Overrated Openings

Fine, I really didn't mean overrated.  It's just that some people play the Sicilian so much that it has 30 moves of theory before you can actually play a chess game.  On the other hand, the Advance French is REALLY overrated.

Real chess is the Endgame. 

Ask Capablanca.

I think the middlegame is where real genius in chess shines the most. I also believe there are far fewer great books on the middlegame than there are on Openings and endings both.

I agree, in the endgame, where accurate calculation of lines reigns supreme, you need to play like a computer. In the middlegame there is a lot more room for creativity and intuitive play.

True talent in the middlegame; but a skilled endgame player could even beat someone who is not as skilled when he was down in material. The Endgame improves your middlegame, you know what to shoot for. As your middlegame improves, your openings do as well; you know what set-up you want. So improving the endgame improves the whole game. Most masters will tell you to study the Endgame first.

I'm not so good with endgames yet myself, so I'm just going by what I hear from the GMs.

P.S. The Middlegame is my favorite phase!

the middle game is my favorite pahse to btw. But just a note fore everyone. Ove-rated could potentially just mean overglorified like the center pawns. My conept of anti-centerpawnism is just based off the fact that we need to accept that the centerpawn advance is truly overglorified.

Ok, I'll bite.

So advancing any center pawn is overrated?  Fighting for control of the center, carving out space, aiding development... yeah, that stuff all sucks.  I guess that's why over 80% of the games in the Game Explorer started with e4 or d4.

The Bird may not be common, but there is a lot of hype surrounding it.

Good thought.  It's certainly not a bad opening, but there seems a real fanaticism about it on this site, beyond what I would consider warranted.

For that matter, I would say the same even more about the Fried Liver Attack.  It's a strong attack, no question... but you can't get into it at all without Black making a mistake and following a weak line.  So why do so many people talk about it like it's a foundation of their repertoire?  I don't get it.

I guess the Bird is at the same time one of the most overrated and underrated openings. It's defenders are convinced it's the best possible opening while it's opponents insist it's one of the worst. It's the polarity on it that makes it so werll suited for discussions such as this one.

Spiffe i did not say that e4/d4 suck i said that i felt that they were overglorified and that there were better alternatives to them.

You haven't used the word "suck", but what are your "better alternatives"?  Since apparently the c-pawn is lumped under this center pawn category as well, what are you recommending?  Nf3?  g3?  b4?  Not that these openings are poor or unplayable, but they definitely do not possess all those same virtues I listed of e4/d4 openings.  So why, in your opinion, are they superior?

You've described center pawn openings as overglorified half a dozen times in this thread, so clearly you'd like an opportunity to defend that assertion.  Have at it.

I seem to recall that it scores better with Black, unless someone can prove me wrong with a database of recent games. In that respect, the French Advance is overrated, since White is the one that plays the signature move.

White still has a plus score from what I understand, but it's easy for black to equalize. White does much better with Nc3 or Nd2 against the french...but they're much harder to learn.

Chess assistant gives 51% for white in the advance with 57% for 3Nd2 and 56% for 3Nc3 and under 50% for white in the exchange variation

spiffe in my opinion 1.b3 and the scilian and the english are better alternatives to boring old e4/d4. I call the opening moves e4/d4 oveglorified mainly because they are used in 95% of chess games I AM NOT SAYING THAT THEY ARE BAD. Just overused and slightly boring

anyone else???

spiffe cant u find an adequate defense?

sodium attack

The smith-morra gambit is overrated.  The ruy lopez classical variation rocks!