I need help with My Opening

Hello Chess.com Community! Before I start, I would like to say that I am truly impressed with How Helpful this community is, and I know I'm going to find the BEST advice here!

So, I'm a beginner/intermediate chess player and have played on and off for many years. I started taking it seriously recently though and won 2 tournaments a week ago.

Anyways, I talked to a National Master at one of the tournaments, and he told me to study one Opening, so I am comfortable with it. - I agree with that.

How I have usually started my Games with White:

1. Knight F3, Knight C3, Pawn E4, Pawn D4/Lots of changes, depending on response. 

2. The Original Pawn E4, Knight F3, then Knight C3, continuing

3. One that I use rarely because I'm un-familiar with it. - Pawn G3, Bishop G2, Knight F3, 0-0 castle.

Now, I need help with various parts of this. 1. I do not know the names of these openings, so I can study them. and Two,  I do not know if they are good/how I can change them.

For the 1st example, I use most often, I like it, It's flexible, and I need the name of it so I could study it more.

The 2nd one is the same

The 3rd one, I also like - It gives an opportunity for me to castle early on the game, HOWEVER, In order to make all of these moves to castle, I give my opponent too many moves to open up.

All help Is appreciated! Thank you guys.

that what she said

1 & 2 are the Four Knights, and 3 is the King's Indian Attack, of course this depends upon what Black plays also.  

These are quiet openings, along with the Giuoco Piano, and have few traps in the opening.  The problem is that Black by playing the Sicilian or other defenses can refuse to play the Four Knights.  So by opening with e4, you must study all of Black's good responses.

One problem is the moves you show don't have names, because: (1) They're too early in the game so have not diverged to a characteristic position that has a name; (2) You don't take into consideration Black's response, which can change everything in a single move.

Specifically:

(1) If you mean 1. Nf3, that's the Zukertort Opening, or if Black responds with 1...d4, then it's the Reti Opening. That's a hypermodern opening, meaning noncommittal and leaving much flexibility for Black, which is not recommended for beginners. In that opening it's inconsistent to play Nc3 because the idea is to attack from the flank, meaning c4, but with Nc3 you just blocked your c4 pawn. I'd recommend skipping that whole opening, and skipping all hypermodern openings for your first few years.

(2) If you mean 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3, that has no commonly used name that early in the opening, but typically turns into a Three Knights Game, Petrov Three Knights Game, or Four Knights Game. That's a good one for beginners, although Black can completely avoid it by moves like 1...c5, 1...c6, 1...e6, and many more. The good news is that 1...e5 is a very common response, and many of White's moves (especially Nf3 and Bb5) are forcing, so there is less to learn, unlike the hypermodern openings.

(3) 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 is the King's Indian Attack, which sounds like what you are describing, by continuation and transposition, but that's another hypermodern opening, which as you mentioned, gives your opponent great freedom for several moves, which means you will have to learn many openings to cover all his likely responses. That's just one reason hypermodern openings aren't recommended for beginners: too much to learn.

Sqod, you are wrong.

The Zukertort is 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 (instead of 5.c3, which is the Koltanowski).

1.Nf3 by itself has no name.

1.Nf3 d5 is not the Reti.  Again, it has no name yet because no opening has been established.  Chess.com can make up whatever clown names they want to just to give it a name after move 1, but they are not accurate.

The Reti is 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 (or other lines with an early c4, like 2.g3, 3.Bg2, 4.O-O, and 5.c4) w/o an early d4 by White or transposition to the English via an early c5 or e5 as Black.  For example, 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.b3 Nf6 4.Bb2 Be7 or 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O etc.  Now are you in Reti Territory.

1.Nf3 d5 doesn't constitute the Reti.  None of the following are Reti Openings:

A) 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 e6 - Last time I looked, this is a QGA

B) 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 - Last time I looked, this is a Catalan

C) 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 dxc4 - Last time I looked, this is a Slav

D) 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.d4 O-O 6.c4 - Last time I looked, this is a Grunfeld

Nope. We went through this in at least two threads several months ago. Different books go by different names, so we're dealing with published inconsistencies. Instead of getting sidetracked on inconsistent names, I believe we should be helping the OP with his main questions.

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/what-do-you-recommened-vs-the-reti

As a beginner, you should be playing e4. Explore other opening options later.

Here are the openings you need to know a few moves of (Assuming that you already know the basics of opening theory and development)

1.e4, e5 2.Nf3, Nf6 (Petrov's defence. There's a nifty trap that wins blacks queen in this opening. It's a must learn for all chess players.)

1.e4, e5 2.Nf3, Nc6 3.Nc3 (Three knights defence)

1.e4, e5 2.Nf3, Nc6 3.Nc3, Nf6 (Four knights defence)

1.e4, e5 2.Nf3, Nc6 3.d4 (Scotch game)

1.e4, e5 2.Nf3, Nc6 3.Bc4 (Italian game) 3...Bc5 (Giuoco Piano)

1.e4, e5 2.Nf3, Nc6 3.Bb5 (Ruy Lopez)

1.e4, d6 (Pirc defence)

1.e4, c6 (Caro Kann)

1.e4, c5 (Sicilian Defence)

1.e4, e6 (French defence)

As white, if you face 1.e4, e5 2.Nf3, Nc6; you are going to have to decide if you want to play either the Ruy Lopez, Scotch Game or the Italian Game (For now, stay away from the Three Knights and Four Knights. They tend to be very drawish).

The Pirc, Caro, Sicilian and French are decided by black. These tend to be complex. There are many variations (Systems) of each of these openings.

Common Sicilian systems: Classical, Najdorf, Scheveningen and Dragon (With accelerated Dragon)

Common Caro Kahn systems: Classical, Modern and Korchnoi

Common French systems: Advance variation, Exchange variation, Classical, Tarrasch, Winawer and Rubenstein.

Common Pirc systems: Classical, Austrian (You wont run into the Pirc too much. I usually just respond with d4 and try to dominate the center, develop and castle.)

I suggest spending most of your time studing the openings that will most likely occur in your typical matches. These will probably be the Caro, French, Siclian, Ruy Lopez and Scotch (Occasionally Petrov's)

That should keep you busy for now.

Good luck

Wow! Thanks Guys! =)

Every single one of these posts helped me. It's actually exactly what I was looking for. I will continue my improvement, and let you guys how it goes/if I have any questions!

Thanks Again!

"... For players with very limited experience, I recommend using openings in which the play can be clarified at an early stage, often with a degree of simplification. To accomplish this safely will take a little study, because you will have to get used to playing wiith open lines for both sides' pieces, but you can't eliminate risk entirely in the opening anyway. ... teachers all over the world suggest that inexperienced players begin with 1 e4. ... You will undoubtedly see the reply 1 ... e5 most often when playing at or near a beginner's level, ... After 2 Nf3, 2 ... Nc6 will occur in the bulk of your games. ... I recommend taking up the classical and instructive move 3 Bc4 at an early stage. Then, against 3 ... Bc5, it's thematic to try to establish the ideal centre by 4 c3 and 5 d4; after that, things can get complicated enough that you need to take a look at some theory and learn the basics; ... Of course, you can also play 1 d4 ... A solid and more-or-less universal set-up is 2 Nf3 and 3 Bf4, followed in most cases by 4 e3, 5 Be2 and 6 0-0. I'd rather see my students fight their way through open positions instead; however, if you're not getting out of the opening alive after 1 e4, this method of playing 1 d4 deserves consideration. ... a commonly suggested 'easy' repertoire for White with 1 Nf3 and the King's indian Attack ... doesn't lead to an open game or one with a clear plan for White. Furthermore, it encourages mechanical play. Similarly, teachers sometimes recommend the Colle System ..., which can also be played too automatically, and usually doesn't lead to an open position. For true beginners, the King's Indian Attack and Colle System have the benefit of offering a safe position that nearly guarantees passage to some kind of playable middlegame; they may be a reasonable alternative if other openings are too intimidating. But having gained even a small amount of experience, you really should switch to more open and less automatic play." - IM John Watson in a section of his 2010 book, Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 4

For more on KIA, one can try The King's Indian Attack by GM Neil McDonald. For more on the Four Knights, one can try The Four Knights: Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala (2012)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627104938/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen159.pdf

and/or The Four Knights Game by Andrey Obodchuk (2011).

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627022042/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen153.pdf

There are a number of good opening books out there which explain the thinking behind their moves, and analyse the main replys. All the best to you in your chess.

GoranRC wrote:

"... How should I study this opening? ..."

For more on KIA, one can try The King's Indian Attack by GM Neil McDonald. Two relatively recent Italian Game books are A SIMPLE CHESS OPENING REPERTOIRE FOR WHITE by Sam Collins and My First Chess Opening Repertoire for White by Vincent Moret. For the Spanish, one possibility is The Ruy Lopez: Move by Move by Neil McDonald.

I don't play the KIA. I'm not a big fan of playing d3 with the white pieces. I would rather just make the push to d4. I also don't care for putting the bishop on g2 for white.

Keep in mind though, that the point of the KIA is that you can almost always obtain the KIA position regardless of what opening moves black does. That's sort of the point of the opening: no matter what black does, you can play d3, fianchetto the bishop, castle and put the knight on d2.

Whites goal in the opening is to eventually control and attack e5 and push the pawn to that square.

I think you are much better off playing other systems besides the KIA though.

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