recommended opening for beginners

hmmm, thanks I'll try thus

hmmm, thanks I'll try this

what if I'm playing as black

what if I'm playing as black

what if I'm playing as black

what if I'm playing as black

How to Build Your Chess Opening Repertoire

By Steve Giddins.  A book to guide you in the considerations involved in choosing your openings - the title says it all. 

For some opening repertoire suggestions (by GM Nigel Davies and IM Andrew Martin), see:

http://www.chesspublishing.com/content/repert.htm

(be sure to click the icons with the red downward-pointing arrows to download the .pgn files).

Also at your chess rating level, any of the following opening repertoire books could serve you well in creating your opening repertoire...

My First Chess Opening Repertoire for White

By Vincent Monet.  Here is a dynamic opening repertoire for White based on 1.e4, targeted to the beginner-intermediate audience.  The approach is somewhat different from most repertoire books.  The author's stated intention is to present a reliable and efficient, yet aggressive set of openings which can be learned with "minimal" study.  That is, he has purposefully restricted the amount of material to that which is sufficient to understand the main themes of the recommended variations.  The presentation is focused on select variations that have a high probability of actually being able to be played by the White player, while eschewing the myriad lines which have less likelihood.  This cuts down significantly on the amount of material to be studied.  If you require more information related to the openings he presents, you should consult resources which treat them more comprehensively.  But the author's intent is to get you started playing the recommended lines as quickly as possible by learning themes and plans, as opposed to memorizing lots of "theory".

The author also does a better than average job of explaining not only WHAT you should be trying to do in each line (the themes), but also takes time to clarify WHY you are making the recommended moves (as opposed to other, alternative moves), and in many cases lays out the procedure for HOW you should go about playing the lines.  Many authors don't go to the same lengths to explain things as thoroughly.

Which lines are covered in the book?

• White's main line in the open game will be the Italian Game - Giuoco Piano - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5.  Also presented is a response to The Two Knights Defense (3...Nf6), when White will respond with 4.Ng5 (the so-called "Fried Liver Attack").
• Against the Sicilian Defense, White will head for the Grand Prix Attack - 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 - following up with a quick f2-f4.
• Against the French Defense - 1.e4 e6 - White responds with the King's Indian Attack.
• Against the Caro Kann Defense, White will play the Advance Variation  - 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5.
• Against The Pirc/Modern Defenses - 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 - White will head for the St.George Attack/Yugoslav Attack.
• He briefly covers other responses by Black as well, for example The Scandinavian Defense, Philidor's Defense and Petroff Defense.

Overall this is a fun, yet effective White opening repertoire, nicely presented, which the intended audience can quickly get up to speed playing, with "minimal" study required.

Chess Openings for Black, Explained: A Complete Repertoire (Revised and Updated)

By Lev Alburt et al.  This, together with its companion volume, "Chess Openings for White Explained", comprise a complete opening repertoire targeted to the beginner-intermediate audience.  For Black, the repertoire main line against 1.e4 is the Sicilian Defense - Accelerated Dragon, and against 1.d4, Black will play the Nimzo-Indian Defense, if given the opportunity.

For the White repertoire (Book 2), the main line in the open game (1.e4 e5) features either of the Scotch Gambit, Italian Game/Giuoco Piano, or Two Knights Defense, depending on how Black responds; Against the Sicilian Defense, White wants to play the Grand Prix Attack (1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 - with f2-f4 soon to follow); against the Caro-Kann Defense, White plays the Exchange Variation (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5); against the French Defense (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5) White will respond with 3.Nc3.

See also, "Attacking With 1 e4" and "Beating 1 e4 e5: A Repertoire for White in the Open Games", both by John Emms.

For the "Open" game (1.e4 e5) from Black's perspective, see  "Play the Open Games As Black" by John Emms; "Beating the Open Games, 2nd Ed." by Mihail Marin; "Play 1 e4 e5: A Complete Repertoire for Black in the Open Games" by Nigel Davies.

Better Chess Openings

By Jef Kaan.  An opening repertoire for both White and Black targeted to the beginner-intermediate player.  For White, repertoires based on 1.e4 (featuring the Ruy Lopez) and also on 1.d4 are offered (you have a choice!).  For Black, against 1.e4 the repertoire recommends 1...e5  for beginners and 1...e6 (French Defense) for intermediate players; against 1.d4, 1...Nf6 (Queen's Gambit and Indian Defenses) are featured.  Overall, a comprehensive and sound opening repertoire is provided.   The Kindle version of this book has the title "Learning The Chess Openings" by the same author.

The following contains a wealth of information on many chess openings...

http://www.kenilworthchessclub.org/links/openings.html#repertoire

For someone seeking help with choosing 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

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 austern12 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)

Also, perhaps look at:

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

In a 2006 GM John Nunn book, in connection with opening study, it is stated that, if a "book contains illustrative games, it is worth playing these over first", and the reader was also advised, "To begin with, only study the main lines - that will cope with 90% of your games, and you can easily fill in the unusual lines later."

"... I feel that the main reasons to buy an opening book are to give a good overview of the opening, and to explain general plans and ideas. ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)

In one of his books about an opening, GM Nigel Davies wrote (2005), "The way I suggest you study this book is to play through the main games once, relatively quickly, and then start playing the variation in actual games. Playing an opening in real games is of vital importance - without this kind of live practice it is impossible to get a 'feel' for the kind of game it leads to. There is time enough later for involvement with the details, after playing your games it is good to look up the line."

Yes. Pete Tamburro's book is a good choice as well, for the chess amateur.

Openings for Amateurs

By Pete Tamburro.  An openings primer and repertoire for all amateurs and club players up to expert level.  Lots of practical advice, do's and don'ts of opening play and recommendations on openings to play.

http://mongoosepress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=35

http://www.mongoosepress.com/excerpts/OpeningsForAmateurs%20sample.pdf

https://www.chess.com/article/view/study-plan-for-beginners-the-opening2

Study plan of Chess.com is super for intermediate and beginner

Roman Dzindzichashvili has produced two DVDs that provide a complete opening repertoire suitable for any level of play from novice to expert.  Once you have a learned a minimal repertoire you can learn and add new opening systems at your leisure.