What would be the best openings for 100 - 800 rated players?

Sort:
bruhnugget_real

Okay, so i am a bit new to chess, and so far, i have been doing a decent job. However, I want to boost my rating, so what would be the best opening for white(if you are a beginner), and for black(also for beginners)? 

Toldsted

1.e4 e5

tasha488

Yes, I am in that range would love to hear people's thoughts on a good opening.

RussBell

Chess Openings Tier Lists – GMHikaru (complete - Beginner thru GM)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9CwH47r6og&list=PL4KCWZ5Ti2H43-gcoByRnZs5fVR_Lg133&index=4

Note that (particularly for the beginner openings tier list) they will frequently refer to some openings as "garbage" or "bad" (an unfortunate choice of terms in my view). This is not to say that these openings are inherently bad for all players. These qualifiers are meant simply to convey how appropriate the specific opening is for the level of player being discussed, in terms of, for example, how much so-called "theory" (i.e., the collection of extensively documented variations) the opening encompasses, or how much emphasis the opening places on positional versus tactical skills in order to play it well.  So, an opening they refer to as "garbage" for a beginner may in fact be appropriate for higher rated players who typically know more of the theory for particular openings and have a more highly developed understanding of positional concepts.

For beginner-intermediate players check out GothamChess (IM Levy Rozman) on YouTube for recommendations and quick tutorials on various openings....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFod-ozimmM&t=103s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdyik5UwBtM
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gothamchess+openings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmbU97iftC8&list=PLBRObSmbZluTpMdP-rUL3bQ5GA8v4dMbT

Chess Openings Resources for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/openings-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond

more resources related to openings, and book recommendations, in my blog...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell

AtaChess68
You will need 3 openings: one for white and two for black (black against e4 and black against d4).

But if you really want to boost your rating, read this short article from Susan Polgar and learn to apply her opening rules. Check every game if your really did what she advises.

https://www.ichess.net/blog/opening-principles-chess/
SimaGuang

I'm not usually one of those people that dissuade people from learning openings, but trying to learn openings just to "boost" your rating isn't a good mentality to have when you're just starting. 

If you're in that rating range, you shouldn't be focusing at all on specific openings, but rather just making sure you don't lose straight away by following the opening principles. Developing pieces to active squares, making a claim in the center, castling quickly, having good pawn structures and fluid middlegame plans are all common, recurring themes that are present in any good opening that you'll use once you improve. 

Once you have the basics down (i.e basic checkmates, grasp on opening principles and what to do in the middlegame), only then would I start venturing into learning specific openings. 

tasha488

So basically just try to make good moves and not focus on a specific set of moves?? As for rating I don't really care about that just want to understand the game better to have more fun.

Chuck639
bruhnugget_real wrote:

Okay, so i am a bit new to chess, and so far, i have been doing a decent job. However, I want to boost my rating, so what would be the best opening for white(if you are a beginner), and for black(also for beginners)? 

I see that you are a London System player which is fine. A few of my friends are 1700+ with that system.

I suggest learning the Caro-Kann and Semi-Slav as black to complement your game and shorts cuts a lot of theory as it plays well agains e4, d4 and c4.. I can say this because I play the semi-Slav thru transpositions and run into the Caro-Kann as an English opening player; are solid defences.

hrarray
You should learn maybe one opening as white and one/two as black(e.g. queens gambit and kings Indian defense) but also learn opening principles as your opponent may play weird moves. Learning openings can help you get into an easy to play middlegame regardless of what your opponent plays, so maybe learn one or two of them.
Jalex13
I’m one of Chuck’s friends over 1700 and I enjoy the Queen’s Gambit. Find what works for you
magipi

I don't understand why low rated players are so fixated on openings. There are many parts of a chess game, the opening is arguably the least important, and yet it is that every low rated layer ever thinks about. Weird.

zone_chess

At your level I recommend the King's Gambit for white, the King's Indian for black.

Later you will get to the more complicated opening systems.

I will take some naivety away though: the paradox of chess is that the more you learn, the less fun it becomes. If you want to get good at it, it's more like a dedicated study than something you get something out of for yourself. That 'you' kind of dissolves and becomes something bigger - in this case the chess mind. And the higher you get, the more study is required because of how the positions branch out and the level of complexity your mind enters.

Even though as Duchamp said, it tends to have the effect of a drug. Staying logical will help prevent that.

zone_chess
magipi wrote:

I don't understand why low rated players are so fixated on openings. There are many parts of a chess game, the opening is arguably the least important, and yet it is that every low rated layer ever thinks about. Weird.

 

People have to start somewhere and better start with a solid system from a structural point of view, than something random. Where you put your bishop can decide the entire middle game, and in turn it leads to a different endgame.

You have to choose which kind of control you want over your endgame, so picking the right opening matters. It's like laying the first stones of your palace.

lordsofy123

For me it is usually e4, e5 or e4, c5

magipi
zone_chess wrote:
magipi wrote:

I don't understand why low rated players are so fixated on openings. There are many parts of a chess game, the opening is arguably the least important, and yet it is that every low rated layer ever thinks about. Weird.

 

People have to start somewhere and better start with a solid system from a structural point of view, than something random. Where you put your bishop can decide the entire middle game, and in turn it leads to a different endgame.

You have to choose which kind of control you want over your endgame, so picking the right opening matters. It's like laying the first stones of your palace.

This is all very poetic, also not true. In reality, variations of the same opening can lead to wildly different middlegames, while different openings can lead to identical positions.

And for a player rated 800 or under this is all unimportant. There is only one thing that matters: blundering less.

SimaGuang
tasha488 wrote:

So basically just try to make good moves and not focus on a specific set of moves?? As for rating I don't really care about that just want to understand the game better to have more fun.

yes

busterlark
zone_chess wrote:

At your level I recommend the King's Gambit for white, the King's Indian for black.

Later you will get to the more complicated opening systems.

I'm trying to think about what openings are more complicated than either of these openings...

I mean, maybe King's Gambit is not so difficult to play, just because you get so much pressure on f7 immediately, and black usually doesn't know how to defend that until around 1600-1700 rating. But you have to be on top of your tactics. King's Indian, on the other hand? I feel like that's not something to touch until 2100. But maybe that's just me.

To answer OP's question:

1. e4 or 1. d4. You should try both out, see which opening you like better. Or, maybe you decide you like to switch between them. With 1. e4, you're often playing Nf3, Bc4, c3, and d4. With 1. d4, you're often playing c4, Nc3, Nf3, e3, and Bd3. I feel like you shouldn't need to know anything more complex than that.

On the black pieces, you probably want to respond to 1. d4 with 1... d5. And you probably want to respond to 1. e4 with 1... e5. Both of these are solid moves that people up to the super-GM level play, and you can play both of these responses without knowing a lot of theory. (Playing 1. d4 Nf6, on the other hand, requires some knowledge of how to control the center with pieces and how to play correct pawn breaks, which is something that you probably shouldn't be focusing on around the 800 range -- and which is why I don't think that an 800 player should make the KID their weapon of choice). If you're to dig deeper, you might want to look at Queen's Gambit Declined, Slav, Italian Game, and Ruy Lopez, all of which can get very complicated at the high levels, but which at the 800 range should at least get you a playable middlegame -- which should be what you're aiming for. For 1. e4 e5, you should also learn how to play against the Wayward Queen (which I'm guessing pops up a lot until 1300), and you could also look into a couple moves of the Scotch, the Evans Gambit, and the Vienna Game if you're interested.

But, again, just look for openings that get you a playable middlegame. You won't win or lose your games in the opening, and 1. e4 e5/ 1. d4 d5 tend to produce playable middlegames at that level.

Mikewrite

I started by watching the gotham videos, and he recommended London System for white. Its easy to learn and can play it against anything. I have since tweaked it to a Jobava London with a little opening trap.

Mikewrite

For black, I went with Pirc defense after watching some NM Robert Ramirez videos. I have further tweaked into the Black Lion. Again, both are easy to learn and can be played against anything.

avishshinde

I think the openings should be Ruy Lopez,Italian Game,giuoco Piano Game