My list of top 10 worst "official" openings
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Apr 27, 2022
0
#23
ThrillerFan wrote:
The OP has no idea what he is talking about.
The Polish Opening should not be on the list either. The Grob severely weakens the King. Screw traps. Traps mean nothing for any level above pansy level chess. Chess pansies show no validity to any form of opening theory with their games and should be completely ignored along with their games. Those that cannot reach at least 1600 over the board (1600 blitz here is not the same thing and not a valid basis for saying you know anything about chess) are not worth wasting your time on using their games to validate any opening ever!
The Polish is not ideal as it does not fight for the center. White surrenders his advantage to going first, but maintains an equal game. The Grob is already advantage Black from move 1!
I beat a 2400 with the grob lol
Apr 27, 2022
0
#24
Professor_Gobbles wrote:
ThrillerFan wrote:
The OP has no idea what he is talking about.
The Polish Opening should not be on the list either. The Grob severely weakens the King. Screw traps. Traps mean nothing for any level above pansy level chess. Chess pansies show no validity to any form of opening theory with their games and should be completely ignored along with their games. Those that cannot reach at least 1600 over the board (1600 blitz here is not the same thing and not a valid basis for saying you know anything about chess) are not worth wasting your time on using their games to validate any opening ever!
The Polish is not ideal as it does not fight for the center. White surrenders his advantage to going first, but maintains an equal game. The Grob is already advantage Black from move 1!
I beat a 2400 with the grob lol
He's not wrong, though.
Apr 27, 2022
0
#25
The orangutan/polish is fully sound and having it on the list is a joke.
budapest is a bit funky but compared to so many dubious gambits out there doesnt deserve a spot here.
the marshall is dubious in the sense that is an inferior defense with no particularly good reason to play it as opposed to a myriad of alternatives that share its pluses, but objectively, its prob no worse than the Scandinavian. They are plenty of objectively busted lines and refuted gambits that are much worse.
The Latvian Gambit often leads to a strong kingside presence for Black, particularly in the mainlines where the Q moves to f6 and then to g6. This can lead to strong kingside attacks by Black if White lets up on the pressure in the center, even if just for a moment.
That’s the main reason I play the Latvian, not for the traps or any silly stuff like that. Black often goes right for the kill just when White relaxes for a moment.
Contending with White’s slight development advantage can be difficult, but is made significantly easier if you understand Latvian theory well. It also helps to learn good defensive maneuvering skills.
Apr 29, 2022
0
#27
I mean, the smith morra is a gambit known to work up to master level. IM - Marc Esserman has beaten many grandmasters with it in official games. I don't play it myself though, since I don't like playing material down.
As for the budapest gambit, sure, its not as solid as the morra or probably not good enough for master level in official OTB tournaments. But common, you could not have though of a worse opening to put on this list? You get a ton of compensation for the pawn and if you dont think its good enough, the beauty of the rook lift should be enough to make anybody love the opening.
Apr 29, 2022
0
#28
harrytipper3 wrote:
in reverse order, in my humble opinion. This list excludes;
-openings that immediately lose the game (such as Damianos defense or the lasker trap in the Albin Countergambit)
-Openings that have no meaningful theory (such as 1. a4 etc.)
-Any "fools mate openings" like 1. e4 2 Qh5.
10. Danish Gambit. This opening makes the list for one reason; Schuttlers defense completely nullifies it and there's no real plan for white if this defense it's used. The Similar Goring gambit has the advantage of preventing black using Schuttlers defense.
9. Grob attack. I have some experience using this opening. Although it offers a lot of potential traps it has big issues with king safety, developing the g1 knight and general lack of consistency and structure to games. Games are very hit and miss, If you want to play 960 like chess in a classical chess game, the Grob is the opening for you.
8. Smith-Morra gambit. A weak gambit that doesn't get white enough compensation for the pawn. This is another one i've experimented with. It doesn't give either the tactical advantages of a gambit such as the kings gambit, or the long term positional advantages such as the Benko Gambit does. It gives something in between, but not much of either. Black simply has too many solid replies.
7. Budapest defense. An ugly opening where black puts their pieces in weird positions just to win back the lost pawn, and ends up with an inferior position. I will bracket this with the closely related Englund gambit rather than put them both in this list.
6. Latvian Gambit. A very pale imitation of the kings gambit, where white easily gives back the pawn for a comfortable lead in development and space after a few moves. No obvious benefit to playing this.
5. Polish opening. Like the Grob, it flings forward a wing pawn. But unlike the Grob, this opening does not offer any real traps so it ranks worse.
4. Kings gambit accepted; Bryan countergambit. This is the opening black used in the "immortal game." Not much worth saying say about this opening but it did at least prouduce that legendary game. Garry Kasparov once got very annoyed after being forced to use this opening in a thematic game, losing in under 20 moves.
3. Halloween Gambit. With correct play from black, there is little white can do to gain enough compensation for the sacrificed knight in this opening, It relies purely on mistakes from black. There is a similar opening called the Irish gambit (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 2. Nc6 3. Nxe5?) that has litte theory on it.
2. Elephant gambit. Throws away a pawn for no compensation. White gets a nice positon early on along with the pawn.
1. Queens gambit declined; Marshall Defense. Possibly the worst response to the queens gambit, black allows white to build an imposing centre and a lead in development, for nothing. It's pioneer Frank Marshall abandoned it after getting crushed in a game against Alekhine.
Apologies if i've included your favoourite openings here, it's my my opinion
I find it hilarious that Englund Gambit dodged the list.
I guess different times.
budapest is not nearly as bad as this makes it out to be
Kings gambit will always have a special place in my heart as it is the first opening I learned and I wont hesitate for a nano sec 1)e4..e5....Zomg f4 game on!!!;!!??!!?.......and you left Birds opening 1)f4.....it was discussed over coffee, had half page in FCO. Thats what i know about birds opening #1
Oh that's sarcasm then
Oh that's not sarcasm then