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I'm at the brink of my sanity and I don't what opening to play.

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lol968123

My Chess knowledge is very good and I have lots of time to study and learn. I am against the Italian, Ruy Lopez, scotch, and especially the London system. My play style is very fluid I can get into many positions and like it. I want a really powerful yet solid opening. Open to most suggestions and also maybe a good study website but I CANNOT buy anything.

lol968123

I AM NOT looking for openings for black only white.

ActiveMoves

Have you looked at the Catalan Opening? (Moves: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3). 
The Catalan Opening is an ideal choice for players who value a positional, strategic approach and like to maintain a solid yet flexible pawn structure. Here’s a breakdown of player types who would likely benefit from playing the Catalan:

1. Positional Players
The Catalan emphasizes long-term pawn structure and piece placement rather than immediate tactical fireworks. Players who enjoy working with small, incremental advantages will find the Catalan rewarding, as it often allows White to gain space on the queenside while controlling central squares indirectly.
2. Patient, Strategic Thinkers
Players who are comfortable with slow-building positions will appreciate the Catalan. The opening often leads to a steady buildup rather than rapid attacks. Catalan players can exploit Black’s weaknesses over many moves, setting up favorable endgames where their pawn structure and piece activity shine.
3. Players Who Like Control and Safety
The Catalan is relatively safe and hard to counter with early tactical threats. White can develop their pieces without exposing the king to immediate attacks. This is ideal for players who prefer to avoid risky positions and prioritize keeping control over the game’s flow.
4. Players with Strong Endgame Skills
The Catalan often results in pawn structures that are favorable in the endgame, such as a well-placed bishop on g2 controlling a long diagonal and queenside pawn advances. Players who are comfortable navigating endgames with subtle pawn moves and minor-piece coordination will be able to capitalize on the Catalan’s endgame potential.
5. Players Who Play Against d4 and c4 Defenses
If you’re comfortable with queen’s pawn openings or systems involving c4, the Catalan provides a familiar structure. It allows flexibility in switching between various setups, giving a player a strong repertoire against different defenses.
6. Players Who Like Flexibility
The Catalan often lets White pivot between different plans based on how Black responds. If Black plays solidly, White can maintain a more traditional control of the center; if Black challenges, White can transition to more aggressive queenside play. This adaptability is perfect for players who enjoy dictating the game's pace and making their opponents uncomfortable.
The Catalan can be quite technical, so it may require some study, especially in positions where Black counters with c5 or b6. However, it’s highly effective for players who want to build a consistent, reliable opening approach around the 1. d4 move.
Hope this helps, and if you like the sound of it, here are a few resources to get you started:
https://www.365chess.com/chess-openings/Catalan-Openinghttps://lichess.org/training/Catalan_Opening

percyjacksonperfect
ActiveMoves wrote:

Have you looked at the Catalan Opening? (Moves: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3). 
The Catalan Opening is an ideal choice for players who value a positional, strategic approach and like to maintain a solid yet flexible pawn structure. Here’s a breakdown of player types who would likely benefit from playing the Catalan:

1. Positional Players
The Catalan emphasizes long-term pawn structure and piece placement rather than immediate tactical fireworks. Players who enjoy working with small, incremental advantages will find the Catalan rewarding, as it often allows White to gain space on the queenside while controlling central squares indirectly.
2. Patient, Strategic Thinkers
Players who are comfortable with slow-building positions will appreciate the Catalan. The opening often leads to a steady buildup rather than rapid attacks. Catalan players can exploit Black’s weaknesses over many moves, setting up favorable endgames where their pawn structure and piece activity shine.
3. Players Who Like Control and Safety
The Catalan is relatively safe and hard to counter with early tactical threats. White can develop their pieces without exposing the king to immediate attacks. This is ideal for players who prefer to avoid risky positions and prioritize keeping control over the game’s flow.
4. Players with Strong Endgame Skills
The Catalan often results in pawn structures that are favorable in the endgame, such as a well-placed bishop on g2 controlling a long diagonal and queenside pawn advances. Players who are comfortable navigating endgames with subtle pawn moves and minor-piece coordination will be able to capitalize on the Catalan’s endgame potential.
5. Players Who Play Against d4 and c4 Defenses
If you’re comfortable with queen’s pawn openings or systems involving c4, the Catalan provides a familiar structure. It allows flexibility in switching between various setups, giving a player a strong repertoire against different defenses.
6. Players Who Like Flexibility
The Catalan often lets White pivot between different plans based on how Black responds. If Black plays solidly, White can maintain a more traditional control of the center; if Black challenges, White can transition to more aggressive queenside play. This adaptability is perfect for players who enjoy dictating the game's pace and making their opponents uncomfortable.
The Catalan can be quite technical, so it may require some study, especially in positions where Black counters with c5 or b6. However, it’s highly effective for players who want to build a consistent, reliable opening approach around the 1. d4 move.
Hope this helps, and if you like the sound of it, here are a few resources to get you started:
https://www.365chess.com/chess-openings/Catalan-Openinghttps://lichess.org/training/Catalan_Opening

i think hes an e4 player

lol968123
ActiveMoves wrote:

Have you looked at the Catalan Opening? (Moves: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3). 
The Catalan Opening is an ideal choice for players who value a positional, strategic approach and like to maintain a solid yet flexible pawn structure. Here’s a breakdown of player types who would likely benefit from playing the Catalan:

1. Positional Players
The Catalan emphasizes long-term pawn structure and piece placement rather than immediate tactical fireworks. Players who enjoy working with small, incremental advantages will find the Catalan rewarding, as it often allows White to gain space on the queenside while controlling central squares indirectly.
2. Patient, Strategic Thinkers
Players who are comfortable with slow-building positions will appreciate the Catalan. The opening often leads to a steady buildup rather than rapid attacks. Catalan players can exploit Black’s weaknesses over many moves, setting up favorable endgames where their pawn structure and piece activity shine.
3. Players Who Like Control and Safety
The Catalan is relatively safe and hard to counter with early tactical threats. White can develop their pieces without exposing the king to immediate attacks. This is ideal for players who prefer to avoid risky positions and prioritize keeping control over the game’s flow.
4. Players with Strong Endgame Skills
The Catalan often results in pawn structures that are favorable in the endgame, such as a well-placed bishop on g2 controlling a long diagonal and queenside pawn advances. Players who are comfortable navigating endgames with subtle pawn moves and minor-piece coordination will be able to capitalize on the Catalan’s endgame potential.
5. Players Who Play Against d4 and c4 Defenses
If you’re comfortable with queen’s pawn openings or systems involving c4, the Catalan provides a familiar structure. It allows flexibility in switching between various setups, giving a player a strong repertoire against different defenses.
6. Players Who Like Flexibility
The Catalan often lets White pivot between different plans based on how Black responds. If Black plays solidly, White can maintain a more traditional control of the center; if Black challenges, White can transition to more aggressive queenside play. This adaptability is perfect for players who enjoy dictating the game's pace and making their opponents uncomfortable.
The Catalan can be quite technical, so it may require some study, especially in positions where Black counters with c5 or b6. However, it’s highly effective for players who want to build a consistent, reliable opening approach around the 1. d4 move.
Hope this helps, and if you like the sound of it, here are a few resources to get you started:
https://www.365chess.com/chess-openings/Catalan-Openinghttps://lichess.org/training/Catalan_Opening

Thank you for the recommendation I'll be sure to look in depth about it!

mikewier

I looked at your last two losses. In one, you allowed your opponent to win your queen at move 7. In the other, you lost a bishop in the first 10 moves.

my advice is that you concentrate more on basic opening principles than on trying to learn an opening. No opening will help if you make such major blunders.

another piece of advice is to play slower time controls. Winning a 5- or 10-minute game may be fun, but if the win occurs because of a beginner’s blunder, you have not learned anything.

another piece of advice is to to spend more time in study. Get some books from the library on how chess masters think. A few hours with a good instruction book will teach you more than playing 100 games against other players at your level.

lol968123
mikewier wrote:

I looked at your last two losses. In one, you allowed your opponent to win your queen at move 7. In the other, you lost a bishop in the first 10 moves.

my advice is that you concentrate more on basic opening principles than on trying to learn an opening. No opening will help if you make such major blunders.

another piece of advice is to play slower time controls. Winning a 5- or 10-minute game may be fun, but if the win occurs because of a beginner’s blunder, you have not learned anything.

another piece of advice is to to spend more time in study. Get some books from the library on how chess masters think. A few hours with a good instruction book will teach you more than playing 100 games against other players at your level.

Of course opening principles are very necessary to know of which I know them but to use those opening principles I have to have an opening. Other than that, thank you for the recommendation! It is very appreciated.

candyskittles77

https://www.chess.com/play/arena/3780471

mikewier

You say you know opening principles, but you actually don’t. If you knew them, you wouldn’t lose a piece or your queen in the first 7 moves.

learning the opening principles—and then applying them correctly—is a much better way to study then trying to memorize a sequence of moves in a new opening. It is faster, easier, and more effective.

For example, if I have a student and have drilled the opening principles into him, he should be able to identify the major candidate moves in any opening position, even one that is unfamiliar to them. Sure, the student may not select to play the top engine choice. But that doesn’t matter. The student should be able to find the candidate moves in an unfamiliar position for move after move, and reach a playable position.

try this as a training exercise. Have a friend set up a position at move 6 from some opening variation that you do not play. Can you identify several candidate moves? Which would you play? If you do not select a move that is „book,” then you do not have the general principles down.

if you play a book move, have your friend make the engine’s top choice. Again, generate candidate moves and pick one. Keep doing this until you are out of book or you have selected a move that is not in the book.

you can then analyze your mistakes. Why is your choice not in the book? You can use this to learn an opening. You will have a better understanding of the opening than if you had tried to memorize a sequence of moves.

lol968123
mikewier wrote:

You say you know opening principles, but you actually don’t. If you knew them, you wouldn’t lose a piece or your queen in the first 7 moves.

learning the opening principles—and then applying them correctly—is a much better way to study then trying to memorize a sequence of moves in a new opening. It is faster, easier, and more effective.

For example, if I have a student and have drilled the opening principles into him, he should be able to identify the major candidate moves in any opening position, even one that is unfamiliar to them. Sure, the student may not select to play the top engine choice. But that doesn’t matter. The student should be able to find the candidate moves in an unfamiliar position for move after move, and reach a playable position.

try this as a training exercise. Have a friend set up a position at move 6 from some opening variation that you do not play. Can you identify several candidate moves? Which would you play? If you do not select a move that is „book,” then you do not have the general principles down.

if you play a book move, have your friend make the engine’s top choice. Again, generate candidate moves and pick one. Keep doing this until you are out of book or you have selected a move that is not in the book.

you can then analyze your mistakes. Why is your choice not in the book? You can use this to learn an opening. You will have a better understanding of the opening than if you had tried to memorize a sequence of moves.

Ok I understand I am not the best with my principles but I don't blunder in every opening. Thank for the training exercise!

chessterd5

I am probably not qualified to give advice after following a masters response but I would like to discuss some ideas about the opening.

A) do you have some control or influence of the center?

B) is your king safe?

C) when you develop your peices ask two questions to yourself. 1) what does this piece do for me if I put it on that square? 2) do my pieces work fluently with my chosen pawn structure?

D) can I develop at least one of my rooks within 10 moves?

borovicka75

edited moderator AndrewSmith 

lol968123
borovicka75 wrote:
To mikewier: why do you wasting your time and energy to such an toxic idiot (lol9…). He will never learn chess because he dońt want to learn. He just want to expose his ego wtiting garbage.

Why would you demean me when all I want is help. Why am I a "toxic idiot"? Would you like it if at your most confused I would call you a toxic idiot? If you don't have something nice to say don't say it.

sawdof
lol968123 wrote:

I'm at the brink of my sanity and I don't what opening to play.

My Chess knowledge is very good and I have lots of time to study and learn. I am against the Italian, Ruy Lopez, scotch, and especially the London system. My play style is very fluid I can get into many positions and like it. I want a really powerful yet solid opening. Open to most suggestions and also maybe a good study website but I CANNOT buy anything.

Stop playing chess. Sanity is more important

lol968123
mikewier wrote:

You say you know opening principles, but you actually don’t. If you knew them, you wouldn’t lose a piece or your queen in the first 7 moves.

learning the opening principles—and then applying them correctly—is a much better way to study then trying to memorize a sequence of moves in a new opening. It is faster, easier, and more effective.

For example, if I have a student and have drilled the opening principles into him, he should be able to identify the major candidate moves in any opening position, even one that is unfamiliar to them. Sure, the student may not select to play the top engine choice. But that doesn’t matter. The student should be able to find the candidate moves in an unfamiliar position for move after move, and reach a playable position.

try this as a training exercise. Have a friend set up a position at move 6 from some opening variation that you do not play. Can you identify several candidate moves? Which would you play? If you do not select a move that is „book,” then you do not have the general principles down.

if you play a book move, have your friend make the engine’s top choice. Again, generate candidate moves and pick one. Keep doing this until you are out of book or you have selected a move that is not in the book.

you can then analyze your mistakes. Why is your choice not in the book? You can use this to learn an opening. You will have a better understanding of the opening than if you had tried to memorize a sequence of moves.

I might have taken a too defensive aproach if you see it that way, I love to see someone help me with a genuine issue.

lol968123
sawdof wrote:
lol968123 wrote:

I'm at the brink of my sanity and I don't what opening to play.

My Chess knowledge is very good and I have lots of time to study and learn. I am against the Italian, Ruy Lopez, scotch, and especially the London system. My play style is very fluid I can get into many positions and like it. I want a really powerful yet solid opening. Open to most suggestions and also maybe a good study website but I CANNOT buy anything.

Stop playing chess. Sanity is more important

I exaggerated that statement. If you were joking it did not come off as that.

Ethan_Brollier
lol968123 wrote:

Of course opening principles are very necessary to know of which I know them but to use those opening principles I have to have an opening.

This isn't true. What we call "openings" are merely common applications of opening principles. They don't actually exist. You don't need an opening to apply opening principles. Of course, if you actually have a solid grasp of opening principles it is likely that you will end up following traditional "openings" (side note: the first chess masters didn't have theory, but they still ending up playing generally the same things... I wonder why?) but memorization of a flowchart doesn't make any sense when you only get to control half of the options chosen.

Your current opening repertoire probably looks something like this:

You play 1. d4 every game. You have your lines you know well (for example, you know how to reach the Lilienthal Botvinnik Semi-Slav with 1... d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7 11. g3 and then you put your LSB on the long diagonal and try to play around queenside pawn breaks), your lines you know not-so-well (for example, you know that the Old Indian Defense exists with 1... Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nf3 Nbd7 4. Nc3 e5 5. e4 Be7 but you have no clue why or what comes after, but presumably it's the same as the KID right?), and your lines you just don't know (for example, I guarantee you that you don't even understand the idea behind the Blumenfeld with 1... Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 b5? or how to play against it, let alone what to do against 1... a6?! 2. c4 b5?!)

and while none of that is objectively wrong, it's much better to learn an opening repertoire naturally. I play towards the Lilienthal Botvinnik against every single Semi-Slav player I've come across and I've never even reached the tabiya once. However, I've played against the Old Benoni probably upwards of a hundred times now and while I don't have theory memorized against it or know exactly what to do against every single variation of it, I've played against it enough times that I know generally what Black is going to do, why he's going to do it, and the WHY behind my counterplay to all those moves. What this all means is that even if Black goes 'off-script' and plays like h6-g5 for some reason in the Old Benoni, I know the reasons behind what Black should be doing and so I know what to exploit when he DOESN'T do that.

You don't have to know openings to know that if Black doesn't contest the center you put your pawns in the dang center and knowing openings won't teach you that. Instead, learn opening principles. Get rid of all of your opening prep beyond like move 3, analyze why you're playing those first three moves (I play 1. e4 to deny Black d5 and Nf6 as well as to allow my LSB to get out, I play 2. Nf3 to threaten the e5 square and defend a later d4 push, then move 3 I put my LSB on b5 to allow me to castle on move 4 and threaten a defender of the e5 square possibly tactically winning a pawn and the center later on), then after every game, analyze the first move to figure out why they played it (I played everything above and now I'm in the Ruy Lopez but what on earth do I do against 3... a5? In the game I played 4. 0-0 because I know I want to castle early and then he played 4... Nd4 so I had to trade with 5. Nxd4 exd4 and then I played 6. d3 because I want to defend my pawn on e4 and allow my DSB to enter the game, but then he played 6... c6 and trapped my bishop, but after the game I went back and discovered that the blunder was on move 6 where I played 6. d3 where I should have played 6. Bc4 to put the bishop on a stronger diagonal and get it out of any potential danger).

If you do that every game, your play in the opening will massively improve over time and you'll be able to focus study on calculation, middlegame tactics, and endgame play, all of which will take you way farther way faster than just getting a short and sweet chessable course on how to play the Giuoco Piano as White.

percyjacksonperfect
mikewier wrote:

You say you know opening principles, but you actually don’t. If you knew them, you wouldn’t lose a piece or your queen in the first 7 moves.

learning the opening principles—and then applying them correctly—is a much better way to study then trying to memorize a sequence of moves in a new opening. It is faster, easier, and more effective.

For example, if I have a student and have drilled the opening principles into him, he should be able to identify the major candidate moves in any opening position, even one that is unfamiliar to them. Sure, the student may not select to play the top engine choice. But that doesn’t matter. The student should be able to find the candidate moves in an unfamiliar position for move after move, and reach a playable position.

try this as a training exercise. Have a friend set up a position at move 6 from some opening variation that you do not play. Can you identify several candidate moves? Which would you play? If you do not select a move that is „book,” then you do not have the general principles down.

if you play a book move, have your friend make the engine’s top choice. Again, generate candidate moves and pick one. Keep doing this until you are out of book or you have selected a move that is not in the book.

you can then analyze your mistakes. Why is your choice not in the book? You can use this to learn an opening. You will have a better understanding of the opening than if you had tried to memorize a sequence of moves.

yo shut up he asked for advice on openings if ur not gonna give it then leave

cofagegaetaph
Ethan_Brollier wrote:
lol968123 wrote:

Of course opening principles are very necessary to know of which I know them but to use those opening principles I have to have an opening.

This isn't true. What we call "openings" are merely common applications of opening principles. They don't actually exist. You don't need an opening to apply opening principles. Of course, if you actually have a solid grasp of opening principles it is likely that you will end up following traditional "openings" (side note: the first chess masters didn't have theory, but they still ending up playing generally the same things... I wonder why?) but memorization of a flowchart doesn't make any sense when you only get to control half of the options chosen.

Your current opening repertoire probably looks something like this:

You play 1. d4 every game. You have your lines you know well (for example, you know how to reach the Lilienthal Botvinnik Semi-Slav with 1... d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7 11. g3 and then you put your LSB on the long diagonal and try to play around queenside pawn breaks), your lines you know not-so-well (for example, you know that the Old Indian Defense exists with 1... Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nf3 Nbd7 4. Nc3 e5 5. e4 Be7 but you have no clue why or what comes after, but presumably it's the same as the KID right?), and your lines you just don't know (for example, I guarantee you that you don't even understand the idea behind the Blumenfeld with 1... Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 b5? or how to play against it, let alone what to do against 1... a6?! 2. c4 b5?!)

and while none of that is objectively wrong, it's much better to learn an opening repertoire naturally. I play towards the Lilienthal Botvinnik against every single Semi-Slav player I've come across and I've never even reached the tabiya once. However, I've played against the Old Benoni probably upwards of a hundred times now and while I don't have theory memorized against it or know exactly what to do against every single variation of it, I've played against it enough times that I know generally what Black is going to do, why he's going to do it, and the WHY behind my counterplay to all those moves. What this all means is that even if Black goes 'off-script' and plays like h6-g5 for some reason in the Old Benoni, I know the reasons behind what Black should be doing and so I know what to exploit when he DOESN'T do that.

You don't have to know openings to know that if Black doesn't contest the center you put your pawns in the dang center and knowing openings won't teach you that. Instead, learn opening principles. Get rid of all of your opening prep beyond like move 3, analyze why you're playing those first three moves (I play 1. e4 to deny Black d5 and Nf6 as well as to allow my LSB to get out, I play 2. Nf3 to threaten the e5 square and defend a later d4 push, then move 3 I put my LSB on b5 to allow me to castle on move 4 and threaten a defender of the e5 square possibly tactically winning a pawn and the center later on), then after every game, analyze the first move to figure out why they played it (I played everything above and now I'm in the Ruy Lopez but what on earth do I do against 3... a5? In the game I played 4. 0-0 because I know I want to castle early and then he played 4... Nd4 so I had to trade with 5. Nxd4 exd4 and then I played 6. d3 because I want to defend my pawn on e4 and allow my DSB to enter the game, but then he played 6... c6 and trapped my bishop, but after the game I went back and discovered that the blunder was on move 6 where I played 6. d3 where I should have played 6. Bc4 to put the bishop on a stronger diagonal and get it out of any potential danger).

If you do that every game, your play in the opening will massively improve over time and you'll be able to focus study on calculation, middlegame tactics, and endgame play, all of which will take you way farther way faster than just getting a short and sweet chessable course on how to play pest control professionals the Giuoco Piano as White.

Great and informative

borovicka75

I apologize. I was angry for some silly reason i cant´ recall