What is the best food to eat? did I write an incorrect sentence? no, today I will cover the question of what is the best chess opening.

This question needs a full and detailed answer which I will provide you with enough information and with my personal experience.

The best chess opening depends on your playing level, if you are a grandmaster then there will be different best chess openings, and if you are a beginner then there will be different best chess openings for you.

If you want to know the overall best chess opening by database then the King’s Pawn openings (1.e4 best by test – Boby Fischer) have the most winning percentage 59% and king’s pawn openings include Ruy Lopez, Italian Game, and many other openings and gambits which depends on black’s response.

What is the chess opening?

The first few moves of chess are called chess openings. Basically, every chess opening has its own idea which you have to implement in your whole game.

Let me explain in an easy way, so even a beginner can understand chess openings.

Every game of chess has three phases, an opening, a middlegame, and an endgame.

In the opening phase, you have to choose your chess opening and you have to play according to your opening plans and ideas.

A chess opening has its unique idea to implement and if you do not play according to the opening idea then I can guarantee that you will lose your chess game in the opening phase.

Is chess opening important?

Yes, a chess opening is extremely important in your chess game and if you want to play professional chess then you can not win chess game without chess opening knowledge.

Why chess opening is important? because the whole game builds on the chess opening idea. If you do not know about the opening idea then you will be crushed in a few moves, for example, you may have a weakness in your camp or you may be hunted by some opening traps.

Chess openings are very important and you have to study chess openings like a pro, which means you should know the theory, opening plans, variations, middle game ideas, and endgame position according to your opening.

How to choose the best chess openings for yourself?

I mentioned above that choosing the best opening for you is depend on your current playing level and many factors as well.

For ease of selection, below are some guidelines that you have to follow when you are selecting/ learning new openings or updating your opening repertoire.

These general guidelines are for all the openings and you can check the opening by following this guideline and my personal experience as well.

What is a gambit in chess?

Gambit in chess means sacrificing a pawn or pawns and in some cases a minor piece for long-term advantage, for creating a weakness, to disturb an opponent’s development, or in order to launch a quick attack on the opponent’s king.

There are many sharp gambits in chess openings that you should know how to handle or you will lose a game right in the opening phase.

Here are some examples of sharp and attacking gambits with pictures that you should be aware of.

Kings Gambit

King’s gambit start when Black replies 1.e4 with e5 then White hit back with an f4 move sacrificing f pawn temporarily. The point of the king’s gambit is to castle quickly starts a kingside attack with an open f file.

Scotch Gambit

Scotch gambit begins after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 and d4, sacrificing a pawn, and when black takes the pawn white will not recapture the pawn immediately instead white will play Bc4 move and the game goes on.

This is a very sharp gambit and one inaccuracy in the opening can result in a loss of a piece or the game.

Smith Mora Gambit

Smith mora gambit is very sharp if accepted, the gambit starts with 1.e4 c5 and white sacrifices a pawn by playing d4.

Black takes the extra central pawn and White again offers another pawn which is c3 if black accepts c3 then White will develop Nf3 and bishop c4 and castle even if Black takes the third pawn.

The point of the Smith mora gambit is to give up pawns in order to develop quickly and launch an attack. If Black is careless and takes pawns then he will be crushed in the opening for sure.

Danish Gambit

Danish Gambit is similar to the Smith mora gambit, the difference is that if your opponent plays Sicilian against you then you can play the Smith mora gambit, and if your opponent plays 1.e5 then you can play Danish Gambit against e5 move.

The point of the Danish gambit is to sacrifice a pawn or two pawns for the lead in the development. After development white will launch an attack on the opponent’s king,

Budapest Gambit

The Budapest gambit starts with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5, the point of the Budapest gambit is to disturb the white’s smooth development and equalize the white’s center in the opening.

When White takes the e5 pawn, black’s knight jump on g4, and Black’s all forces will try to get back his pawn with the development of pieces. Black usually castles long side in this gambit.

Stafford Gambit

The Stafford gambit is another gambit for Petroff players who don’t like draw. The petrrof defense is usually considered a draw because of similar pawn structure and piece placement but if you don’t like drawish position then you can play the Stafford gambit.

I have written a detailed article on Stafford’s gambit with tips and traps, check out: https://thechessforum.com/stafford-gambit/

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you are below 2000 elo then you can try some gambits in blitz or rapid games but if you are above 2000 rating then you will not get any advantage because players above 2000 elo know the refutation of the gambit and it will be hard getting back the sacrificed material.

What is the Center in Chess Openings And How to Control It

The center of the chess board is the most important area to have a solid grip on the whole chess game. Because if you control the center, then you control the direction of play and attack.

For example, if you have control of 8 central squares of the board then your opponent will not find any good square for the development of his minor pieces and you have the choice to attack kingside or queenside because you have central control and your pieces and pawns have more control and space on the board.

In order to control the center, you have to choose the best chess opening which controls the center.

For example, you can control the center by playing e4 and d4 if allowed (of course your opponent also has the move). Play the openings that begin 1.e4 or d4 because it controls the center directly.

Other openings which control the center indirectly are also good like the Nimzo Indian defense (in Nimzo Indian you control the center by minor pieces).

In conclusion, control of the center in chess openings is very important and you should choose the openings which control the center at the start of the game.

The Role of Pawn Structures in Chess Openings

If you are a beginner and amateur chess player then you probably do not know about the pawn structures in the opening.

Every chess opening has its own pawn structure related to its ideas and plans.

In order to understand opening like a professional chess player, you must know the pawn structure of your chess openings.

Here are some examples of popular chess openings and pawn structures which you should know if you are playing one of these openings.

Carlsbad Pawn Structure

The Carlsbad pawn structure is one of the famous pawn structures which occurs in the Queen’s Gambit Declined variation. This pawn structure also occurs in some other chess openings like Semi-Slav, Tartakower defense, and Lasker’s Defense.

The point of the Carlsbad structure is to play a minority attack against the black’s queenside pawn chain.

The plan is to advance white’s B pawn and A pawn in order to create a weakness on c6, once the weakness on c6 has been created the white will play on the weakness and will win black’s c6 pawn for free.

Maroczy Bind Pawn structer

If you achieve this pawn structure with minor pieces on the board then you have winning chances, you can not believe without playing it.

In Marocozy Bind Pawn Structure white has a strong grip and control on the center, and the control on the center gives White the option to play either kingside by playing f4 or can advance his queenside majority which is also one of the winning advantages if you can convert it.

Caro Slav Pawn Structure

This is the pawn structure that occurs in many openings like Slav Defense, and Caro Kan, and a similar structure with black pieces also occurs in Scandinavian Defense.

In this structure, black is very solid but passive, so black needs to open the game, black has two pawn breaks, one is with C5 and the second is e5.

If you play this type of pawn structure then you need to understand the structure and you have to watch chess games of top players for better understanding.

Conclusion of Pawn Structures

If you want to learn any opening then you must learn the pawn structure of that opening and you must watch top chess games played in your pawn structures. When choosing the best opening you must look into the pawn structure of the opening.

Open and Closed Chess Openings

There are two types of chess openings that you must be aware of. One is with open positions like where the center will be open and there will be a sharp game.

Second is the closed center, where the game develops slowly like in some d4 openings, for example, slave defense and queens gambit declined where the game develops slowly and the center remains closed for a long time.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you want to play an attacking chess game and you like sharp and tactical positions, then you should choose 1.e4 openings. And If you want to play a classic chess game and build slowly and positionally step by step then 1.d4 opening will be suitable for you.

The Best Chess Openings for Attacking Play

There are many sharp openings in which you have to play accurately and precisely, even one small inaccuracy will result in losing position in the opening, the best example of this kind of opening is the Sicilian defense dragon variation.

In dragon variation, you must play all the opening moves precisely and accurately and if you play one inaccuracy it will result in a quick loss.

Here are some openings for attacking play.

Kings Gambit

Danish Gambit

Evans Gambit

For a complete guide, you may visit: https://thechessforum.com/evans-gambit-accepted/

Scotch Gambit

Haloween Gambit

The Halloween Gambit starts with 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nxe5, the point of the Halloween gambit is to sacrifice a piece in order t get full central controls with pawns and then complete development and launch an attack.

Fried Liver Attack

This is one of the strongest and most sound gambits. Here is a complete guide for Fried Liver Attack: https://thechessforum.com/fried-liver-attack/

Conclusion

In conclusion, these attacking openings require one must-have skill which is tactics, you must be stronger in tactics if you want to play attacking openings if you are not an attacking player then you may not get the advantage in these attacking chess openings.

The Best Chess Openings for Beginners

As I said earlier that choosing the opening depends on many factors such as your current playing level, your positional understanding, your grip on tactics, and your knowledge of opening theory but with my own experience here is what I recommend for beginners especially if you are under 1600 rated.

With white pieces you should play d4 opening, you may choose London System, Colle System, and Stonewall Attack, these systems are easy to learn and have a clear plan which will bypass your opening phase and in the middle game you will know what to do next.

With Black pieces, against 1.e4 you should play Scandinavian Defense, and against 1.d4 you should play Benko gambit.

If you are not satisfied with Scandinavian Defense then you can play Sicilian Kan Variation and against d4 you can play Nimzo Indian Defense.

This recommendation which I suggested is tested by me and I got a 2000 rating with these openings which I mentioned above.

So its a practical recommendation and if you are still not happy with it then you can play whatever suits you.

Papular Chess Openings

Here are some popular openings at all levels. They are strong chess openings with rich theory, so if you are planning to play these openings then you must know the theory, move orders, plans, and best games of top chess players.

Let’s get to a brief introduction of these popular chess openings.

Italian Game

The Italian game starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4, the bishop c4 was Bobby Fischer’s favorite move, after Bobby Fischer, many grandmasters adopted this move, and still today after getting a strong engines this move is one strongest move in the above position.

Ruy Lopez

Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest chess openings, which is named after Spanish bishop Ruy Lopez de Segura who wrote one of the oldest chess books in history.

The opening starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3. Bb5, Ruy Lopez is very position and strategic opening, both players fight for the centers.

White has many opening plans he can play in the center, queenside, and Kingside, and don’t forget that in all plans black also have the counterplay.

In order to master Ruy Lopez you must learn the theory and the model games of great chess players.

Sicilian Defense

The Sicilian Defense starts with 1.e4 and Black replies with C5. This is a very sharp and complex opening played first time in the 16th century on the Italian Island of Sicily.

There are many variations in Sicilian defense like Najdrof, Kan Variation, Schevengen, Dragon, and others variations.

In order to play Sicilian Defense, you must have knowledge of updated theory and updated move order.

Many top grandmasters have played Sicilian Defense, some of the big names are Garry Kasparov, Bobby Fischer, and Magnus Carlsen.

If you are planning to play Sicilian Defense then you must know that you can not afford even one inaccuracy in the opening which will result in losing the game in the opening. You must play opening moves accurately and precisely.

For a complete guide on Sicilian Kan: https://thechessforum.com/sicilian-kan/

Nimzo Indian Defense

The Nimzo Indian Defense starts with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4. It is named after Aron Nimzowitch one of the greatest chess mind, who presented the concept that the center can be controlled by the pieces and not just pawns, and his theory is still proved by chess engines.

This defense is papular and played by all levels of players. The opening is very strategic, one of the main ideas of Nimzo Indian Defense is to double White’s pawn on c3 and build up the middlegame on winning it.

Conclusion of What is the best chess opening?

When you want to learn new chess opening or want to check wether your chess openings is the best for you or not, you have to follow some general rules. Here are rules and guidelines which you have to follow in order to learn best chess opening.

1. Check if your opening controls the center at the beginning of the game or not.
2. Check if your opening has a rich theory and backup from strong grandmasters.
3. Check if your opening has a rich pawn structure that is not easy to crack.
4. Check the database for your opening results.
5. Watch games of your opening, played by top chess grandmasters.

If you still have any questions about the opening, then feel free to ask in the comments below by mentioning your rating and I will suggest you the opening according to your level.