Beginners really need to develop towards the center Get thier king to safety and focus on tactics. but I dissagree that no theory is needed. no more than five moves. with that said I will recomend two
white: Italian Game Please drop the Ruy until you are no longer a beginer.
Black: against d4... Nf6. fairly natural system. play it like that. a system.
Thank you very much for the feedback. Will focus on the Italian Game for White.
So from Black's perspective, play Nf6 against a d4 opening, does this have a name?. Any particular openings / defenses against 1e4?
Thanks again for your time.
Ross
Openings shouldn't really matter but just keep it simple
Italian Game or Scotch Gambit ( this teaches you a lot about tactics) as white
1...e5 vs 1.e4 as Black
Queens gambit declined vs 1.d4.
1...Nf6 is good but I think its better to stick to something more classical like the QGD.
As white : 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4
As Black : 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 
As White: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 (Italian Game) - Also play the Open Sicilian, Advance French, and Advance Caro-Kann
As Black: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 (Dragon Sicilian) - Also play the Cambridge Springs and Symmetrical English.
I really don't think a beginer could handle the dragon. I can't but still play it because I only play for one result at the start. the dragon is ultra sharp. you cannot afford time to defend. also it requires a lot of theory.
This has given me a lot to chew on. Thank you very much for this guys!
Why would the QGD be better for a beginner than the QGA? Except that the QGA is more popular? edit that was supposed to be the QGD is more popular :(
Why not the dragon? If a beginner plays someone that knows what they are doing, they will get ripped apart! In my opinion this is one of the most effective ways of learning, as long as you're willing to take a beating.
that does make sence. but openings like that are for people who arn't discouraged by loosing a ton of games. of course you will win many mini's but you will loose just as many.
Sorry, for the previous deletion, I meant you can check out this website: http://www.squidoo.com/great-chess-openings
But in all honesty, you might want to consider some chess tactics first? Perhaps you can go to chess tempo and chess tactics server for some more practice on that. An maybe if you want you can check out http://www.squidoo.com/chess-reference for some chess tactics books.
Hi,
I'm a very keen yet fairly new player and wish to study some openings. I have looked into the Ruy Lopez and also the Caro Kann. I'm slowly learning some of the variations and connecting with the theory behind them.
Can someone please suggest TWO more openings suitable for someone fairly new to the game. One for White and One for Black...
Your help would be much appreciated
Ross