what opening should i play as a 800 beginner?

Sicillian is an option at 800 indeed. You are just gonna get Bowdler attack from white anyways. You are likely to get anything but Open Sicillian.

By you I mean OP.

Well of course. But playing the Open Sicilian expecting a mainline Najdorf is the absolute epitome of hope chess. Allow me to lay out what the most common variations of the big four are:

Caro: Advance, 2. f4 Advance, Hillbilly
French: Exchange, Advance, 2. Bc4
Sicilian: Bowdler, Alapin, Closed. 
Open Game: Exchange Philidor, Vienna Gambit, Fried Liver, Giuoco Pianissimo, Wayward Queen Attack.

Seeing anything else quite rare, and seeing viable sidelines or any mainline is EXCEEDINGLY rare, as the sort who play that sort of thing tend to rise through the ranks faster.

Did you miss Old Steinitz for the Ruy?

Here’s a board of things that are likely to happen at 800, and how to take advantage perhaps.

No I don’t miss it at all. Jokes aside, yeah I forgot about that one for a bit, also Owen’s/English Defense from the French transposition.

valid response. sometimes its easy to forget that it's an 800. they wouldn't last 5 moves into the reversed Sicilian

🤣🤣🤣 I am so sick of Old Steinitz I just go for Tarrasch trap everytime I see d6 nowadays. It apparently gives up the advantage according to computer but the moves are naturally well so there is no problem playing it. And if they fall for it, the satisfaction I get from it is unmeasurable.

And seriously what the hell is this?

Just why?

wow what did I cause lol

I recommend the Italian Game.

Learn the Scotch. It's a good opening that's very easy to learn.

Why shouldn't the Sicilian be an option? If you want to enjoy the game and learn to play good chess, then it's a perfect option.

Gothamchess says all this bs like "Don't play this, don't play that. You're not good enough." Why should I or anyone else follow his beliefs about what to play? Gothamchess doesn't play the Sicilian. He tells people to play the kind of chess that he likes and wants people to play. He does this by discouraging and intimidating his followers and then they go and parrot his opinion to discourage more people.

If an 800 rated player likes the Sicilian then they should play the Sicilian. Anything can be learned with motivation and effort.

Agreed. He says the Ruy Lopez is a terrible opening for beginners despite later admitting that he’s never studied it and never plans to.

I want everyone to know that nothing I say is motivated by Gotham at all. I am 1300 and play the Sicilian, even though I "shouldn't", but I would not recommend it to someone else if you get what I mean. Additionally, for example, I dont play the caro-kann, because I just dont like the positions I get from it. But, an 800 might like it and it is viable and solid at every level, which is why I recommend it. Either way, what you are saying is valid, and I think the poster should play whatever they want, and I assume they will take what they want from this post and play it, which is why I listed what I recommend.

The Ruy Lopez and Sicilian are great and instructive openings. Sure, we can say they are pretty diverse openings with a lot to learn. We can say the Sicilian can be pretty sharp and punishing. However, is that really a reason to bar yourself and others from playing them?

The same difficulty applies to both players so it's ultimately still an even and good game.

i brought this comment back up

The main issue with the Ruy Lopez is that it goes beyond theory. The positions that you get from them are very sharp and complex, which is why it doesn't make sense for beginners. It goes beyond just the theory. The Italian, for example, also has a lot of theory, but is more playable, because you can still get through the position much more easily.

PompousOstrich wrote:

I just dont think it makes sense for a low-rated player to get into complex positions willingly. It makes more sense to learn how to place pieces in good squares and maneuver pieces properly in an easier setting, before trying to get yourself into a very complex position and "winging it".

?

i brought that comment back up