Some Random Thoughts About Chess Openings
What exactly is your job during the opening phase of a chess game?
Is it to start a quick attack against the enemy king? Is it to extract a theoretical advantage by playing a memorized 20-move variation of the ‘this-and-that’ opening? Is it to bring out your pieces as fast as you can?
I believe it was Grandmaster Suetin who gave a satisfactory answer to the question above – “Your duty in the opening phase is to achieve a playable middlegame.”
But here’s the bigger question – how’re you going to achieve a playable middlegame from the opening?
Assuming that, like me, you also have a table to bring food to and bills to pay, spending long hours memorizing the latest innovations in the Ruy Lopez, Sicilian Defense, French Defense, etc. is out of question. I don’t know about you but I’d rather spend my spare time on other aspects of chess – the middlegame, endgame, tactics, etc. rather than the opening.
IMHO, to achieve a playable middlegame from the opening, one must start creating major differences in both positions to give each side something to play for and develop their pieces to right from the first move.
Let’s take a look at the Sicilian Defense – 1.e4 c5, White claims his share of the center by moving his King-pawn while Black prevents his opponent from establishing the central pawn duo by preventing d2-d4. Let’s look a little deeper – 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4. It doesn’t take a master to see that the development of both Knights is aimed at the d4-square.
White prepares d2-d4 with his second move while Black adds more influence to the d4-square by moving his Knight to c6.
On his third move, White challenges Black’s control of the d4-square by pushing his Queen Pawn 2 squares up.
Note though that he could’ve chosen other moves that prepare d2-d4 or challenge Black’s control of that square like Bb5 followed with Bxc6. However, this move would give Black the Bishop Pair. It would be favorable for Black to open the position since the two Bishops can cut across it. That’s another major difference between the White and Black camp.
On the other hand, after Bxc6, Black would have doubled-pawns no matter which way he takes. This means he’ll have an extra open file for his Rooks, more control on central squares…especially d5, but that also means White has a target – the c5-pawn.
White could also opt for 3.c3 to prepare d2-d4. But since that doesn’t threaten anything, Black can start central action right away with 3…d7-d5. If White takes with 4.exd5, Black follows up with 4…Qxd5 and White can be saddled with an isolated d-pawn, another major imbalance, after 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4.
Both camps would then play to control the square in front of the isolated d-pawn. White have greater mobility for his pieces and he can use that to start an attack while
Black is still bringing his pieces to optimal squares. On the other hand, Black will try to subject the isolated d-pawn to pressure with his heavy pieces while trying to exchange minor pieces to reduce the pawns defenders in an effort to win it.
OK, I’m not an opening expert, and I don’t know if that rant about chess opening made sense to you.
But I do hope you get the part that during the opening phase of the game, you don’t just bring your pieces out and make moves for the sake of developing them…you must develop your pieces in accordance to the imbalances present on the board.
How To Pick Your Chess Openings
Long before a chess player heads to the chessboard, he is faced with truckloads of problems and questions that he must successfully answer.
“How do I pick my chess openings? What opening strategy or moves should I adapt?” These questions about chess openings are some of the reasons why wood-pushers spend sleepless nights…whether professional or amateur.
If you’re at a loss at how you should go about picking and forming your chess opening repertoire, then you definitely want to read on! Just like you, I was facing the same set of questions back in my early days of chess-playing. Fortunately, I was able to settle down with a chess opening repertoire that has served me well for years now.
Let’s take a look at the questions I asked for forming and choosing my repertoire:
Know Thyself
Looking through games of club-level and non-master chess players, it’s easy to see that majority of them try to ape the openings of great masters like Kasparov, Anand, Karpov, etc.
The result?
Sadly, many of their games are decided not by their choice of opening moves but by simple forks, skewers, pins, and other tactical devices. And worse, these grandmaster-wannabes are on the receiving end of those tactical blows!
Why?
Mainly because they don’t have the understanding necessary to use these chess openings (Sicilian Defense, French Defense, Ruy Lopez, etc.) to their full potential. Much worse, many of these openings don’t suit their style!
Yes, your play-style matters a lot in picking opening moves! True, there are chess players who could play the Sicilian Defense just as well as they could play the Caro Kann Defense. But such players are rare and oftentimes, they’re at the master-level.
Here’s what you should do – take a look at the last 15-20 games you played. And ask the following questions:
What openings did you play as White and as Black?
Did you play 1.e4 or 1.d4 as White?
How did you defend against the King and Queen’s pawn opening as black?
And more importantly, how did you feel about the positions that came up after both sides have developed? Are you jumping for joy when the position is full of tactics? Or do you feel at ease with closed positions where wisely maneuvering your pieces are the main priority?
As for the games you won, how did you win them? Is it by ripping open the position and launching a blistering attack against the enemy king? Or is it by out-maneuvering your opponent and strangling him slowly?
On the other hand, how did you lose the rest of the games? Is it because the position is too open and you can’t cope up with the tactics on the board? Or is it because the position is so closed and you were smothered?
Answering these questions will help you determine what kind of player you are. Roughly, there are 2 types of chess-players. Those who thrive on tactics and those who prefer a more strategic and slow approach.
If you think you’re a tactical player, choosing 1.e4 as White (and perhaps incorporating gambits and sharp openings like King’s Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Goring Gambit, etc.) is in order. True, there are sharp openings that arise from 1.d4 but usually, they result to closed games which are strategic in general.
As for defenses as Black, picking something along the lines of Sicilian Defense, Schliemann Counter-Gambit (against the Ruy Lopez), French Defense, and other counter-attacking openings is the priority.
Here are some recommendations for strategic players who prefer a slow-paced chess game:
White:
- Queen’s Gambit
- King’s Indian Attack (primarily against the French Defense but also works well against the Sicilian, Caro Kann, etc.)
- Ruy Lopez (against 1…e5)
Black:
- Caro Kann (against 1.e4)
- King’s Indian Defense (against 1.d4)
- Ruy Lopez (against 1.e4)
And that’s just to name a few!
Personally, I prefer tactical openings and gambits like:
- King’s Gambit
- Smith-Morra Gambit and Wing Gambit against the Sicilian
- Caro Kann Fantasy Variation (where White would sac the e4-pawn)
- French Wing Gambit
- Sicilian Defense (I almost always go for the …c5, …Nc6, …g6, and …Bg7 setup)
- Scandinavian Defense (I usually follow up the e4xd5 capture with …Nf6 and …c6 sacrificing a pawn)
