.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Play-the-Accelerated-Dragon-76p3869.htm

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7380.pdf

"... The main consideration for Black between choosing the 'normal' Dragon and the Accelerated Dragon is that White can employ the so-called Maroczy Bind against the Accelerated Dragon. This restraining setup ... ensures White a solid space advantage, but Black has a number of ways to deal with it. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2010)

"... the Maroczy Bind ... requires quite sophisticated positional understanding to play well. What I've noticed is that even if club players are aware of this line they tend to play it badly for White, ..." - GM Nigel Davies (2010)

"... overall the Accelerated Dragon remains a solid option for Black. ..." - GM John Emms (2009)

"2 [Nf3] g6 is an alternative route to the Accelerated Dragon ... Black steers clear of the Rossolimo Variation (2...Nc6 3 Bb5), but he has to be prepared for some other lines, most notably [3 d4 cxd4] 4 Qxd4 and 3 c3. ..." - GM Paul van der Sterren (2009)

You are nowhere ready for that opening.  Follow opening principles for now.  Until you can get to a point where youre not dropping pieces, missing simple tactics, and have a firm understanding of the opening basics, youre not ready for the dragon.

Around 2010, IM John Watson wrote, "... For players with very limited experience, ... the Sicilian Defence ... normally leaves you with little room to manoeuvre and is best left until your positional skills develop. ... I'm still not excited about my students playing the Sicilian Defence at [the stage where they have a moderate level of experience and some opening competence], because it almost always means playing with less space and development, and in some cases with exotic and not particularly instructive pawn-structures. ... if you're taking the Sicilian up at [say, 1700 Elo and above], you should put in a lot of serious study time, as well as commit to playing it for a few years. ..."

In 2012, IM Greg Shahade wrote, "... These days ....c5 is more popular than ....e5, so who's to say that the lessons learned in e5 are somehow more valuable? It was by far the most popular opening in the past, but it's no longer the case. The lessons in the Sicilian, as irrational as they may seem to a relative newcomer, are very important to learn and who's to say that this type of action packed/dynamic chess is not just as good a way to start as the more classical style of chess. I definitely think that playing only 1.e4 e5 until 2000 is way too harsh a restriction in today's world of chess that is so much more than just classical 1.e4 e5 openings. That's not to say it's bad to play only 1.e4 e5 until 2000, but I think it's incorrect to assume that this is the proper way to approach chess development." Around the same time, he did acknowledge, "I specialize at teaching players who aspire to be pretty strong...like at least 2200, and usually higher, so I'm less skilled at helping 1500-1600 players without any particular ambitions to become great at chess".

In 2014, Pete Tamburro wrote, "... You will see [in Openings for Amateurs] the reply to 1.e4 to be the great reply of the open games with 1...e5. The Sicilian Dragon is presented as an alternative. ... I have found that scholastic players take to the Sicilian Dragon very quickly. ... A cautionary note: the Dragon is good at club level, but as you start facing better players you're going to find yourself memorizing tons of lines and the latest analysis, ... From my experience with coaching players below 1800, you won't need to do that too much. ..."

What about the Pterodactyl sicilian? is it any good?

Looks good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAjbLp_O7No

Hi, I have two books on the Accelerated Dragon, one by Jeremy Silman (yes, the famous Silman) and one by Alburt, Dzindzi and Perelshteyn. I began to learn the second book but gave up soon after I read from strong players that the accelerated dragon is not very good. I am playing now something completely different (the Scandinavian).

If I would be you I would not buy any book on repertoires. The things can get very quick outdated and it is difficult to ask somebody about moves that you don't understand. Go the website Chessable and check it out the books they have there. You can register for free and try some free versions first to see how the things work. The main advantage of this website is that you will learn by spaced repetition, what means that you will get the stuff really memorised. There is there a great repertoire on the Sicilian by the GM Rafael Leitão, one of the best Brazilian chess players. 

Another cool thing in Chessable is that you can ask the authors about the moves - I am asking regularly questions to a GM who wrote a repertoire against 1.d4, and the guy is really kind and answer me almost immediately! Tell me that this is not cool!!

Cheers and good luck!

He wants to play, and we advice him as good as we can. At the end he has to decide, right?

True, but i wonder how many actually take the time to look at the OP's games before offering advice?

No doubt the OP will do what he wants, but my point was this.  How many people responded, and threw out openings, without even looking at the OP's games?  

Dude all you need to know is 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 and ...c5 infact you can play 1...g6 2...Bg7 and 3...c5 against every opening except 1.b3 and 1.b4.  Forget about openings at our measly level, they don't mean nada!

Even beginners are often encouraged to play through sample games. What is wrong with choosing sample games from some opening?

At my level of chess ( < 1200) I have been playing a lot of Pirc defense. You can play that sort of set up against almost anything White tries. And people at  the  <1200 level play a LOT of WEIRD stuff in the opening. I suggest you learn a system and study it. And work on tactics and general principles.

Good luck and good chess to you.

My rating is inflated because my last opponent played some weird moves in probably winning positions for him.  I made more mistakes than my opponent and still won.  My opponent before that timed out in both her games. What does that tell you about chess at this level?  Its probably nothing but pure opportunism.