Positional opening against E4

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RivertonKnight
RivertonKnight wrote:

If White players only played the exchange variation, I would go back to the French in a heartbeat, because I believe Black is the only one with winning chances!

 

kindaspongey
ImLagTheFlagger wrote:

What do you mean by positional?

Perhaps it would help to look at a review of Simple Chess by Michael Stean (a book that is something of an introduction to positional play).
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104258/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review400.pdf

kindaspongey

I imagine that it is a matter of degree, rather than a yes-or-no thing.

"... you can choose a quiet positional opening ..., or seek more dynamic openings that engender lots of tactics and sacrifices ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (January 28, 2016)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/opening-questions-and-a-dream-mate

GShelton seems to want something that comes closer to the first description.

frostader

I've played the Caro Kann for several years with success. Now I've started playing the Accelerated Dragon. I would recommend either for their semi-open positional nature. Just remember, any opening can be steered into sharp or positional waters. It also depends on how your opponent likes to play.

breaker90

At your level, almost any valid opening will do - it's what your most comfortable with. But if you're serious about improving and playing well against strong players, I do recommend 1... e5.

 

If White plays the Ruy Lopez, there are many Closed variations for you to choose from, almost all of them are positional.

 

If White plays the Italian, play 3... Bc5 and you're going to have a nice positional game. You might see the Evans Gambit but if you're playing against Class A or Experts, you will rarely see that.

 

Against the Scotch, the main lines aren't difficult to learn and the sidelines aren't scary. However, this can be more open then you might want.

 

Against the King's Gambit, play 2...d5 (Falkbeer Countergambit) or 2...Bc5 and you'll get into positional games and possibly frustrate your attack-minded opponents.

theattacker678

I would recommend against 1.d4 the grünfield defence. Although it your not going to study, it can be hard.

Against 1.e4 I would recommend Petrov or Sicilian