You seem comfortable with a somewhat exposed king and gambit lines, couple that with fast development and you have King's Gambit. You might want to study up on it a bit, but it generally features White gaining a middlegame/even early game attack in exchange for a pawn. As the game tends to be more open, knights are of slightly less importance here, so you probably won't need to worry about that. King's has plenty of lines for you to study up on, and the ones in which the gambit is accepted tend to be fast and more tactical, while declined could easily lead to your positional advantage middlegames. If you're just seeking early knight trades really badly, try something like Scotch. It also tends to be open, might feature knight trades, and also has gambit lines you can go down.
What opening suits my strengths?
For someone seeking help with choosing openings, I usually bring up Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014).
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
I believe that it is possible to see a fair portion of the beginning of Tamburro's book by going to the Mongoose Press site.
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Perhaps Uloola would also want to look at Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006).
"... For beginning players, [Discovering Chess Openings] will offer an opportunity to start out on the right foot and really get a feel for what is happening on the board. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
"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
https://www.chess.com/article/view/picking-the-correct-opening-repertoire
http://chess-teacher.com/best-chess-openings/
https://www.chess.com/blog/TigerLilov/build-your-opening-repertoire
https://www.chess.com/blog/CraiggoryC/how-to-build-an-opening-repertoire
https://www.chess.com/article/view/learning-an-opening-to-memorize-or-understand
https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-perfect-opening-for-the-lazy-student
https://www.chess.com/article/view/3-ways-to-learn-new-openings
https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-understand-openings
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9035.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627110453/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen169.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9029.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/has-the-king-s-indian-attack-been-forgotten
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7277.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9033.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9050.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627104938/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen159.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627022042/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen153.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
"... Overall, I would advise most players to stick to a fairly limited range of openings, and not to worry about learning too much by heart. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
"... Once you identify an opening you really like and wish to learn in more depth, then should you pick up a book on a particular opening or variation. Start with ones that explain the opening variations and are not just meant for advanced players. ..." - Dan Heisman (2001)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626180930/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman06.pdf
"... To begin with, only study the main lines ... you can easily fill in the unusual lines later. ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... I feel that the main reasons to buy an opening book are to give a good overview of the opening, and to explain general plans and ideas. ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... If the book contains illustrative games, it is worth playing these over first ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... the average player only needs to know a limited amount about the openings he plays. Providing he understands the main aims of the opening, a few typical plans and a handful of basic variations, that is enough. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
"... For inexperienced players, I think the model that bases opening discussions on more or less complete games that are fully annotated, though with a main focus on the opening and early middlegame, is the ideal. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2010)
"... Everyman Chess has started a new series aimed at those who want to understand the basics of an opening, i.e., the not-yet-so-strong players. ... I imagine [there] will be a long series based on the premise of bringing the basic ideas of an opening to the reader through plenty of introductory text, game annotations, hints, plans and much more. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627055734/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen38.pdf
"The way I suggest you study this book is to play through the main games once, relatively quickly, and then start playing the variation in actual games. Playing an opening in real games is of vital importance - without this kind of live practice it is impossible to get a 'feel' for the kind of game it leads to. There is time enough later for involvement with the details, after playing your games it is good to look up the line." - GM Nigel Davies (2005)
I am a fan of the Danish Gambit trade three pawns for early development of the bishops, it is an aggressive enough opening and as I say I enjoy it.
Your Obedient,
Thyane Thomas Keele
Just try the Danish Gambit.
You'll lose as many as you win, but I think it is good for you. Just don't quit if you lose games.
OK. I hadn't see thay's response but we agree about the Danish Gambit
EXCEPT don't trade 3 pawns - 2 is enough. Maybe it's a male/female thing but I go 4Nxc3.
Have a look at my games. I lose lots and lots of them but enjoy all of them.
OK. I hadn't see thay's response but we agree about the Danish Gambit
EXCEPT don't trade 3 pawns - 2 is enough. Maybe it's a male/female thing but I go 4Nxc3.
Have a look at my games. I lose lots and lots of them but enjoy all of them.
Heather, what you mention is not the Danish Gambit. The Danish Gambit is specifically the case where White allows Black to take the 3rd pawn before capturing back, putting White down two pawns.
The opening you mentioned, where White plays 4.Nxc3, is not the Danish Gambit, but rather, an opening known as the Goring Gambit.
The theory between the two openings is very different!
You seem comfortable with a somewhat exposed king and gambit lines, couple that with fast development and you have King's Gambit. You might want to study up on it a bit, but it generally features White gaining a middlegame/even early game attack in exchange for a pawn. As the game tends to be more open, knights are of slightly less importance here, so you probably won't need to worry about that. King's has plenty of lines for you to study up on, and the ones in which the gambit is accepted tend to be fast and more tactical, while declined could easily lead to your positional advantage middlegames. If you're just seeking early knight trades really badly, try something like Scotch. It also tends to be open, might feature knight trades, and also has gambit lines you can go down.
Checking the scotch out it is definitely what I was looking, it meets all my criteria, has room for unorthodox continuations and relies heavily on tactics. Thanks and peace.
For what its worth...
You dont even follow Opening Priciples. Youre hanging pieces, and missing simple tactics. At your level, the only style you have is BLUNDERING.
Opening Principles:
1. Control the center squares – d4-e4-d5-e5
2. Develop your minor pieces toward the center – piece activity is the key
3. Castle
4. Connect your rooks
Tactics...tactics...tactics...
Pre Move Checklist
1. Make sure all your pieces are safe.
2. Look for forcing move: Checks, captures, threats. You want to look at ALL forcing moves (even the bad ones) this will force you look at, and see the entire board.
3. If there are no forcing moves, you then want to remove any of your opponent’s pieces from your side of the board.
4. If your opponent doesn’t have any of his pieces on your side of the board, then you want to improve the position of your least active piece.
5. After each move by your opponent, ask yourself: "What is my opponnet trying to do?
For now, stick with Opening Pirnciples:
Opening Principles:
1. Control the center squares – d4-e4-d5-e5
2. Develop your minor pieces toward the center – piece activity is the key
3. Castle
4. Connect your rooks
Tactics...tactics...tactics...
Pre Move Checklist
1. Make sure all your pieces are safe.
2. Look for forcing move: Checks, captures, threats. You want to look at ALL forcing moves (even the bad ones) this will force you look at, and see the entire board.
3. If there are no forcing moves, you then want to remove any of your opponent’s pieces from your side of the board.
4. If your opponent doesn’t have any of his pieces on your side of the board, then you want to improve the position of your least active piece.
5. After each move by your opponent, ask yourself: "What is my opponnet trying to do?"
Thank you for the advice and anybody with similar advice, I will use it all of course. I'll be studying the scotch and using lichess for free unlimited tactics, with which i'm hoping to steadily improve. I prefer longer games and without a knowledgable opening I couldn't develop into any sort of consistent middle game to learn from nor develop a clear long term plan. Rather then being the last to blunder I would rather win games by force and so I think this is the best way to go, knowledge in the opening and tactics. Thanks again and peace.
I am ranked 1200 (rapid) and want to find an opening to study in depth that suits my play style so coupled with tactics studying I can climb the rankings.
I'f im going to win it's usually with tactics in the middle game and positional advantage in the end game. I make less errors with bishops and I would prefer to either outpost my knights or trade them off early. I am also good at defending and gaining advantage when
my king is awkwardly placed, so an opening exposing my king a bit is viable.
Any openings with early knight trades trying for a positional advantage and going quickly into the middle game, also something opening up the bishops? I would prefer an unorthodox opening and I like pawn sacrifices.
Thanks for any advice, all helps.