Some Random Thoughts About Chess Openings
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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.
BAD NEWS! My Chess Books Are Missing!
Now unlike many of you, I don’t have myriads of chess books in my library. I don’t have compendiums of opening manuals that cover every variation of the Sicilian Defense, Ruy Lopez, or French Defense. Matter of fact, I don’t have any opening book or manual!
HOWEVER, I can proudly say that the chess books I’ve chosen are of great quality and they provide hours of priceless chess instruction to the serious and improving player.
Re-Assess Your Chess Workbook – Written by world-famous International Master Jeremy Silman, this book will teach you Silman’s well-known imbalance-based way of thinking in chess.
After all, it’s a thinking game. Knowing how to make decisions and think right will make you a far stronger player than reading reams of opening theory.
How To Be A Deadly Chess Tactician – This one is written by a non-master but very strong tournament player David LeMoir. This one has helped me view a chess game and spot tactics and combinations like I haven’t before.
Attack With Tal – Tal has a special place in every chess player’s heart – master or amateur. This guy showed how to play daring, exciting, and speculative chess with his ‘unsound’ sacrifices which dismantled even the almighty Botvinnik! This is your chance to learn how to play and attack like Tal.
I can still remember reading through the games and the corresponding analysis and annotations without a board. It really strengthened my tactical vision and calculation skills.
How Good Is Your Chess & Test Your Chess – In my opinion, these 2 books focusing on move-prediction written by Grandmaster Daniel King go hand-in-hand with Silman’s workbook. These books will challenge you to predict the moves made by the likes of Kramnik, Kasparov, Korchnoi, Svidler, and others masters.
I went through the challenges of this book after getting used to Silman’s way of thinking. It helped me get about 80% of the moves and an overall increase in my playing strength!
These 5 books are all that I have in my VERY small chess library…and they’re all lost now unfortunately. How will I train and improve in chess now that my chess books are gone without a trace? That’s the BIGGEST question.
All About Chess Openings – A Weapon Against The Sicilian
So you’re an 1.e4 player? If so, then your success in 1.e4 largely depends on how well you fight off the Sicilian Defense. After all, this counter-attacking reply to 1.e4 has found its way not only in Grandmaster circles but in club-players and amateur players as well.
Expect these Sicilian players to come prepared…and so should you!
But what if you don’t have the time to look at reams and reams of Sicilian theory? Think about it – not everybody has the time to invest into chess opening research like Garry Kasparov. Does it mean you have to give up 1.e4 and switch to a quieter and more peaceful approach?
Heck no! Let me show you a weapon that you could use against the Sicilian where you have to sacrifice a pawn not just for tactical chances that fade quickly against a stubborn defender but for positional plusses as well.
The Sicilian Wing Gambit – 1.e4 c5 2.b4!?
Now I’m not going to give you an exhaustive lesson about this opening. But let me show you some ideas that should help you play it.
1.e4 c5
The Sicilian Defense is all about imbalances. White took the e4 and d5 square, Black on the other hand didn’t follow suit with 1…e5 but went with 1…c5 to control the d4-square – preventing White from establishing a e4-d4 pawn duo.
The next move, however, forces Black to relinquish his control over the d4-square.
2. b4!?
This introduces the Wing Gambit against the Sicilan. Black has many replies against this move. However, none of them has no disadvantages. Accepting the pawn allows may possibilities for White. Let’s focus on Black accepting the gambit pawn.
2…cxb4 3. a3
White ditches another pawn to support the d4-pawn advance with c2-c3. Additionally, it opens lines on the queenside as well as possibilities of Na3-c4 as well as Bc1-a3.
3…d5
In reply, Black eliminates the only center pawn that White has for the moment while freeing the c8-Bishop open to jump to g4 – pinning the Nf3 when the opportunity arises.
4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3
Black was threatening a double attack with his fourth move – 3…Qe5+ snatching that rook on a1. White could also play d2-d4 on his 5th move. But we have other plans.
5…e5
Black doesn’t want to spend another tempo capturing the a3-pawn. Instead, he opens up the a3-f8 diagonal…prepping to capture back with the Bishop in case of axb4.
6.Bb2!? Nc6
Another interesting move! This aims for quick development and piles up pressure on the e5 pawn which is supported only by the Queen as of the moment. On the other hand, Black supports the e5 pawn with the most natural move. He can go for …f6 but this weakens the Kingside. On the other hand, there is …Bg4 which perhaps we’ll take a closer look at in the upcoming articles.
7.c4!?
This move forces Black to block either of his Bishops. He’s forced to go to e6 or d6 to provide enough support for the e5 pawn. Any move along the fifth rank will result to loss of time as well as material. On the other hand, there are many games that resulted to winning White attack after …Qe4+.
7…Qe6 8.Bd3 Bc5
Developing the Kingside and getting ready to castle his King to safety.
8.O-O axb3 9.Nxb3
Seeing that he’s just a move away from castling his King to safety, Black decides to take the pawn. White, on the other hand captures with the Knight…making it possible for it to jump to b5 and c7.
9…Bxa3 10.Rxa3
Black, not wanting to face any threats of Nb5, Black takes away the Knight. In reply to that, White captures with the Rook. Now, he can shift the Rook anywhere along the third rank…and for those who love to attack, I’m sure you know that a Rook along the third rank can spell doom for your opponent when used the right way.
What do you think of the ending position?
Here’s what I think…
Material – Looking at the material of both sides, Black is a pawn up. However, chess is not just about material…let’s see what compensation White got in return.
Development – White undoubtedly is ahead in Development. His rook on the 3rd rank, castled king, bishops on nice diagonals…Black should do his best to catch up. He still needs 3 moves to connect his rooks.
Initiative – Again, I think White has the advantage in this department. White can easily pressure the e5 pawn with Re1. And Black has to make weakening moves like f6 to defend it adequately. Moves like Nge7-g6 won’t do since it falls to 1.Bxg6 hxg6 2.Nxe5 getting back his investment with interest.
Additionally, White can shift his Bd3 back to c2 or b1 to prepare for d4. This forces Black to move his queen away from the e-file.
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)
