What is the BEST Opening in Chess?
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LGSLG
Aug 11, 2018
0
#1
Title says it all. Thoughts? Opinions?
TINSTAABO
"There is no such thing as a 'best opening.' Each player should choose an opening that attracts him. Some players are looking for a gambit as White, others for Black gambits. Many players that are starting out (or have bad memories) want to avoid mainstream systems, others want dynamic openings, and others want calm positional pathways. It’s all about personal taste and personal need.
For example, if you feel you’re poor at tactics you can choose a quiet positional opening (trying to hide from your weakness and just play chess), or seek more dynamic openings that engender lots of tactics and sacrifices (this might lead to more losses but, over time, will improve your tactical skills and make you stronger)." - IM Jeremy Silman (January 28, 2016)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/opening-questions-and-a-dream-mate
The August 2018 issue of Chess lists the top twenty openings compiled from a list of 2415 May games where both players were rated over 2400 Elo. One can not take position on this list too seriously because it is greatly influenced by how the openings are grouped. For example, all the Retis are grouped together, while English is separated into 1...c5, 1...e5, etc. Nevertheless, for what it is worth, some of the list entries are: 181 Retis, 104 declined Queen's Gambits, 97 King's Indians, 95 Caro-Kanns, 89 Berlin Lopezes, 79 Nimzo-Indians, 70 Najdorf Sicilians, 68 Slavs, 65 1...e5 Englishes, 55 Catalans, 53 Petroffes, 43 1...c5 Englishes, 42 1...e6 Englishes, 42 1...Nf6 Englishes, 42 Giuoco Pianos, and 42 Classical Gruenfelds.
"... A typical way of choosing an opening repertoire is to copy the openings used by a player one admires. ... However, what is good at world-championship level is not always the best choice at lower levels of play, and it is often a good idea to choose a 'model' who is nearer your own playing strength. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
The English, 1. c4
Learn some good chess openings playable even against top engines from my book.
My book on beating the top engines, "Human versus Machine", is now available to download free as part of a promotion: https://www.amazon.com/Human-Versus-Machine-Stockfish-Komodo-ebook/dp/B0768G8R2C/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534152975&sr=1-1&keywords=human+versus+machine
Don't miss your chance.
Aug 13, 2018
0
#5
Lyudmil_Tsvetkov wrote:
The English, 1. c4
Learn some good chess openings playable even against top engines from my book.
My book on beating the top engines, "Human versus Machine", is now available to download free as part of a promotion: https://www.amazon.com/Human-Versus-Machine-Stockfish-Komodo-ebook/dp/B0768G8R2C/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534152975&sr=1-1&keywords=human+versus+machine
Don't miss your chance.
you have no shame huh?
Lyudmil_Tsvetkov wrote:
The English, 1. c4
Learn some good chess openings playable even against top engines from my book.
My book on beating the top engines, "Human versus Machine", is now available to download free as part of a promotion: https://www.amazon.com/Human-Versus-Machine-Stockfish-Komodo-ebook/dp/B0768G8R2C/ref=sr_1_1_twi_kin_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534152975&sr=1-1&keywords=human+versus+machine
Don't miss your chance.
For anyone wondering who this guy is, randomly advertising his books, he is a Bulgarian person who hasn't played OTB from 12 years but now claims that his rating is 3500 and he can beat EVERY single top engine, INCLUDING Komodo, Stockfish and Houdini, even AlphaZero if he had the chance. I could go on about him, bout if you feel inclined to know more about his "rating" or participate in this debate, please do so in the threads "The Secret of Chess" or "Stockfish is Blind!"
Anyway, like I would to ALL people claiming to be 3000+, I need proof. Its a good opening sure, provided you know how to use it, but how is it THE BEST. Keep in mind that the guy who wants to know is a weak (no offense) player and you need to explain INTUITIVELY.
PS: To understand why I'm so harsh please read the thread "The Secret of Chess"
Aug 13, 2018
0
#7
The perfect opening in chess is to control the center, develop the pieces and protect the king.
opening that can protect the central squares
The center game accepted stops all black strategies. The same goes for black with the Scandinavian strategy.
For white, Stockfish 11 prefers Reti (+0.2) Then again, the difference between the advantage within every opening is so small that you could play King’s pawn, Queen’s pawn and English while having the exact same advantage (+0.2). It’s more an option of what makes your opponent more uncomfortable, even if the computer gives the opponent a slight advantage. You could play 1.a3 and it would still be a drawn position.
Feb 6, 2020
0
#12
There is no best! One man's trash is another man's treasure. There are a finite number of sound openings, but one is not best. The best one is the one you understand best amongst sound openings. That may be the French for one (e.g. myself), Caro-Kann for another, Sicilian for another.
What are you guys talking about! The sodium attack is the best. It’s name is an element in the periodic table, so you can show your science skills. Don’t believe me? Then ask the explorer board, it has a victory rate of 70%! Best rate I’ve seen! I also thing Magnus Carlsen used it before.......
spanish exchange variation for white
scilian for black
Another way of asking this is which opening has had the most victories in high-level competition? I don't know the answer to this but it would be looking at an opening as if it were a player. It maps to popularity as well, as the most popular openings will be played more, and have more opportunities to win; this changes over time. Still I'm curious of this if anyone can investigate!
Although I basically agree it doesn't matter what the opening is - getting to a developed position with more-or-less even chances is the goal - a slight advantage or the initiative is about all you can hope for without a bad mistake by your opponent - generally speaking. Agree?