Questions tagged [opening]
Questions relating to the initial moves of the game and their aims
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Examples in master play
Having scoured several editions of Chess magazine, and a litany of texts, volumes, titles and books - I am still seeking an example of a particular transposition in master play.
This is: 1.QN-QB3 in ...
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Variant: 1st check wins
This is a simple chess variant: Normal starting position, normal rules, except the first check wins. With the problem chess software Popeye, alas, you can verify that 1.Nc3 due to the "fork" ...
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Why does counterattacking lead to a more drawish and less dynamic position than defending？
After 1. e4 e5 2.Nf3, the two most common continuations are 2... Nc6 and 2... Nf6, the first move defends the e5 pawn and the second counterattacks the e4 pawn.
How to explain in layman's terms why ...
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What Are the Best Opening Strategies for Both Sides in Chess for a Returning Player? [closed]
I used to be an active chess player with a rating over 1300, but I stepped away from the game for a while to focus on other priorities. Now, I'm looking to get back into chess and improve my skills. ...
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2
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Could anyone provide insights that clarify when this defense shines and when it might falter?
I've been studying various chess opening systems, and I've noticed that certain defenses, like the King's Indian Defense, can be incredibly effective at different levels of play. I’ve researched this, ...
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Frequent beginner's opening mistakes - which is the worst?
A few experiments with LiChess Stockfish. Some frequently occuring bad moves by beginners. Change in the evaluation is given.
1.f3§ -0.8
1.a3 or h3: -0.2
1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 -0.5
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bd6 -0.6
1.e4 ...
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Convert ctg book to pgn
Is there a way to convert ctg files to pgn?
If so, is it possible to export by selecting the green lines for a certain side?
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Two gambits in the Caro Kann
How do you face these two gambits in the Caro Kann. They cause a lot of headache and I would like to have an understanding of the strategy (if there is any) not just some engine lines how to reply to ...
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2
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What threats might b4 pose to my opponent's position, and how could it benefit my strategy in this game?
In this position as white, I played Nf3 and the plan is to castle; however, the chess engine suggests that b4 is also a viable move. I'm uncertain about my strategy after playing b4 and what threats ...
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In this position, why is the move 12. Be3 rarely played by top players?
[Title ""]
[Fen ""]
[Startply "22"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5
10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 *
In the above position, ...
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2
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Slav / Semi-slav Bf4 is bad?
In a recent game I played 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 (Semi-slav), then as White played Bf4 because I didn't know any theory. Lichess analysis board says this is a non-trivial opening ...
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Why is putting the pawn to d5 not so good here?
Compare this position:
[fen ""]
[title ""]
[startply "7"]
1.e4 e5 2.d4 d6 3.Nf3 f6 4.Bc4 *
And this one:
[fen ""]
[title ""]
[startply "7"]...
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Benoni line with White
I like to play the h3 line against the Benoni specifically when they play the a6 line like this one:
[FEN ""]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.Bd3 Bg7 8.h3 O-O 9.Nf3 ...
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Why does black have a higher win rate on Lichess in Exchange French?
In the following position, databases of master games show black has a higher win rate (Lichess says 20% for white vs 25% for black). Why does black have a higher win rate here?
[FEN ""]
[...
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Tricky response against the London system
I am 1900 chess.com rapid player. I am looking for some opening recommendations with black against the London. I find myself struggling to reach positions that suit my style.
I am genuinely tired of ...
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3
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How do I face the Sicilian wisely?
When I play the open Sicilian with White, I have this constant unjustified urge to “do something” and “do it immediately or Black will take over”! I am good enough of a player to know this is stupid! ...
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1
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Tool for training opening moves
I have a PGN with the best moves against common opening traps. I'd like to train my memory and use an app/website.
The idea is that computer chooses a random line on the PGN and I have to remember ...
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Resources for creating opening books or chess trees offline on PC
Please Suggest resources for creating, viewing and updating opening books or chess trees offline on PC. preferably with the ability to add moves or lines manually and with open source or free software ...
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In the Symmetrical Exchange Slav, why is 7. e3 played before 8. Qb3?
After:
[fen ""]
[Startply "12"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bf5
How does 7. e3 e6 8. Qb3 benefit white as opposed to the immediate 7. Qb3?
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A game I might have read about, Kasparov had to analyse an opening line from scratch and ended up winning anyway?
If my memory isn't tricking me, didn't Kasparov once get a game where early in the opening he didn't know the line, so he sat down for 45 minutes and worked out that the best move is Qc7, and went on ...
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How to analyze new opening, in a tournament time-frame, as an intermediate?
This is a hypothetical question as I'm not actually taking part in tournaments but the question is I think worth posing.
I was non-chalantly playing this as black against a chess.com bot:
[StartPly &...
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Why do some common openings move a pawn in front a bishop prior to moving the king's or queen's pawn?
I've seen several people do this and assumed it was a beginner's mistake (since I'm a beginner myself and I play on the chess.com app usually only against other players within 25 points of my rating), ...
3
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2
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As a beginner, should I concern myself with pawn structure during opening, or just focus on developing my knights and bishops and winning time?
If a makes a difference, I usually open with the King's pawn (or, if I'm playing black and my opponent starts with the Queen's pawn, I'll usually counter with the Queen's pawn as well, since I don't ...
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answers
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When is it worth it to sacrifice a knight or bishop in order to force the opponent to move the king down a rank and lose castling rights?
Specifically, I'm confused why the game review on chess.com says this move was a blunder:
I did end up losing the knight, but that's what I expected to happen. I did it on purpose to force the king ...
2
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1
answer
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What's the benefit to attacking f7 or f2 during the opening?
I remember a specific chess.com lesson on common openings, and it seems like one of the most common and safest openings is to take control of the center with the king and queen pawns and the attack ...
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1
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Is the Advance section in Aagard & Ntirlis "Playing the French" outdated?
I'm looking into starting playing the French as Black, at 2000 Elo. "Playing the French" by Aagard & Ntirlis is 11 years old. Are the chapters on the Advance variation still solid, or ...
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Why black plays h6 in Queen's Gambit declined?
After sequece of these moves:
d4 d5
c4 e6
Nc3 Nf6
Nf3 Be7
Bg5
Black should play move h6. What is the point of it? Black should't play g5 as follow up and Knight is still attacked.
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What kinds of analysis can I do to improve my openings? [closed]
I am working in a project where I can analyze pgn games, so if I apply it to my own games, I would get a full map of the positions I have won as white/black and compare that directly with the ...
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After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6, why are the Scotch (3.d4) and the Four Knights Scotch (3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4) not better for White than they really are?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6, if White plays 3.Nc3 or 3.Bc4 or 3.Bb5 and then Black answers with a bad passive move such as 3...d6, 3...h6, 3...g6, 3...Nge7, most often the best move for White is 4.d4.
...
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Why is Bc4 slightly worse than Be3 and many moves here?
FEN is:
rn1qkb1r/pppb1ppp/3p1n2/8/3NP3/2N2P2/PPP3PP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 0 7
[StartFlipped "0"]
[FEN "rn1qkb1r/pppb1ppp/3p1n2/8/3NP3/2N2P2/PPP3PP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 0 7"]
...
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does anyone know who Gubinsky is in the Gubinsky-Melts variation of the Scandinavian Defence
The Gubinsky-Melts variation of the Scandinavian defence is named after correspondence master Michael Melts and Gubinsky, however I can't seem to find out who this Gubinsky is. the opening starts 1. ...
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Difference between Ne6 and a6 on QGD
In the game Van der Berg - Kramer in 1950, they followed the following move order in the Queen's Gambit Declined
[FEN ""]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. cxd5 exd5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 c6 ...
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Why is 4. Ng5 in the Two Knights not common in current (2024) top-level chess?
When following the ongoing 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament, I notice that Black often plays the Two Knights Defense in response to the Italian, but White goes for a quiet Giuoco Piano line instead of ...
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1.d4 and the Bc8
Can White choose a variant/move order such that there is no good way for
Black to solve the standard problem of the Bc8 in d4 openings and the
dude has to stay put for a while? (Doesn't mean Black has ...
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Steinitz vs Mainline classical French
After
e4 e6
d4 d5
Nc3 Nf6
White has 2 main options, go for the Steinitz with 4) e5 or stick to the mainline or the Burn variation of the Classical French with Bg5. I want to know the differences ...
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How did the Omaha Gambit get its name?
I was recently playing the Vienna Gambit as white on chess.com and was surprised to see a variation called the "Omaha gambit."
[Title "Vienna Game: Omaha Gambit"]
[StartPly "5&...
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Percentage of "playable" openings
Google says 197,742 positions are possible after 4 halfmoves. Let's call a position
playable if it is not worse than 0.5 pawn units on the engine of your choice (I use Lichess Stockfish). By this ...
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How to sense the 0.5 difference
In the below opening, after 10. O-O-O, the best move for black is 10... Re8, this is understandable, to control the half-open file; however, 10... Qd7 is also following the principle -- to connect the ...
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Decent e4 e5 opening for white
I'm seeking guidance from an experienced e4 player. Currently rated 1950 on Chess.com Rapid, I find myself struggling to reach positions that suit my style. Despite having played the Vienna Gambit for ...
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0
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White defense against bishop check in b4
I'm a low ranking player and always wondering why for example after:
[FEN ""]
[StartPly "8"]
1. e4 b6 2. d4 Bb7 3. Bd3 e6 4. Nf3 Bb4+
white often plays Nc3, so why this and not ...
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Soundness and engine evaluation of the benko
Is the benko a sound gambit? Can I craft a "lifetime repertoire" around the benko? the engine disagrees but I have heard that the benko gives very long term compensation that may not be ...
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3
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What e4 opening for an ELO below 1000? [closed]
As a player with an ELO below 1000, what e4 opening would you recommend I focus on, the Italian game, Giuoco Piano or the Ruy Lopez?
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Resources on the closed Italian
What are some good books, courses, etc to learn the slow Italian with d3? I want to start playing the slow Italian with d3 as it keeps lots of pieces on the board and leads to rich middle games and am ...
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"Daddy, why don't you take the e4 pawn?"
I play with my 8-year old daughter chess often and about half of our games start with these moves:
[FEN ""]
[StartFlipped "1"]
[StartPly "7"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 ...
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What is an "opening edge" in computer terms
When analysing with stockfish on chessbase, there are often positions reached in openings where the engine's eval is around +0.2 ish and the verdict is "position is equal". So at what ...
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In the London, after 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 c5 3.dxc5 Nc6 4.Nf3, why is "blocking your bishop" the best move
In this situation:
[FEN ""]
[StartFlipped "1"]
[StartPly "7"]
1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 c5 3.dxc5 Nc6 4.Nf3
Stockfish 16 really does not value getting the bishop out (Bg4 and Bf5 ...
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2
answers
162
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How to use massive advantage in early opening - need help on where to learn
Context: I am around 15-1600 in terms of Chess.com blitz.
My question was motivated by watching a Ben Finegold video where as a joke he played Ng8 Nf6 Ng8 Nf6 repeatedly at the start of the blitz game ...
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2
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What is the shortest game that has never been played?
In the publicly available databases (at all levels of play, including Lichess), what is the shortest unique sequence of moves from the opening which has never occurred? (That is, if it were played, it ...
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How can white fight for the initiative in the open Tarrasch french
In the French tarrasch after black plays c5, how can white fight for the initiative. I played the closed tarrasch and really enjoy the positions reached after Korchnoi's gambit and want to reach a ...
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3
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"Simplest" opening against 1.e4
What do you think is the "simplest" opening for black against 1.e4?
With "simplest" I mean an opening which is solid enough to bring you equality (or even give you an advantage if ...
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