Exeter Chess Club: An introduction to chess openings
Themes in common openings- BCF Certificate of Merit: Class 1 (Elementary)
- BCF Certificate of Merit Class 2 (Intermediate)
- BCF Certificate of Merit Class 3 (Higher)
A word about opening books...
There are more books on the opening than any other aspect of the game, and loss in the opening leaves you with the discouraging feeling that you haven't really had a game. Perhaps for these reason players often move from opening to opening, collecting books as they go, spending a fortune, knowing a little of everything but never settling long enough to be comfortable. DON'T do this. Take up a few openings and try and stick to them. If you must buy books, here are some pointers. I've included a fair minimum of what you need to know at each level in this section.A. General openings books
These are one book you might want to buy - not to read straight off, but certainly to check up new things you see or find.Znosko-Borovsky, E.A. How to play the opening in chess. Dover. Descriptive, slightly dated but good.
Fine, R The ideas behind the chess openings. (Algebraic edition by Batsford)
Basman, MJ Chess Openings. Crowood
B. Basic Repertoire Books.
These give one basic line against all your opponent's possibilities. This is fine if you like all the author's choices, and they may date if someone discovers a weakness. These are a good place to start.Keene,R and Levy,D. An Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Club Player. Batsford. (1.e4)
Marovic, D. An opening repertoire for Black. Batsford (Sicilian Scheveningen and Benoni)
Marovic, D. An active repertoire for Black. Batsford (Sicilian Scheveningen and King's Indian). Revision of the above book: one of the earliest to use complete games.
Soltis, A. A complete black defensive system with ...g6. Chess Digest. Gurgenidze Caro-Kann line and Modern Defence.
C. Books on specific openings.
These include repertoire books (i.e. one line recommended) and more complete studies (all major lines for both sides considered).Winning with .... series. Batsford. Variable quality.
Winning with the ... series. Chess Digest. Also variable - more individual.
Understanding the ... series. RHM. Generally very high quality, some are now dated but still useful (e.g. the chapter on the Advance Variation in Understanding the Caro-Kann needs to be supplemented with a lot of new ideas - see BCO2).
The Complete ... series. Batsford. More detailed but more useful for reference - less prone to dating.
Anything by Nunn is worth buying, but he tends to favour openings with pronounced tactical flavour, which is his style. If it isn't yours, Watson's book on the French is one of the best repertoire books because it offers alternatives at each point.
D. Reference Books.
These exist for beginners and advanced players.Horowitz . The Opening in Chess (Intermediate).
Kasparov, G and Keene, R. Batsford Chess Openings 2. Batsford 1992 ([[sterling]]19.99). isbn 0 7134 6099 7 (aso known as BCO2) or Korn, W (Ed.) Modern Chess Openings 13th edn (also known as MCO13). (Advanced) Both contain all the major lines and byways.
There are several more books recommended in the chess FAQ.
E. Truth and Knowledge in Opening Theory
There are some other things to be said about openings books.Firstly, don't take what they say on trust, and secondly, don't take what they say on trust. There are many examples of lines being given which are soon discovered to be inadequate. This is perhaps the differemce between public knowledge and truth: the fact that something is generally known doesn't make it so!
You must look to see if the books have overlooked things.
One example: when I played the very strong player Agust Karlsson in the club championship, we got into the line
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. e4 Nc6!? 5. d5 Nd4 6. Be3 c5 7. Nge2 Qb6 8. Qd2 (DIAGRAM),
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What do the books recommend for Black here? Kasparov and Keene (1989) Batsford Chess Openings (Batsford), p. 67 doesn't cover this exact position, and to be fair, I wouldn't expect it to. But I've got six(!) other books which cover this line.
Keene and Botterill (1972) The Modern Defence (Batsford), p. 23: gives only 9. Nxd4 (Donner-Ree, 1972).
Hort and Mednis (1979) The Modern Defence (RHM), p.118: doesn't even mention 8...Nf6.
Keene (1984). An Opening Repertoire For White (Batsford), p. 106: doesn't give 8. Qd2 as its recommendation.
Soltis (1988) Black to play and win with 1...g6 (Chess Digest), p.66: gives 9. h3 (as in Bohm-van der Weil, 1982) and 9. f3 (as in Donner-Timman, 1974).
Nunn (1989) The Complete Pirc (Batsford), p.177: gives 9. Nxd4, 9. h3 and 9. f3 as above (the update book New Ideas in the Pirc adds nothing to this list).
Norwood (1994) The Modern Defence (Batsford), p.99: gives 9. Nxd4, 9. h3 and 9. f3, and the new move 9.O-O-O.
So, I was no better off for my researches, but 9. Rd1 is a logical - in some ways, the most logical - move. So, even if the whole chess world ignores a move, you would do well to think about it.
In another game I wanted to know more about, I had two books saying totally different things!
[Event "opening books II?"]
[Site "-"]
[Date "1993.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "regis"]
[Black "nash"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
1.c4 e5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 (3.d4 Bg7 4.dxe5 Bxe5 5.Nf3 Bg7) 3...Bg7 4.Nc3 Ne7 5.e3 (5.e4) 5...Nbc6 6.Nge2 d6 7.d4 exd4.
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But beyond checking the variations, you must understand what you play, and feel comfortable with it. Korchnoi, one of the strongest players of the twentieth century, once got into trouble in the King's Gambit - which he had just written a book on! Korchnoi is a great player but had no over-the-board practice with it, and had no 'feel' for that type of position. As a result he makes several inaccuracies...
[Event "opening books"]
[Site "amsterdam IBM"]
[Date "1972.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "korchnoi"]
[Black "malich"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
1.e4 e5 2.f4
"...at the time I was writing a book...: The King's Gambit. So I had to try and find out for myself what it was all about! I tried, stood very badly and with difficulty managed to draw..." - KORCHNOI
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The point is, not to learn variations from books, but learn ideas. Easily the best book to start on for this is Fine's, which has a recent algebraic edition. It is very comprehensive but rather dense - a lighter offering in descriptive notation is Znosko-Borovksy. Z-B's books always stress ideas rather than details, and so although they are rather old they are still good to learn from. In the next section are some ideas behind some common openings.
Themes in common openings
BCF Certificate of Merit: Class 1 (Elementary)
Giuoco Piano (Italian Game)
Giuoco Piano means 'quiet game', most popular in the 1800s, and is indeed quieter than the bloodthirsty openings like the King's Gambit and other lines that were being played then.The Giuoco Piano is defined by the following sequence:
1 e4, e5; 2 Nf3, Nc6; 3 Bc4, Bc5.
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You may stray from here into the Two Knights' or Four Knights' openings, but you are most likely to follow one of the following two lines:
Beginners often play 1 e4, e5; 2 Nf3, Nc6; 3 Bc4, Bc5; 4 d3, Nc6; 5 Nc3, d6. This is the Giuoco Pianissimo, the 'very quiet game', and can lead to rather slow and stodgy play. The liveliest line of it is Canal's variation, 7 Bg5, h6; 8 Bxf6, Qxf6; 9 Nd5 and now 9...Qg6 is fun but the best line is 9...Qd8, when Black can equalise.
Far from quiet is the line starting 1 e4, e5; 2 Nf3, Nc6; 3 Bc4, Bc5; 4 c3. White is threatening to occupy the centre and roll forward: Fine gives a sample line 4...Nf6; 5 d4, exd4; 6 cxd4, Bb6? 7 d5, Nb8; 8 e5 Ng8 (yeuch); 9 O-O, Ne7; 10 d6 (zok) Ng6; 11 Ng5 (pow) O-O; 12 Qh5 and Black must give up his queen to avoid mate.
Black must hit back quickly with 6...Bb4+ 7 Bd2, d5! or 7 Nc3, Nxe4; 8 O-O, Nxc3; 9 bxc3, d5! with equal chances, e.g. 10 exd5 Nxd5, 11 Qb3 Nce7, 12 Ne4 c6, 13. a4 Qf4 (diagram).
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If you are feeling frisky as White you can try 6...Bb4+ 7 Nc3 since 7...Nxe4; 8 O-O, Nxc3?! 9 bxc3, Bxc3? 10 Ba3! leads to a terrific attack. These lines are just examples, as the game is far from over, and both sides have alternative moves to the lines considered. They are all likely to be more to your taste than the flat Nf3/Nc3/Nc6/Nf6 formations.
![[Cool Tip]](../GIFs/cool_cat.gif)
COOL TIP: Another line to give the Giuoco Piano a bit of
fizz is Evan's Gambit, 4 b4!? The gambit accepted is
exciting: 4...Bxb4; 5 c3, Ba5; 6 d4 when White is a move up on his
plan in the 4 c3 line, but this has cost him a pawn. The gambit may
be declined by 4...Bb6.
If you must play the Guioco Pianissimo, as the line with 1. e4, e5; 2. Nf3, Nc6; 3. Bc4, Bc5; 4. Nc3, Nf6; 5. d3 is called, there are some hot tips for this line too.
[Read more about The Italian Game]
Ruy Lopez (Spanish Game)
This opening is named after the Spanish priest who was the strongest player of his day. The opening is still generally considered the best way to keep White's initiative going.1 e4, e5; 2 Nf3, Nc6; 3 Bb5.
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It would be great if it worked so simply: 3...a6; 4 Bxc6, dxc6! 5 Nxe5?! Qd4! and Black will regain his pawn through the double attack. So, the immediate threat to the pawn isn't quite so deadly, but the pawn on e5 is a lot easier to get at than the one on f7, and Black can get badly tied up or just stiff and cramped trying to hold on to his claim to the centre. The most natural sequence of moves lead to trouble for Black: after 1 e4, e5; 2 Nf3, Nc6; 3 Bb5, d6; 4 d4, Bd7; 5 Nc3, Nf6; 6 0-0, Be7; 7 Re1, exd4; 8 Nxd4, O-O; 9 Bf1! (to stop the exchanges threatened by 9...Nxd4) when Black has lots of pieces but not enough space.
Why 7...exd4 when the idea is to hold on in the centre? Tarrasch's famous trap showed that Black cannot play 7...0-0? because of the forcing continuation 8 Bxc6, Bxc6; 9 dxe5, dxe5; 10 Qxd8, Raxd8; 11 Nxe5, Bxe4; 12 Nxe4; Nxe4; 13 Nd3, d5; 14 f3, Bc5+; 15 Nxc5 (if 15 Kh1, Nf2+ uncovers an attack on the R), Nxc5; 16 Bg5, Rd5; 17 Be7, Rf7 and now 18 c4 wins the exchange. (If instead 10...Rexd8 White would have 15 Kh1 (15...Rxd3; 16 fxe4).) These lines had a strong effect on players who started to realise just how good the Ruy Lopez is. The Giuoco Piano is a great opening for your early chess years; the Ruy Lopez is an opening for life.
Black has many lines, which fall into basically two approaches (as usual): defence or counterattack. (There are simple developing approaches also like 3...Nge7, 3...Bc5 or 3...g6, but these are rather uncommon.) Defence of the strong point at e4 we have looked at with 3...d6, the Steinitz Defence, (or 3...a6; 4 Ba4, d6, the Deferred Steinitz Defence), but we have seen that the point cannot be held for long; counterattack may be attempted with 3...Nf6, the Berlin Defence, or 3...a6; 4 Ba4, Nf6; the Morphy Defence. In reply to the Morphy the obvious 5 Nc3 is rather boring, but White can play 5 O-O as Black cannot really win the e4 pawn. The Morphy has itself a strong point line, 5 O-O, Be7; 6 Re1, b5; 7 Bb3, d6, the Closed Morphy Defence, and a counter-attacking line, 5 O-O, Nxe4; 6 d4, b5; 7 Bb3, d5, the Open Morphy Defence. These are systems of great subtlety, and the Closed Morphy best avoided until your chess understanding is well advanced.
5 d4 or 5 Qe2 (idea O-O and Rd1) lead to more familiar open and attacking e-pawn styles of game. An example: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. O-O Be7 7. Re1 b5 8. Bb3 d6 9. Bd5 Nxd5 10. exd5 Ne5 11. Nxd4 O-O
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[Read more about Ruy Lopez Exchange variation]
BCF Certificate of Merit Class 2 (Intermediate)
Sicilian Defence
1, e4, c5There are a number of defences to the 1 e4 opening which do not involve 1 ... e5 in reply. 1...e5 balances the position but there are a variety of ways of counter-attacking. There are defences based on disrupting the White centre, like the Centre Counter (Scandanavian) Defence 1...d5. There are a couple of defences based on setting up a solid counter to the Pe4 with ...d5, such as the French Defence (1 e4, e6; 2 d4, d5) and the Caro-Kann Defence (1 e4, c6; 2 d4, d5). The Sicilian (1. e4 c5) usually leads to more exciting and complex battles.
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White has a no reason to avoid the main "open" variations with 3. d4, which offer good chances of an advantage. Black has a number of ways of approaching the middle game - here are a few of the most common:
The Scheveningen Variation 1 e4, c5; 2 Nf3, e6; 3 d4, cxd4; 4 Nxd4, Nf6; 5 Nc3, d6. (Black tries to hold the centre and prepare a counterattack, e.g. ...d5)
The Dragon Variation 1 e4, c5; 2 Nf3, d6; 3 d4, cxd4; 4 Nxd4, Nf6; 5 Nc3, g6. (An exciting counterattacking line: the Bg7 is aggressive but h6 weak)
The Najdorf Variation 1 e4, c5; 2 Nf3, d6; 3 d4, cxd4; 4 Nxd4, Nf6; 5 Nc3, a6. (A flexible system beloved of Fischer and Kasparov) An example: 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O e6 8. f4 b5 9. Bf3 Bb7(diagram).
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The Sozin Variation 1 e4, c5; 2 Nf3, Nc6; 3 d4, cxd4; 4 Nxd4, Nf6; 5 Nc3, d6; 6 Bc4. (An aggressive system to sieze the centre, revived by Fischer)
The Richter-Rauser Variation 1 e4, c5; 2 Nf3, Nc6; 3 d4, cxd4; 4 Nxd4, Nf6; 5 Nc3, d6; 6 Bg5. (The most analysed and complex system: lively!)
There are, however, ways for White of avoiding all these lines - which are perhaps slower, or aim for just a small plus, but are not to be dismissed.
The Closed Variation 1 e4, c5; 2 Nc3. White will prevent the counter-punch with ...d5 and try to keep the centre under control while attacking the K-side. There is a related system with 2.f4 which is more direct.
The Alapin Variation 1 e4, c5; 2 c3. White will have his pawn on d4 anyway. Black can transpose into the French with 2...e6, or counterattack with either 2...Nf6 or 2...d5.
· See also the vigorous Morra Gambit 1 e4, c5; 2 d4, cxd4; 3 c3 dxc3, 4. Nxc3 e.g 4...Nc6 5. Bc4 d6 6. Nf3 (diagram), a line where White has a lead in development but Black has no weaknesses. Black can decline with 3...Nf6/3...d5, both leading to the Alapin.
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[Read more about Sicilian Defence]
Queen's Gambit Declined
1. d4, d5; 2. c4, e6The Queen's Gambit is the main weapon of most players who play the Closed games, and still makes appearances at the highest levels of chess. The Gambit can be declined (usually with 2...e6) or accepted (2...dxc4), and there are other ways of declining (e.g. 2...Nc6).
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The old Main Line goes: 1 d4, d5; 2 c4, e6; 3 Nc3, Nf6; 4 Bg5 (you can also try 4 Bf4), Be7; 5 e3, Nbd7; 6 Nf3, O-O; 7 Rc1.
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More interest has been shown recently in systems with 7...h6 e.g.
Tartakower defence 7...h6; 8 Bh4, b6 (a favourite of Spassky, Fischer and Karpov)
Lasker Defence 7...h6; 8 Bh4, Ne4; 9 Bxe7, Qxe7, an exchanging system which can transpose into the Main Line
White can avoid these with the Modern Variation 7 Bxf6, exchanging the Nf6 which often has an important role in defence of the king and also stopping any later counterattacking ideas with ...Ne4. This has been the main debating ground in the QGD in recent years.
Black can decide earlier to counterattack with 4...Nbd7; 5 e3, c6; 6 Nf3, Qa5 with ideas of ...Bb4 and ...Ne4. This is the Cambridge Springs Variation, which is an old system recently revived by Smyslov in the 1980s. The 4...Nbd7 appears an error, but sets a wicked trap. 5. cxd5, exd5; 6. Nxd5? Nxd5; 7. Bxd8, Bb4+ 8. Qd2, Bxd2+ 9.Kxd2, Kxd8 winning a piece.
There are a couple of other ways to play it for White: to attack with 7 Qc2 and 8 O-O-O in the Main Line (the Rubinstein Variation), or go on a long war of weakening the Black Q-side with 7 cxd5, exd5 (the Exchange Variation) and then following up with Rb1 and b4-b5.
BCF Certificate of Merit Class 3 (Higher)
Here's some more, as recommended by BCF: "5.3.3a. A wider knowledge of the openings than in Class 2..."
...specifically the ability to recognise:Vienna Game
1 e4, e5; 2 Nc3
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EXAMPLE LINE: 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 Nc6 7. d3 Bxf3 8. Bxf3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Nxe5 10. Qe2
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[Read more about Vienna Game and Gambit]
Scotch Game
1 e4, e5; 2 Nf3, Nc6; 3 d4
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EXAMPLE LINE: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Nd5 7. Bd3 Nb4 8. Be2 Bc5 9. a3 Nd5 10. O-O O-O 11. Bd3 Re8 12. c4 Nb6 13. b4 Bf8 14. Bb2
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In the two openings above, and in similar lines beginning 1 e4, e5, you may feel there are good chances for Black to achieve equality with straightforward moves. The positions that come about may be generally balanced and tend to lead to level play. All the other openings and defences in this section are about achieving equality through counterattack, which leads to unbalanced positions with each side trying to make the most of their own strengths. In these games the positions are more difficult but more exciting, and there is less likelihood of a draw even between players who are equally matched.
[Read more about Scotch Game]
French Defence
1 e4, e6
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EXAMPLE LINE: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. f4 O-O 8. Nf3 c5 9. Bd3 f5 10. exf6 Rxf6 11. Qd2 Nc6 12. dxc5 Nxc5
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[Read more about Ideas behind the French Defence]
Caro Kann Defence
1 e4, c6
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EXAMPLE LINE: 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Ng3 e6 7. Bd3 c5 8. O-O cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bc5 10. Nf3 O-O 11. Qe2
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[Read more about Playing against the Caro-Kann]
Pirc Defence
1 e4, d6; 2 d4, Nf6; 3 Nc3, g6
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EXAMPLE LINE: 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 Bg7 5. Qd2 c6 6. f3 Nbd7 7. O-O-O O-O
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[Read more about Playing against the Pirc]
Alekhine's Defence
1 e4, Nf6
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EXAMPLE LINE: 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. d4 d6 5. exd6 cxd6 6. Be3 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O Bg4
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[Read more about Playing against Alekhine's Defence]
Budapest Defence
1 d4, Nf6; 2 c4, e5
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EXAMPLE LINE: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 Qe7 7. e3 Ngxe5 8. Be2 Nxf3+ 9. Bxf3 Ne5 10. Be2 d6
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Grunfeld Defence
1 d4, Nf6; 2 c4, g6; 3 Nc3, d5
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EXAMPLE LINE: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. Bc4 Bg7 8. Ne2 cxd4 9. cxd4 Nc6 10. Be3 O-O 11. O-O Na5 12. Bd3 Bg4
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Two Knights' Defence
1 e4, e5; 2 Nf3, Nc6; 3 Bc4, Nf6
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4... d5
But there is an alternative: the Wilkes-Barre variation
or Traxler Counterattack.
4... Bc5!?
This is wild and exciting chess, and you will enjoy playing over
games in this line even if you
never play it yourself.
Otherwise, after 4. Ng5 4...d5 is forced, and after 5 exd5 Black should avoid 5...Nxd5, 6 d4 which Lasker showed leads to White advantage. White can even play 6 Nxf7, Kxf7; 7 Qf3+, Ke6 - the Fegatello or Fried Liver attack.
EXAMPLE LINE: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. Nf3 e4 10. Ne5 Bd6 11. f4 O-O 12. O-O Qc7
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[Read more about Two Knights' Defence]
Petroff (Petrov) Defence (Russian Game)
1 e4, e5; 2 Nf3, Nf6
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EXAMPLE LINE: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. dxe5 d5 5. Nbd2 Nc5 6. Nb3 Nxb3 7. axb3 Be7 8. Bf4
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[Read more about Petroff's Defence]
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