Opening Advice

I'm starting to become a more serious tournament player, and I'm starting to see the need to build an opening repertoire.  I need help from some more experienced players, or anyone who knows theory I suppose, to help choose a set of openings I want to study more deeply.

The most important thing I'm looking for is openings that are aggressive, especially with play against the opponent's king.  For example, I have some experience with the Benko Gambit (from a thematic tournament), and as far as I can tell it's all about the queenside for black, while the white king always stays on the kingside, which is not at all what I want.  I also don't do too well in cramped positions.

I am already somewhat familiar with the Italian game and King's gambit for white, and the french defense and benko gambit for black.

I would really appreciate any advice you can offer!

Try 1. f4 as white and as black 1. ...f5 vs 1.c4/d4/Nf3 and against 1.e4 the sicilian.

A suggestion, since we are at roughly the same level, once you do pick an opening, stick with it, and don't toddle around to much with openings. I've wasted the last 6 months toddling back and forth with various openings, some directly unsound, while some I wasn't interested in, and I haven't improved my game a bit since December. I'm finally back to a proper routine. I'm improving brick by brick during and after the games, and I'm finally starting to improve again, after wasting 6months.

1.e4 does lead to some exciting games, the Spanish can build up some quite energetic attacks on both sides of the board, and if attacking is your game, you hardly need to fear the Sicilian.

I second this.  Pretty much.

The Bird is more than adequate for any tournament player, unless you're around 12 years old and already cresting 2000 ELO.  In which case, you'd want something more mainstream.  As long as you don't have legitimate aspirations to contend with 2600's and beyond down the road, it's a great opening that offers a lot of fun kingside attacking chances.

As a bonus, you can cut out a huge chunk of the theory, since instead of dealing with all the ins and outs of the From gambit (1.f4 e5), you can just transpose to the KG, which you're already familiar with.

A nice side effect of Bird study is that a lot of the strategy will translate nicely to a Dutch defense repertoire.  You can't play the Dutch if you're skittish about your own king's defense, but if you like attacking chances and hate defending cramped positions, that's your dance.

I would tend to prefer the open games to the Sicilian, but that's just a matter of taste.  I find all the antis take the joy out of the Sicilian.  But then, it's not like everyone is going to play mainlines against you no matter what you choose.

Thanks for the great advice!  I've started looking into the Bird and it seems better than most of what I've tried but maybe not perfect ... although I guess I can't expect much more.  I think it's mainly the f4-e3-d2 pawn formation that doesn't seem ambitious enough.

The sicilian was never quite to my taste from either side, I usually play the Grand Prix attack as white which is turning out well.  I've also recently become interested in the open games as black, which I'll have to investigate more.

I have to agree and disagree. On the one hand, you do need to ultimately pick something and stick with it.

I have been something of an opening wander over the past year or so, and I've tried just about everything. On the plus side, you get to learn a lot of things about a lot of different positions. On the down side, you never really master any.

Of course, you probably have a better sense for what style you prefer than I did when I started. I'd advise picking a couple or three things that fit your style, and try them out for a couple of weeks, see what you like.

If you dislike cramped positions, I'd say you are probably an e4 player. You may like the Bird's (1.f4) with the bonus of playing the Dutch to 1. d4 (they are the same thing, merely reversed.) It is a very aggressive, somewhat all or nothing sort of opening, particularly on the white side. You are basically bum-rushing the kingside, and if black defends well, you can get rolled.

I've bounced around, and finally decided that everyone who told me to play e4 were right. That doesn't mean my meandering through the English, the Nimzo-Larsen, the Colle-Zukertort, the Bird's, and most every black defense was wasted time. I learned some things along the way.

I took a flyer at the Petrov and wound up in a bloodbath in the center of the board. Not at all the dull, drawish opening it's said to be. In my other adventure with the Petrov, my higher ranked opponent yanked me out of it and into the Four Knights and then right into the Italian game, winning quickly. I'm still unsure how he did it. I'll use it again, though.

i couldnt agree more. perhaps you already know this but if you want to attack your opponent you need space in the center or the kingside. openings that control the queenside will not give you that. some people will argue that the sicilian gives you attackingchances at your opponents queensidecastled king and such but the fact is maybe 8 of 10 will play antisicilians or at least that is what happend in my case. based on the same reason 1.d4 takes claim on the queenside while 1.e4 takes space on kingside so 1.e4 will naturally give you more attackingchances

I like what everyone here is saying about the Bird, but the games I'm looking through don't seem to be saying the same thing.  I don't suppose someone could post a sample game that shows some of the common themes, and with a kingside attack?  That would be really helpful!