If you could only use two Chess Openings which would you choose

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brettregan1

Hyptheotically, if you were put on a desert Island with other castaways AND the only way to get off the island and back home was to win a chess tournament AND you were only allowed to play anyone of only two chess openings. two openings for when you played as white. and two openings for when you played as black. Which two openings would you choose as White? Which two openings would you choose for black?

Tenna

What happens if you choose the Sicilian dragon and KID, but then your opponent plays 1. g4? Do you get shot?

brettregan1

Tenna of New York USA wrote," What happens if you choose the Sicilian dragon and KITenna D, but you opponent plays 1g4 Do you get shot ---WELL--there is madness behind my madness --- I am stuck at a 1300 - 1400 chess level -- I don't want to spend fifty years memorizing all the openings and reading and mem---- orizing all the chess books ever written -- if I were to devote that much time to study I would instead choose to study something which could make me rich  or some other subject which would be more practical and useful. -- so I am basically conducting an informal survey and was going to memorize some openings depending on the answers submitted and go with that for my repoirtoire.

Tenna

So you get shot?

MrTeacup

If you prefer aggressive play:

Queen's Gambit and Trompowsky as white.  (Reference: Schandorff, Wells/Hodgson)

French and KID as black. (Reference: Watson, Gallagher/Bologan)

 

If you prefer strategic play:

English as white. (Reference: Marin, Karpov)

Caro and Slav as black. (Reference: Houska (and Schandorff upcoming), Vigus)

 

Plenty in either repertoire to keep you humming for life.

MrTeacup

Just to add: if you really want to keep study down, AND get good and theoried up, it's tough to work up a manageable e4 repertoire.  Ditto for 1...e5 or Sicilian as black.