WHAT ARE THE TOP 5 OPENINGS?

Let me be the first to say I disagree with people on this forum.

A chess opening usually involves the first move from both sides.

I believe it is extremely important to know the first move you play.

People who believe you should forget about your opening move. I believe are misguided. If you didn't try and figure out the opening name of the line you are playing. How on earth would you even be able to research information on such lines that can arise from such an opening?

Here is a very good case and point.

If you play the move 1.e4  it is called the Kings Pawn Opening.

If your opponent responses with 1...e5 you both are playing the Kings Pawn Game.

From this position you can than try and find information on what lines may be played from the Kings Pawn Game.

In post #39 I showed you some of the 5 top popular openings. Well once both sides do there first move (Opening move) than there are 5 top lines which can be played in such positions etc.

We are playing the Kings Pawn Game. What lines/moves can be played from this?

You can even google this information and it is so easy to do since you have a name and something to search.

From this position The top 5 most popular second moves are:

(1)  2.Nf3  - King's Knight Opening

ECO C40

(2)  2.Nc3  - Vienna Game

ECO C27

(3)  2.Bc4  - Bishop's Opening

ECO C23

(4)  2.f4  - King's Gambit

ECO C30

(5)  2.d4  - This opening is still undefined because there are a few different ways black can respond here which will change the opening name. So they do not give it a specific name until after black moves.

Yeah people like to tell other people what not to do. Frankly, I would wager the ones who are telling you not to look at opening etc. Probably have no clue what they are even playing/doing.

I personally found all of this stuff very informative and very interesting. I mean who can agrue that learning about this stuff is not interesting.

As you become a stronger player in chess you will find that every move from move 1 to move 100 as a reason. Every move as logic ,ideas ,a creative brillancy, and noveltys all hiding with in the move.

For all the above moves I mentioned have a purpose. Your job as a chess player is to find out there purpose.

The purpose can be a simple one which you may figure out with in seconds.

or

The purpose may be a long term one which may be above your chess ability as of yet.

However, the purpose for the move is always there.

One very simple example I can show you to demonstrate these purposes is with 2 of the above moves I showed 2.Nf3  and 2.f4.

2.Nf3 this moves purpose is simple! Hopefully you have guessed the logic behind this move. The simplest reason is to attack the undefended e5 pawn. You attack the e5 pawn which is not protected. If black does not defend the e5 pawn some way. You will just take the e5 pawn.

or

2.f4 this moves purpose is long term! The logic behind this move is to try and get the black e5 pawn to move. In a sense whites idea is to try and get black to take the f4 pawn. ( White is gambiting the f4 pawn which is why this line is known as the King's Gambit)

If the e5 pawn does accept the gambit and takes on f4 Black will relinquish control of the center mainly the d4 square. White's long term idea so to speak is to have 2 pawns in the center side by side establishing a position which is known as the

"Dream Position"

The reason they call it the Dream Position is because against strong players it is only a dream lol. They will never let you get away with it. The dream position is considered a very strong position. Strong players are aware of that which is why they fight tooth and nail to prevent this from ever happening. However, players in chess never give up hope. They try to impose there will on the position to make the dream a reality.

Now if black takes the f4 pawn on move 2 for example 2...exf4 you would think white would play 3.d4? However, at the present moment they can't do this because of queen checks. Which would displace the white king and put the white king is a very awkward spot.

Like the above diagram.

So instead white plays other 3rd move options usually 3.Nf3 which prevent black from playing Qh4+

or

3.Bc4

Which has the idea of meeting Qh4+ with Kf1 usually this doesn't place the king in a very awkward spot.

Usually they follow up with these moves and than reserve the move d4 till little later. Which is why it is a long term plan of getting 2  pawns in the center side by side. It doesn't happen right away. However, it does slowly begin to happen. The idea started at move 2 and usually the 2 pawns get side by side around move 5.

Again there are more reasons of why both sides go in for this variation. I just gave 1 simple one just so you can see how the idea started at move 2 but doesn't get accomplished until like move 5 bascially 3 moves later.

Once the 2 pawns get side by side in the center they are long term assets. Which gives white alot of space. Obviously it takes 3 moves to get them side by side but they may stay side by side well into the middle game or end game depending on what defense black plays against this line. Which shows how the idea at move 2 became a long term plan which could potentially last the rest of the game.

very informative although kingss pawn isnt my style. Im a queens pawn player myself, on this site the first move is almost always d4 or e4 so id say memorize sicillian and indian game and you should be good to go

With the king knight opening it has 'ECO C40' just above it and the other opening do to. What is it?

In the second to last paragraph there is an error.

You do NOT want to "memorize" the first few moves, you want to "understand" the first few moves.

For example, If someone told you to memorize the first 6 moves of the Ruy Lopez, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1, and then figure out Black's move, you'd have no clue what to do.

However, if someone demonstrated that 1.e4 e5 both claim central territory, that 2.Nf3 attacks the unprotected e-pawn, that 2...Nc6 defends it, that 3.Bb5 attacks the defender of e5, they would think that 3...a6 is a blunder.  However, once they "understand" that White does NOT threaten to win a pawn because of 4.Bxc6 (playable, I play it myself) dxc6! (not 4...bxc6) 5.Nxe5? (A move I'd never play) that Black can win the pawn back with interest after 5...Qd4!, attacking both the Knight and the e-pawn.

So therefore, after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5, Black now understands why he can play 3...a6, and why White often plays 4.Ba4.  So now 4...Nf6, attacking White's e-pawn.

So why does White castle?  While moves like 5.d3 are ok, 5.O-O is the best, and while White can take on e4, it's very risky because he opens up the file his King is on and is nowhere near ready to castle, so it's very risky.  At the same time, White still has no threat on winning the pawn because of the same ...Qd4 fork.  So he plays 5...Be7.

Now White plays 6.Re1, which protects the e-pawn.

So now that Black actually understands why the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 have been played, he should be able to figure out that 6...b5 is the right move because NOW, and ONLY NOW, White actually does threaten to win the e-pawn with 7.Bxc6 and 8.Nxe5 because the e4 pawn is protected.

Memorizing an opening, and actually understanding the reason behind each move in the opening, especially counter-intuitive moves (like 3...a6, 6...b5, 9.h3, etc from the Closed Ruy Lopez), are critical.

If you just memorize, and not understand, then sometime when you are Black playing against a Patzer that doesn't know openings and he plays 4.Bxc6 and 5.Nxe5 in the Ruy Lopez, thinking he won a pawn, you would have no idea what to do, but if you understand the ideas behind each move, your 5th move is a cinch!

You should mention that White actually does have the threat of winning the pawn after castling, because of Bxc6 dxc6 Nxe5 Qd4 Nf3 Qxe4 Re1, but in the Be7 line there is no pin at the end.

Are you sure about that?

What if Black plays Bc5. Instead of Be7.

The reason Be7 is played is not to block the pin. The bishop is played to develop a piece. Which allows black the chance to castle in 1 move. By doing this black threatens to win the e4 pawn.

Which is why white plays 6.Re1 to defend the threaten e4 pawn.

The error you are making I believe is thinking the queen needs to take.

The tactic Qd4 works when the black king is not ready to castle yet.

Once the black king is ready to get safe e4 is under fire.

The above position which I have set at move 5...Bc5 is known as the Neo-Arch Angel Variation.

It is a playable line against the Ruy Lopez.

I want to bring up another point which Thriller Fan talked about.

He said he sometimes plays 4.Bxc6 which is known as the Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation.

I want to make it clear the Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation is playable. You just have to avoid the temptation of taking the e5 pawn. Otherwise you run into the Qd4 tactic which he talked about.

Usually white plays the Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation like the following:

The Neo-Arch Angel is a nice defense to play as black against the Ruy Lopez.

However, At the end of the day I always prefer the Arch Angel instead of the Neo-Arch Angel. I just can not will not lie.

Arch Angel I think is alsome. No one lets me play it though lol The Basters.

Wooooo Rawwwwwwwwwww

It depends on your style. Most GMs favor the (1) Sicilian defense, (2) Nimzo-Indian, (3) Ruy Lopez, (4) Slav Defense and (5) Scotch opening. Caro-Kann and the French defense another favor among the GMs.

Sokolski

Great website ! Love reading you guys :)

Making Chess lively ^^

 Just joking. I personally, like the Closed Sicilian

Typical game

need to divide White Openings from Black Defenses

White:

Queens Gambit  1. d4  d5  2. c4

English Opening  1. c4

Benko Opening   1. Nf3

Ruy Lopez       1. e4  e5  2. Nf3  Nc6  3. Bb5

Caro Khann   1. e4  c6

Black:

Sicilian   1. e4  c5

King Pawn Defense  1. e4  e5

French Defense  1. e4 e6

Indian Defenses  1. d4  Nf6

Queen Pawn Defenses  1. d4  d5 2. c4 various

Get to 2000 without any knowledge of openings?Of course I am no chess trainer and I may be wrong but somehow it seems to me that if such a thing did happen,it would be the exception that proves(=tests) the rule.I don't see how you can get by at 2000 level just relying on opening principles..

At my rating level, I get more bang from the buck from tactics study.  My opponent usually takes me out of the opening in less than 10 moves.  I just picked some openings that were fun and fairly solid at the amateur level. When I review my game afterwards, I look at where we went out of book and try to figure out what I should have played next.

I do try to read up on the basic ideas of the openings that I choose or the ones that my opponent throws at me.  That said, I don't think I spend more than 5%-10% of my time on opening study.

Higher rated players (1800 and up) get more benefit from opening study because they don't make as many of the dumb tactical mistakes that I do.

Anyway, that's my two cents.  Pick openings that are fun for you and will help you learn.  Don't pick openings or lines just because they happen to be the flavor of the month.

I made it to USCF A class withour cracking an opening book.  I follow opening principles, and understanding the pawn structures with the openings i play. 

Unless youre a title player i dont understand the need to memorize openings. 

It's perfectly possible.

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