General Opening Questions

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I guess I will have to explain better. In the opening when pieces are beginning to develop on both sides and the pressure is being put on the middle squares, I get confused as to how to proceed. Should you develop d pawns to d3/d4 or d6/d5, castle, exchange pawns/knights... I just need help with understanding openings a little more with the transition from developing to middle game

Your next moves in the position shown are to get your Bishops developed, Castle, and look for a place to attack while keeping an eye on the potential Black N-outposts on d4 and f4 and any other weaknesses developing may create - like the undefended b-Pawn when you move your QB.

Because playing the Q's pawn to d3 makes your KB your "Bad Bishop" (blocked in by his own pawns), moving your KB outside the pawn chain is a priority and I'd suggest your next move would be something like 4 Bc4 (my favorite) -turning it into a Giuoco Piano where aiming your attack at f7 is often a good idea against lower ranked players, or 4 Bb5 - turning it into a Ruy Lopez, a solid opening.

Black will likely respond to 4 Bc4 with ...Bc5 and that means you should play 5 O-O to protect your f2 pawn from ...Ng4.  If Black is intent on exchanging a N + B for R + P at f2 (...Ng4, ...Nxf2, Rxf2 Bxf2, Kxf2, ENCOURAGE it: it is NOT an even exchange: the N + B is worth 1/2 pawn more than R + P.

If Black doesn't play for that foolish exchange, complete your development normally: d3, and either Bg5, Na4 (if ...Bc5 was played) or Qe2 and Be3.  Here's a typical, symmetrical position after the first six moves that you may reach (and I checked with Stockfish: all are among it's top recommended moves from your 4 N's position).  Stockfish likes 7 Bg5 or 7 Ba4 as White's 7th move.  Note that your center pawns are pointing to the K-side. The rule of thumb says that means you should launch an attack on the K-side.  That's not written in stone but I picked among Stockfishes most recommended moves for both sides to lean toward the K-side just as an example of what you might do - and your opponenti is NOT likely to play at the level Black plays here. Again this is just an example - both chess.com CAPS and Lucas Chess/Stockfish 8 rate the moves similar to the Carlsen-Karjakin WC games. But it does point a possible path where you (White) don't get yourself distracted on the Q-side and stick with a K-side game plan:

The basics of each phase of the game

Opening:

Follow the Opening principles:

1.      Control the center squares – d4-e4-d5-e5

2.      Develop your minor pieces toward the center – piece activity is the key

Ø  Complete your development before moving a piece twice or starting an attack.

Ø  Move pieces not pawns.

3.      Castle

4.      Connect your rooks

Ø    By move 12, you should have connected your Rooks, or be about to do so.

Middle game:

When you have completed the Opening Principles, you are now at the middle game.  Now you need to formulate a middle game plan.  The middle game is a very complicated part of a chess game.  A simple way to develop a middle game plan is to perform the following steps.

1.      Scan your opponents 5^th, and 6^th ranks (3^rd, and 4^th if your black)

2.      Look for weak pawns, and or weak squares.

Ø  Weak pawns and squares are Pawns, and squares that cannot be defended by another Pawn.

Ø  Knights are excellent pieces on weak squares.

Ø  When deciding on weak squares, and weak Pawns to attack, the closer to the center the better

End game:

Start with the basics:

1.      Learn basic mates – KQ vs. K, KR vs. K, KRR vs. K

2.      Learn Opposition, and Key Squares

3.      Learn basic King and Pawn endings

Pre Move Checklist

1. Make sure all your pieces are safe.

2. Look for forcing moves: 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 opponent trying to do?"

Your first two moves as White are optimal (1. e4 2. Nf3). Your third move (3. Nc3) is saying "I'd prefer to play a drawish game by continuing the symmetry." The most ambitious move for White there is the famous Ruy Lopez opening (3. Bb5), which destroys the symmetry and will keep Black on the defensive for many more moves. Even if you decide to mix strategies by playing ambitiously only after first playing drawishly via the Four Knights Game (3. Nc3 Nf6), the most ambitious and symmetry-breaking move after that is 4. Bb5--the Spanish Four Knights Game. Either way, Bb5 there is a powerful move. Although Bc4 is also good, remember that there's a reason they call the ensuing game a Giuoco Piano, which translates to "Quiet Game."

For someone seeking help with 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/excerpts/OpeningsForAmateurs%20sample.pdf
Perhaps PerpetuallyPatzer would also want to look at Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006).
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
"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/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/Shop/Images/Pdfs/9035.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627110453/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen169.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/Shop/Images/Pdfs/9029.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/Shop/Images/Pdfs/7277.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627040728/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/ebcafe06.pdf