openings?
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NovaLaza
Feb 22, 2025
0
#1
i’ve been playing for some time now, but never bothered learning any of the openings, but i feel like i should probably know at least one. which ones should i learn?
Feb 22, 2025
0
#2
Sicilian for black. Idk for white - I've always used the Scotch Game as it's pretty simple to learn but I'm aware it's not one of the best openings out there.
Openings for the Improving Chess Amateur...
Openings For White - very playable, dynamic, aggressive...
Introduction to the Bishop's Opening....a flexible opening...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAAYOFAwfTE
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/introduction-to-the-bishops-opening
The Vienna Game and Gambit.....custom made for Kingside attacking...
https://www.365chess.com/chess-openings/Vienna-Game
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/introduction-to-the-vienna-game-gambit
The Scotch Game & Gambit.....very tactical.....never a dull moment...
https://www.365chess.com/chess-openings/Scotch-Game
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=scotch+Game+%26+Gambit
The Ponziani Opening.....solid, relatively easy to learn...
https://www.365chess.com/chess-openings/Ponziani-Opening
IM Levy Rozman (GothamChess) gushes over the Ponziani Opening....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TemLSMDKSMw
GM Eric Rosen and GM Daniel Naroditsky recommend the Ponziani...
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ponziani+opening+eric+rosen
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ponziani+opening+daniel+naroditsky
A defense for Black against 1. e4...
Against 1. e4 I recommend either of the Scandinavian Defense or the Caro-Kann Classical - Tartakower Variation (aka, Korchnoi Variation).....note that the Scandinavian is the simpler of the two defenses to learn and play (less 'theory' and fewer variations to deal with). As such I recommend to begin playing it and becoming familiar with its ideas prior to devoting a lot of time and energy to the Caro-Kann (which you may choose to incorporate into your repertoire at a later time, once you have developed your positional chess skills to a point where you are able to feel comfortable navigating the positional/strategic nuances of the Caro-Kann). Note also that the Scandinavian would be an instructive training ground, if you will, for the Caro-Kann as there are similarities in the initial pawn structures and initial piece deployments in some variations of these openings...
The Scandinavian Defense (1. e4 d5)...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavian_Defense
https://www.365chess.com/chess-openings/Scandinavian-Defense
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=scandinavian+defense+gotham
https://www.365chess.com/chess-openings/Caro-Kann-Defense
Caro-Kann Classical - Tartakower Variation (aka, Korchnoi Variation).....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsnITf68J5w&t=14s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_6qOZIlbE0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPVp5TWZR0w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MrEYqiMU4w
https://www.365chess.com/chess-openings/Caro-Kann-Defense
You might want to check the following out, particularly as preparation for the positional ideas of the Caro-Kann...
Good Positional Chess, Planning & Strategy Books for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/introduction-to-positional-chess-planning-strategy
As White against the Sicilian Defense (1.e4 c5) .....the following openings are designed to take your opponent out of his/her preparation from the very start. That is, to prevent your opponents from playing the Sicilian variations that they want to play, that they have studied and probably know better than you do. Instead, force them to play a variation that you have studied and know well, but that they very likely have not and do not. Here are three good ones for the purpose....
Fighting the Sicilian With The Grand Prix Attack...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/fighting-the-sicilian-with-the-grand-prix-attack
The Alapin Sicilian...(aka, 'The c3 Sicilian')...
https://www.365chess.com/opening.php?m=4&n=37&ms=e4.c5.c3&ns=3.3.37#search_block_opening_explorer
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=alapin+sicilian
The (Smith) - Morra Gambit...
https://www.365chess.com/opening.php?m=4&n=52&ms=e4.c5.d4&ns=3.3.52#search_block_opening_explorer
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=morra+gambit
Bishop’s Opening
Introduction to the Bishop's Opening...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/introduction-to-the-bishops-opening
There are three major openings (as well as many other minor openings) that are frequently played using the Bishop's Opening (BO) move order: 1) The Kings Gambit Declined, 2) The Vienna Game & Gambit and 3) the Italian Game…
1) The Kings Gambit Declined (KGD) - 1. e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.f4 - this is the recommended variant/setup of the KGD employing the BO move order. The actual move order is not set in stone. It is the placement of the White pieces, i.e., the resulting position, that is more important. This position is the subject of Chapter 1 of the (now out of print) book "Winning With 1 e4" by Andrew Soltis, I have uploaded a pdf of that chapter to Scribd.com where it can be accessed & downloaded under the title Winning With 1 E4 - Chapt 1 - Andrew Soltis - Chess Digest 1988 by Jack Sprat (a pseudonym I used). It is a succinct but instructive introduction to the BO-KGD variation. You can download the document using Scribd's 30-day free trial if you wish. (The site is safe and easy to use. I've used it many times over the years to download dozens of books without any problems.)
The Bishop's Opening, including the KGD variation, is also treated in Chapter 2 of the opening repertoire book "Attacking With 1 e4" by John Emms, (check p.45). There is also a pdf download of that book available on Scribd.com titled John Emms - Attacking With 1.e4. The book is also available as a pdf download on PDFdrive.com (also safe). It's an excellent book - a complete White opening repertoire for 1 e4 - which I highly recommend for the improving chess amateur, especially for it's treatment of the KGD via the Bishop's Opening.
2) The Vienna Game & Gambit...
The Vienna Game can be reached via the Bishop's Opening move order, i.e., 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6
- or - by transposing Black's second and third moves....1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6
https://www.365chess.com/opening.php?m=6&n=778&ms=e4.e5.Bc4.Nf6.Nc3#search_block_opening_explorer
From either of these BO-Vienna move orders we could eventually arrive at the KGD position discussed earlier, above if play reached the position: 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d3 Bc5 5. f4 d6 - which is the reference/standard BO–KGD setup/position.
https://www.365chess.com/opening.php?m=11&n=9623&ms=e4.e5.Bc4.Nf6.Nc3.Nc6.d3.Bc5.f4.d6
The Vienna Gambit position can be reached via the BO move order, for example ...1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.f4
Note that the opening piece placement of the White pieces is similar for the Bishop's Opening KGD and the Vienna Gambit.
An excellent (in my view the best) book to learn the Vienna Gambit is "The Vienna Gambit for the Club Player" by Colin Payne & Mike Read.
See also my blog article on the Vienna Game & Gambit...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/introduction-to-the-vienna-game-gambit
3) The Italian Game position 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 can be reached via the Bishop's Opening move order...
The excellent book "Modern Chess Opening Repertoire for White" by James Rizzitano features the Bishop's Opening as White's response to 1.e4 e5. In particular it treats the following two variants of the Italian Game...
Two Knights Pianissimo - 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nf3
Giuoco Pianissimo - 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d6 Nc6 4.Nf3 Bc5
Though it's not treated in Rizzitano's book, the interesting Evans Gambit can also be reached via the BO move order as: 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 Bc5 4.Bb4...
The BO-Evans Gambit is treated in the book by Gary Lane (immediately below).
If you are interested in the Italian Game, be sure to check out my blog article...
Introduction to The Italian Game, Evans Gambit & Two Knights Defense...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/introduction-to-the-italian-game
Finally, a very useful book for Bishop's Opening players - "The Bishop's Opening Explained" by Gary Lane (currently out of print) is available for free PDF download on PDFdrive.com. The presentation is that of instructive, annotated example games featuring a variety of openings that can be arrived at via the Bishop's Opening - i.e., Giuoco Pianissimo (aka, the 'Closed' Giuoco Piano) , Evans Gambit, Vienna Game, King’s Gambit Declined (p. 93), Two Knights Defense, Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit and several unusual replies by Black. Be sure to check out the two chapters on the Vienna. It's the only book I am aware of that is devoted entirely to the Bishop's Opening. It is well worth acquiring,
Feb 23, 2025
0
#5
NovaLaza wrote:
i’ve been playing for some time now, but never bothered learning any of the openings, but i feel like i should probably know at least one. which ones should i learn?
I had a quick look at a few games you've played with the White pieces, and from those you always started 1. e4, which is a fine way to start the game.
Learning "openings" at the start of your chess journey doesn't require you to memorize lines 10 to 12 moves deep. That level of theory comes much later - after all, your opponents aren't going to know theory to that depth so you're going to be on your own pretty soon anyway.
Rather, find some resources, either here or online, that covers the basic opening principles - things like pawns to the centre, develop knights before bishops, don't move a piece multiple times if you can avoid it, get your king to safety, and generally focus more on getting your pieces developed before attacking. While there are times when one or more of those basic principles will get broken, focus more on understanding them and trying to choose moves that adhere to them as much as you can. Also, look at your opponent's move and try to notice when they break those rules. If they do, it doesn't mean there's an immediate way to punish them (there may not be an immediate win), but it probably does mean you can gain some advantage, such as get a gaining a further lead in development, which in the long run will make your position more comfortable.
While you don't have to memorize double digit length lines, for many 1. e4 openings the first few moves are often pretty straight forward. The Italian, for example, follows all those principles (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 ...) and there it will depend upon Black's choice, which is usually going to be either 3. ... Bc5 or 3. ... Nf6). That means if you go with the Italian, there are two starting points beginning after the first 3 moves by both players. With a bit of searching you'll find that there are lots of options starting to open up, but you just need to decide how you will continue on your 4th move.
But, rather than just memorizing the moves, examine each move in the line and ask yourself "Why is this "my move", what does it do? And why does Black respond that way? Often by looking at Black's response to your move will help you understand White's objective, because Black, after all, is trying to minimize the effectiveness of White's move). What you're trying to work out are the ideas behind the moves in the line, so that when your opponent makes a different move you don't just automatically continue with the move you've memorized as "my next one"! Once Black deviates, the line you've memorized may no longer reflect your best option, so you have to work it out from there.
That applies whether you go with the Italian, which is played by top players still, or the Scotch Game (which is less common, but was one Kasparov played fairly often and he knows what he's doing), or any of the other openings suggested above, all of which would be more than fine - just don't try to learn all of them at once!
In the end, most openings lead to equality when both players play the best moves, so really what you want to do is find an opening that results in middle game positions that you would be comfortable playing. Once you feel you've got an opening under your belt sufficiently that you're getting decent games from it, you could then have a look at another one, just so you can have some variety in how you start the game.
And again, as you improve and start facing stronger and stronger opponents, you will slowly build up your opening theory as your opponents will stop going "out of book" until further and further into the game. By then, though, you will have put together a lot of experience against poorer choices, so your experience will teach you how to deal those moves - because those often won't be covered in the books or videos.
On your level openings dont matter too much yet.
Just follow general opening principles, and open the position, because open positions are easier to play for beginner than closed ones.
There is nothing wrong with the Scotch. In fact its a great example for an opening thats easy to play for beginners.