Opening Lesson For White For Beginners and Club Level Players

Good evening,

I see 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6?! so often when my students play with white. This unsound opening is very popular at your level and I would like to teach you how to get good position against it. Enjoy!

Link to the video: https://youtu.be/6JjRZ9IJ4OI

Thank you, very educational.

What if black moves the knight to b4 when threatened?  I had someone do that to me the other day.  I ended up winning the game but it wasn't as easy as what this video shows.

@jim5489 Nb4 is losing the Knight after Qa4+ Nbc6 and d5 - White wins a piece. I hope its going to be easy next time! 

If people need a video to refute a bad defence,
then what do they need to play against a good defence?

actually 2...Nf6 is not easy to refute. In the video the e5 idea of black is not mentioned at all. As much as I know 4.Nf3 is the correct move to avoid e5.

@Petrosian94

Nice to meet you and thank for your comment.

I remember analysing ..e5 a decade ago. There is a classical old game where Marshall made it almost work against Alekhine: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1012325

This video is dedicated to beginners and club level players and at their level ..e5 is a very rare move.  I attach the screenshot where you can see the online database of players rated 1600-2200 who played that position with black, only 4.4% of the players played e5:

4.Nf3 is not the "correct move", as most of the elite grandmasters are playing 4.e4. I attach the screenshot below with the database of top grandmasters who had that position on the board:

4.Nf3 objectively may be a tiny bit better, but 4.e4 is a better practical move after analysis. 

The best openings and variations are the ones that score you the most wins. That's the only thing that matters, not the number one sees on the engine bar.

Interesting approach. I was not guided by the engine bar, but by Watson's analysis. 

I have studied 4. e4 and 4. Nf3 years ago, but I have chosen 4. Nf3, stuck with it for years and I feel that I know this better and it seems positionally solid (e4 also comes easily in the line[s] with Nf3 first). Are there also any titled players who utilize 4. Nf3 in their repertoire? The database screenshot makes the decision appear stunningly obvious, but I also like my chosen Nf3 for similar practical reasons and if Nf3 is actually better objectively (not just at such shallow engine depth), then why wouldn't a top player play the objective best move?

@kitalik That's hillarious! :-D

@Leuneteune Thanks!