what are some openings that suit these personalities?

aggressive reactive player playing very cautious player that over protects squares

aggressive     "             "        "         another very aggressive opportunist player

best defensive player vs another best defensive player

I know very little about openings, and can't get a book at the moment.

Contrary to common belief, I don't know how much an opening fits a personality. Every opening seems to have a myriad of variations, and various play-styles to match each subtle difference. Additionally, which exact variation is played is not only up to you, but also what your opponent allows.

With that said, perhaps sharper openings have a more aggressive reputation and systems a more passive reputation. Even with this broad statement there are exceptions though. Ideally, you just need to experiment which opening(s) you feel most comfortable playing and that is the one that matches your personality

Don't worry too much about openings, it's better just to train tactics and chess principles at our level. The only opening "study" I have done is to stroll in the explorer here and see what looks nice, then I test on daily and then use it in blitz and/or rapid games. I enjoy a lot the french advanced, slav and 4 knights spanish (the italian variation is not sound).

nice, yeh i think ive won with the slav and the fr

Because chess branches so quickly, it's how you play an opening, rather than the opening itself that reflects a player's style.

It's more accurate to describe opening play style more to the effect that a player will decide he doesn't like a specific opening after trying it, rather than looking for an opening like a personality match.

In lots of openings, you can just gravitate toward certain lines you feel comfortable with. For example, in many openings, you can choose to lock up the center, but other players can choose to keep the center more flexible.

Ok cool. I guess it's human nature to think something is going to "work", probably the same part of the brain that makes up stereotypes for ourselves.

you can't really choose an opening off personality. just see what works. personally for black I typically use sicilian dragon with (I forgot what is called but you push the g7 pawn to g6 and our a bishop in it's place) for white I use e4, nights, bishop or d4 and then castle. (don't remember the name of this opening) all I know is that I was taught that one as like the bulls head or something like that but idk if that is the real name.

right sounds like a fianchetto bishop

ok cool, i try to get into openings but i just yeah, get only about 2 moves in and then change tack

or right yeh i do that last type of thing too...... aha bulls head sounds quite good for me xD

I think the problem with your question is that you would have to know the other person's style in order to know which opening to play. I think this is likely only something that tournament players do if they have access to their opponent's database of games. Focus on your own style so you can dictate how the game is played (aggressive or passive). Personally, I have found that aggressive players at my level (1100ish) are really just playing gambits that can be easily dealt with from a little bit of study so I try to spend a little bit of time figuring those out. 

I used YouTube vids to start finding openings that I liked. Most of the GMs that have books or videos for purchase will put a ton of free content to entice you to buy. Ginger GM (Simon Williams) and IM Eric Rosen are great resources for free content.

fianchetto oh my God, I remember now! thanks lol. taught that in chess club in 4th grade.

yes i look at my ops recent style sometimes before deciding what to do. Cool thanks, yeh I really need to buy some books now.

thanks for the responses, i wasn't sure what kind of ones I would get here, but yah quick fixes / auto-play probably not the way forwards : )

i think i can actually get some books now.

NN - "If I was studying the endgames as much as I was studying the openings, I would be 10 years younger."

Class A player (now Master) - "Studying openings is fun, but of little practical value."

And that is especially true for players rated below 2000 or even more.

Advice: Forget the openings even exist until you develop the sense for tactics, time, space, initiative and other important things in chess. Without understanding these things, you won't be able to understand the openings.

Just remember that Black is the one who chooses which opening will be played.

The answer to your question won't be too helpful.

openings are odd for newer players

when i first started i found myself really struggling to navigate the opening moves

i found a chess coach and he recommended learning a few moves of the italian game just to help have some idea of “good squares” and rapid development

so i started this and even learned a few moves in the slav to deal with 1 d4

i just winged it when playing black against 1e4 by playing 1...e5

after awhile my “openings” have gone to playing 1.d4 as white and almost always playing 2.c4- and though i have studied a few lines for various responses by black i have found myself moving into the territory that many veteran players have suggested since the beginning- “openings arent important for new players”

fwiw i still play 1..d5 vs d4 (and then 2...c6 versus 2. c4) and i play 1...c6 vs e4– essentially this is my opening repertoire
——-
what happens at lower levels is opponents will never follow “theory” and will be out of book after a few moves

so all that excessive opening study has been a misallocation of resources

nevertheless, the initial steps into learning minimal opening theory (just a few moves) really helped when i first started playing

but i would fall into the trap of moving on autopilot and not responding to the position on the board as it transpired

i feel like finally i am not so fixated on openings and really try to play the position- trying to remain flexible to the current position and not stuck on autopilot

Tarrasch variations or openings for defense ,

Gambits for aggressive players. I generally suck at defending, so I play attack and hope for the best  (lol)

However if you feel like you’ve hit a rating wall, getting a general opening book that shows the basic moves and goals for both sides will be great, it helped me very much. If you’re interested, I had “Understanding the Chess Openings”by Sam Collins. It is almost impossible to get really good without knowing at least the basic theory of openings, so you can see what your opponents goal is in their opening, etc.

Nice, thanks very much for the continued input. I am trying to buy a book but I keep getting other priorities.

If you're still looking for a book, check out "chess openings, traps, and zaps". I really liked the simple and fun way the openings were presented.

Yes but it’s essentially a tactics book, it doesn’t provide that much info on openings themselves ( if that’s what you meant )