as Black
London
Ruy Lopez
any Sicilian except for Open Franco-Sicilian
any Caro-Kann except for Masi and 2.e5
any Italian except for 3.d5
as Black
London
Ruy Lopez
any Sicilian except for Open Franco-Sicilian
any Caro-Kann except for Masi and 2.e5
any Italian except for 3.d5
The French,
Queen Pawn Opening
Openings I Like:
Bongcloud (My favorite)
Hippopatomus Defence
So basically any e4 opening
I think the most annoying opening is the hippopotamus opening.
Not only is it hard to spell, but black also makes an annoyingly hard to penetrate defense and basicly just tries to tie the game. very boring to play against.
It is probably the Petroff as the only time I received death threats during a chess game was a time I played the Petroff, I didn't take the threat seriously but I think my opponent must have been pretty upset by my opening choice not just because of the comment but also because he blundered his queen a few moves later.
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During my time playing the Petroff, I have also noticed most players.(.at least up to a certain rating level) avoid theory as if it were the plague. Many games have featured either a dubious Bc4 or a variety of unsound gambits. Strong players, however, just play the main line without batting an eye. I have actually found it pretty hard to equalize with the Petroff against strong players. I have played in a few Petroff thematic tournaments on the ICCF and haven't managed even half a point against the mostly 2000+ elo opponents who populate these tournaments....with black I mean. With White have managed a few draws by transposing into the exchange french. I also have a game going at the moment against a 2300+ opponent that looks to be headed towards a draw. In that game I transposed to the 4 knights. It is interesting to note that all these openings I'm mentioning are on this "most hated" list.
Probably e4 Nf3. I’ve gotten to the point in my chess career where I’m putting forth A LOT of effort towards my d4/c4 and anti d4/c4 repertoires, so I changed my e4 repertoire to be the lowest effort possible (Berlin, Giuoco Pianissimo, Malaniuk, et cetera) and while they are certainly low maintenance and easy to play, they do tend to lead to some rather long, dry, simple, and repetitive games. I wouldn’t take issue with this were it not for the fact that essentially 1 in 3 games I play I face 1. e4 as Black.
Out of openings that are actually playable, I'd say the Exchange French gets the most hate.
The two contenders were the London and the Petroff, but even those openings have some supporters. I have seen close to no one say anything positive about the Exchange French.
In general, people very commonly talk about all of these openings being very boring and sometimes passive. I have to disagree, though, at the very least for the London and the Petroff. The London is only made boring by the people playing boring lines, and it's a similar case for the Petroff. If you think you're commonly getting boring and drawish positions against these openings, try to find a different way to play against them that's more exciting.
Out of openings that are actually playable, I'd say the Exchange French gets the most hate.
The two contenders were the London and the Petroff, but even those openings have some supporters. I have seen close to no one say anything positive about the Exchange French.
In general, people very commonly talk about all of these openings being very boring and sometimes passive. I have to disagree, though, at the very least for the London and the Petroff. The London is only made boring by the people playing boring lines, and it's a similar case for the Petroff. If you think you're commonly getting boring and drawish positions against these openings, try to find a different way to play against them that's more exciting.
Here is something positive.....I kind of like the old games of Paul Morphy in the exchange french. Here is one of my favorites,
I have a love/hate relationship with it. Moving that f pawn two squares forward is scary, yet I have a plus lifetime score with it.