Good chess openings

Thanks to the rapidly-increasing number of chess websites, it’s easier to learn the classic strategy game. These chess openings help give new players an edge.

Why study up on chess openings?

The starting of the game is crucial. Openings can either speed up the development or improve your overall position. Some openings achieve better results than others while others can’t. It all depends on your playing style. Without further ado, let’s begin.

1. Queen’s Gambit (1. d4 d5 2. c4)

The queen’s gambit is an incredibly popular opening. It is used by many players to add more pressure to the centre. It also gives white a variety of moves to attack the d5 pawn, such as Nc3 and Qb3. This is a good opening for both beginners and advanced players.

Black also has a variety of moves to play. He can also play the Grunfeld defence or the King’s Indian defence. Both sides will have a solid position in the middlegame.

2. King’s Gambit (1. e4 e5 2. f4)

King’s Gambit, the twin of Queen’s Gambit, is an aggressive and complicated opening that only experienced players should use. It is my favourite opening. It adds pressure to the centre and helps develop the pieces on the kingside, especially the rook which can move to f1. However, it also exposes the king, meaning that black could take advantage of it. This means that white must be extremely careful and castle queenside as soon as possible. If white can do this, the King’s Gambit is a good opening.

Note that this should only be used by players who know how to play it.

3. Sicilian Defence: Open, Dragon Variation

The Sicilian Dragon is one of the most popular openings between grandmasters. This opening is very sharp and gives black great attacking chances. It also allows black to place his bishop on g7, controlling the long a1-h8 diagonal. White could play the Yugoslav attack and castle queenside, causing both sides to throw their pieces in their opponent’s direction. If white wants a simpler variation, he could play the classical variation.

If you do not want to play the Sicilian Dragon, you could also try to play the Accelerated Dragon or even the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon.

4. Sicilian Alapin (1. e4 e5 2. c3)

Maybe you do not want to play something too complicated. In that case, you could try playing the Sicilian Alapin. It is a well-respected way of bypassing the extensive theory of other Sicilian lines, making it a lot less complicated. It is a great anti-Sicilian opening as it puts more pressure on the d4 square. This however allows black a wide choice of ways to respond, and it often becomes a competition between white’s space advantage vs black’s better pawn structure.

5. Italian Game (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4)

If you are looking for a simple opening with little activity, you could try the Italian Game. It is the mostly-used opening when players start learning chess. It also helps you develop your pieces and both sides will have a solid position.

If you want a queen-pawn variation of it, you could try the London System.

So, are these the only good chess openings out there?

Obviously not! There are a lot more great chess openings out there like the Caro-Kann, the French, the Nimzo-Indian and many more! But if you are looking for some openings to start with, these should be good enough.

Wish you good luck for your next game!

Credits:

Opening images by Chess.com