Key Openings to get under your belt.

Hello everyone,

I'm pretty new here to Chess.com and have been a life-long casual chess player and decided to dive deeper into this wonderful sport! I recently joined our local Chess Club where I live as well.

What I'd really like to understand is, if there's a set of basic openings from both colors (Maybe 3 each?) that a novice should focus on learning and developing?

i.e.  Mayb the 3 most common White openings and the 3 most common Bl

I fully understand that openings aren't very important for novice players, but hopefully I won't stay one forever and maybe developing and learning some good technique and positional play up front will be a benefit.

Thanks in advance for any feedback

Christian

For anybody rated below 1800, opening concepts are far more critical than opening theory.

Therefore, when it comes to studying games by GMs, I always recommend studying games that feature openings that follow general opening principles, not violate them.

So, an example of a bad opening for a beginner is the Scandinavian Defense, violating the "Don't move the queen out early" principle.

There are two openings I always tell people to study.

1) The Closed Ruy Lopez, Chigorin Variation (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2).  This opening follows every opening principle to the letter.  Don't get all tied up on "What if Black Deviates" or "What if White Deviates" baloney.  It ain't like you are playing against Kasparov!

2) The Orthodox Queen's Gambit Declined (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.Rc1 c6).

Both openings follow basic opening principles to the letter, but both also result in a different type of game.  You need to master both of these structures, not only one and then start saying "I'm a positional player" baloney!

Learn both!  Learn them well!  Forget about early deviations.  Study the two positions given in their complete form.  If you are looking in a database, the former you'll find plenty of games that fit the position if you search for C96 thru C99 (or search for the position, which the results will be predominantly C96 thru C99.  The latter can be found from looking up lines in the D60's (I think D63 thru D69, but not 100% sure which ones are that specific position mentioned above.)

Strategy and tactics are your pants. If you have no pants, there's no reason whatsoever to wear a belt.

You can start studying and understanding the old-school, classical openings (the ones which fight for central domination from move one) right after you get familiar with the basic tactical motifs, and generic opening and positional principles.

For someone seeking help with choosing openings, I usually bring up Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014).

http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html

I believe that it is possible to see a fair portion of the beginning of Tamburro's book by going to the Mongoose Press site. Perhaps ChristianLoew would also want to look at Discovering Chess Openings by GM Johm Emms (2006).

"If you find an opening here that appeals to you and you wish to find out more about it, the next step would be to obtain an introductory text devoted entirely to that subject." - GM John Emms in his 2006 introduction to basic opening principles, Discovering Chess Openings

"Throughout the book Emms uses excellently chosen examples to expand the readers understanding of both openings and chess in general. Thus equipped the student can carry this knowledge forward to study individual openings and build an opening repertoire. ... For beginning players, this book will offer an opportunity to start out on the right foot and really get a feel for what is happening on the board." - FM Carsten Hansen, reviewing the 2006 Emms book

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf

"Each player should choose an opening that attracts him. Some players are looking for a gambit as White, others for Black gambits. Many players that are starting out (or have bad memories) want to avoid mainstream systems, others want dynamic openings, and others want calm positional pathways. It’s all about personal taste and personal need.

For example, if you feel you’re poor at tactics you can choose a quiet positional opening (trying to hide from your weakness and just play chess), or seek more dynamic openings that engender lots of tactics and sacrifices (this might lead to more losses but, over time, will improve your tactical skills and make you stronger)." - IM Jeremy Silman (January 28, 2016)

ylblai 2 I purchased the Pete Tamburro's Openings for Amateurs  on my Kindle. However the notations aren't showing the symbols (Just blank square boxes) any idea where I could contact the author and see if this can be resolved?

Thanks

My only suggestion would be to contact Mongoose Press about your problem. They have a site.

I would recommend Lasker's Chess Manual ....by Emmanuel Lasker.

I agree with others. Learn classical openings... not that no modern players play them, they're still played by professionals in every tournament. It's just classical openings were the first to be discovered because they're the most logical (they prioritize controlling the center, developing your pieces, and castling to safety).

Also agree with not worrying about deviations at first. Just start by learning the main line. You can slowly add from there as you play games.

Which is the best way to learn in the beginning by the way. Play lots of games, and play over historical games to get a feel for what kinds of openings are out there, and what the usual moves are. After a while the moves will stick in your memory.

I too recommend the Ruy/Spanish and queen's gambit declined.

Not sure what others recommend. Here's a move by move book though:

http://www.amazon.com/Logical-Chess-Explained-Algebraic-Edition/dp/0713484640

ylblai2 -  I can't for the life of me find contact info for Mongoose Press, even on their site half the links are broken! Ugh. I was really looking forward to working through that book too. You wouldn't have an e-mail for them I can reach out to them with?

0110001101101000 - Unfortunately I'm visually impaired so I HAVE to have books on Kindle in order to read them, and this one is only available in print. Dangit!!

Maybe try sending an email to  manager@mongoosepress.com .

At your level, dont worry about openings.  Learn the opening principles:

Control the center.

Develop toward the center.

Castle.

Connect your rooks.

Beyond that, study, learn, and understand the pawn structures associated with the openings you play.