Underrated Openings? Anyone? (Preferably not gambits, but I could care less)

I like openings that you can play regardless of your opponent's moves, but a whole lot of them are gambits with very specific moves that aren't much fun in my opinion. I just want a few openings that are somewhat simple and straightforward. I'd be ok with SOME theory(Not a lot) or just some tips for the KIA or KID openings. Please and thank you!

One of the things you should remember is below the GM level, the opening phase is overrated.

On the internet... every other game is traps and or an attempted swindles... So I took on openings approach that is intrinsically hard for my opponent to pull me out the themes I study, that same approach made it simpler me to deal with different move order threats (transposing into and away from lines that are good for my opponent etc ) I picked a repertoire that also had clear themes, and clear directions when it came to the endgame.

A lot of people think my repertoire comprises beginner openings ... At first I was questioning this too... However... Two things have come to light... A) when my opponent's plays an equalizing line, the majority, don't know how play the resulting position as well as I do, this gives me a practical advantage B) the opponent will complicate the game! What starts out simple, usually get deep, simple middle game themes, tactics, and a clear direction of what to do in an endgame cut through the complexity..

It must be working, over the weekend I destroyed a 2055 elo player over on Lichess (down a pawn, in a bad position, he lost on time)

I don't play the KIA... But that's a good system that checks all the above boxes. Ignore the people who will trash talk it... stick to it, learn, master it

On youtube GM Noel Studer his video titled "The chess opening epidemic " (I recommend watching it and his other videos... he tells and explains things that many don't, in a way that is easy for the Chess hobbyist to understand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDna9eIBM8M

Fried liver attack

The Latvian Gambit is terribly under-rated. It should be the go-to defense vs 1.e4 when black must win because it gives black very good chances due it's chaotic nature. The fact that it gives white even greater chances doesn't matter. In fact, all the very high risk -very high reward opening could qualify; these are openings , that even at IM level are very decisive; very low draw rate, high win rate for black and white.

I roll my eyes at posts the snark on openings like the Latvian... Its easy to diss on an opening when you got a data base and the fish tabbed up. DOING THAT. Tells me the poster is moron ... Playing against someone who has seriously burned the midnight oil learning somthing like the Latvian Gambit... is way easier said than done.

I play the old Benoni defence. Not a gambit since you will win the pawn back (D4 C5) https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/d4-c5-the-old-benoni-defence#comment-122688282

System or easy to learn openings

For White: Colle Zukertort against Black’s d5 and e6 setups, Barry Attack against g6 setups, Jobava London. The London itself is another complete system, but it is a bit more theoretical than the above openings.

For Black: Frankly, this is not easy to do as Black. Against 1. d4, the Dutch Stonewall is sort of a system. Against 1. e4, you have to learn some theory. It is unavoidable. I think Caro Kann, French, or Scandinavian would be good choices, one of these.

There is no opening that can legitimately be played against everything. It just doesn't exist.

Your best bet is to learn QP openings and learn and understand when to use each one. Combinations like the London and Trompowsky, London and Torre, Colle and Torre, etc, can be very effective. Just keep in mind, if you play the Colle, you must also learn the Slow Slav (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5, though it would come in a different order).

Here are the 4 openings and when they are effective. I would not advise the Veresov or Jobava as in those cases, you need to know specific KP openings like the Caro-Kann, French, Pitc, and Modern. Here, you would just need something for the Pirc and Modern.

Trompowsky Attack - 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 - As it might imply, only effective against 1...Nf6, but if they play 1...Nf6, you don't have to worry about any other anti-Tromp sidelines. You have a Trompowsky if they play 1...Nf6.

Torre Attack - Only effective after 1...Nf6/2...e6 or 1...Nf6/2...g6. Best when paired with the London or Colle.

London System - "Playable" against 1...Nf6, but not good, and outright bad against the Modern. It is extremely effective when Black has played 1...d5 as that weakens the b8-h2 diagonal.

College System - This is only effective when Black has played an early ...e6. Like the Catalan, KIA, and White side of the French, the whole idea is dependent upon Black's LSB being behind the pawn chain. 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 Bf5 (or 3...Bg4) is known as the Anti-Colle, and for good reason. After 3...Bf5, the ONLY good move for White is 4.c4, after which 4...c6 is the Slow Slav. Against 3...Bg4, 4.Ne5 is ok, but again, c4 will be necessary eventually.

So while no 1 opening will cure all problems, the following combinations would work, whichever you are most comfortable with. I will include the scenarios with the Jobava and the Veresov, but they require you to know more. In ALL cases, you need something against the Pirc, Modern (I suggest 2.e4, 3.Be3, 4.Nd2, and 5.c3), and 1...c5 (I suggest 2.d5 with Nc3 and e4 in some order coming, NO c4!). Otherwise, the following combos with in conjunction with the Modern and Old Benoni:

• Trompowsky (vs 1...Nf6) and London (vs 1...d5)
• Trompowsky (vs 1...Nf6) and Colle/Slow Slav (vs 1...d5)
• Torre (vs 1...Nf6 and 2...e6/2...g6) and London (vs 1...d5 or 1...Nf6/2...d5 - here I suggest the Neo-London with 3.c3 first to avoid the problematic ...Qb6 lines)
• Torre (vs 1...Nf6/2...g6) and Colle/Slow Slav (vs 1...d5) - Note that in this case, you have some flexibility with ...e6 played already in the 1...Nf6/2...e6 line - in this case, you can play the Torre or the Colle, whichever you prefer.

I personally do the first one, but all 4 work. I was doing the fourth one back in 2019 as White, using the Torre against 1...Nf6/2...e6.

Stonewall Dutch only works if White commits to g3 or else e3 with the DSB behind the pawn chain. 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 d5?? (4...Bb4!) 5.Bf4 c6 (5...Bd6 6.e3 and White dominates e5) 6.e3 Be7 7.Bd3 and Black is as good as lost.

The Stonewall and the Classical should only be played if White plays g3 by move 4.

1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4.Nf3, 4...Bb4!

1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4."NOT-Nf3" b6! (A move that cannot be played if White already played g3.

1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2, here, ...b6 is not possible - even if a White Knight goes to f3, it is not playable due to discoveries. HERE is where you play the Stonewall or Classical, whichever is your preference.

For white, I think the Colle Zukertort is reasonable to understand and can be deceptively difficult for lower rated players. It is very solid and has some very thematic attacking ideas.

For black, I think playing d6 against everything is incredibly underrated. It technically has different names depending on what white is playing, but it is very thematic across white's different replies. To start, I think two main lines to study are
- 1. d4 d6 2. c4 e5! - at first looks bad, but the most common reply at low levels is to trade queens ( 3.dxe5 dxe5 4. Qxd8 Kxd8). This is a pretty significant mistake for white and the resulting end game is much better for black and very natural to play once you learn some of the key ideas.
- 1.e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5! and again this endgame is totally fine for black and is easy to play once you understand the key ideas

Thank you, @ThrillerFan. Your advice is very helpful. By the way, is there an easy to learn opening setup/ system for Black? Any combinations like you mentioned in White's case? I think playing the Caro Kann and a QGD (d5, e6, Nf6 with c5 break later) setup against other replies, but they sometimes feel a bit passive to me.

g3 d3 c3

Jurkiewicz. I personally play this and I actually cook. No one below 2000 rating will know the right continuation. I invented this myself actually, so here goes

I don't know about openings but the Latvian Gambit is extremely underrated. It is very common. It is played by black. Its like e4 e5 Nf3 F5. It is quite aggressive and tactical

I meant that the moves required to play the Latvian are quite common and actually most people don't know about it

aspadaro...is that a baby Cthulhu?

As Black, it is mainly just finding one defense vs e4 and one defense vs d4. People will argue you should play what they call "sister" openings where Black plays the same pawn moves (i.e. French/QGD, Caro/Slav, and Pirc/KID). I HIGHLY ADVISE AGAINST THIS! Take the KID and Pirc. People get the misconception that these are similar, but they are not because there are 16 pawns, not 8. White's c-pawn changes EVERYTHING. In the Pirc, with c4 not played, and the knight on c3 often being the only thing covering e4, White must watch out for b7-b5-b4 and the attack by Black is on e4. However, without spending the time to play c4, aggressive moves like 4.f4 lead to an attack on the Black King. In the Kings Indian, with c4 played, you can forget b7-b5-b4. But with c4 and e4 played, the d4-square is very weak, and hence the early e5 and control of the dark squares. NOTHING ALIKE!

Instead, there are 5 types of pawn centers. Blocked (multiple central files with pawns locked), Mobile (one side has the big pawn mass that is mobile), Static (Single blocked file, no fully open files, though some may be semi-open), Open (At least one fully open file), and Dynamic (all the rest, amorphous pawn structures). Certain openings lend themselves to certain structures. You need to know more than 1 as no opening leads exclusively to one type, but most openings lend themselves to certain types.

Like the Blocked center mostly comes from the French, Classical KID, and dark-square blockade lines of the Nimzo-Indian. But not all Frenches are Blocked. You can also get the Open Center from the Exchange or Open Tarrasch (3...c5) while Blocked for the Advance and Winawer.

Mobile Center screams Grunfeld and Alekhine.

Static would be openings like the QGD, Slav, Closed Ruy Lopez, certain Nimzo-Indians, etc.

Open would be Petroff, Exchange French, certain lines of the Vienna, KG, etc.

Dynamic would be KID Saemisch, Most Sicilians, certain Nimzo-Indians, etc.

So what I suggest is a pair of openings with similar pawn centers:

French and Kings Indian (Blocked Center, in the French, White attacks kingside, in the KID, black does, but the concepts are the same)

Grunfeld and Alekhine (Mobile Center)

1...e5/2...Nc6 and QGD or Slav or Stonewall Dutch (Static Center)

Petroff and Classical Dutch (Open Center) - Not always open, but often in Anti-Dutch lines or certain cases when White plays d5 or e4 early it opens, before Black gets time to play e5 and f4 to close it. Leningrad too, but that is unsound.

Sicilian and KID (with 7...exd4 if Classical) (Dynamic Center)

I do best with Blocked, Static, or Open, and HATE the Mobile Center, hence Petroff, French, and Deferred Dutch (1...e6), playing both Classical and Stonewall, and avoid Grunfeld (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 with White) and Alekhine like the plague with both colors!

Hope this helps.

@ThrillerFan Thank you very much for the clear explanation. You are right. I had also heard people say that the French and the QGD are the same, but you explained clearly why they are not, and I can see that now. Thank you as well for breaking down the openings according to the type of center. That really gives me some ideas. Thank you very much.

The Bongcloud (watch if you’re into sarcastic burlesque comedy): https://youtu.be/ZOMPTBtyczU?si=iBNyu6iKXThNht1A.

Yes!!