Below is the beginning of a game I played against the 8 year old Magnus Carlsen (yes, I'm a beginner). I'm white.
My opening moves are similar to that of a Spanish opening (but not quite), but I don't understand black's moves here. As far as I can see, there are only negatives (except the queen is threatening b2 if the white bishop is moved). Does this opening have any pros? The reason why I'm asking is that I've noticed that "Magnus" often plays moves that are good if played against a worse player, but rarely moves that are just plain bad (except some major blunders). I win probably 75% of the time against 8 year old Magnus, thus we're almost at the same level.
As far as I know, the most important principle during the first phase of the game is:
- Control the center
- Activate the pieces
- Perform a castling move
My question is: Does black's opening here have any advantages against a beginner or is it simply bad? Is black just "hoping" white will forget about the queen and move the bishop (or some other blunder I'm not seeing)? Am I doing something bad in this opening? What would a be a good next move for white?
[FEN ""]
1. e4 e6 2. Bc4 c5 3. d3 Nh6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. O-O a5