It was the first time that he faced this opening chess trap so his opponent manages to beat him in the first few moves... It was a miniature! If you have some unknown words in the above sentence then stay with me because I'll reveal to you five (5) very basic things in the opening. After this lesson you can start a chess game properly and with confidence. The first moves of the game are very important and you'll learn how to develop your pieces successfully.

Advanced Chess Openings

All openings today have their own name and these have analyzed for hundreds of years. The best players know exactly which plans to follow in order to equalize the position or gain an advantage. If you want to start your game perfectly, with the correct strategy and without losing quickly, then you should study some of the opening courses that I prepared for you.

The opening in chess is characterized by the first eight to ten moves in which you must develop your pieces quickly from their original positions. This is a very important chess strategy which will help you later to attack the opponent king and win. We cannot attack immediately, without having developed our pieces; for example only with few pieces, or the "Superman" piece. Our queen alone cannot capture all of the opponent's pieces.

The Main Goal In The Opening

We need to develop our pieces in order to control the center, i.e. the squares e4, d4, d5, and e5. The ultimate goal of the chess opening is to have the upper hand or at least to avoid the obstacles that the opponent may set up.

White has the first move so they fight directly for the initiative, while Black has to defend in the beginning in order to equalize the position. If White makes a mistake then he will lose this initiative of the first move; on the contrary if Black makes an error then he risks losing the game immediately! So you should be much more careful while playing with Black pieces.

The Fisher Chess Variant

As we mentioned little earlier, the openings have analyzed a lot and have specific continuations. These continuations called variations. Chess variant is a correct series of moves. The 11th World Champion Robert Fischer, maybe trying to avoid all this theoretical preparation, introduced a new variant of chess, the 960. So he suggested to start the game with a random initial placement of the pieces behind the pawns; the possible different starting positions can be 960. Thus, it is almost impossible for people to study all these starting positions and they will have to think with their own mind from the beginning of the game rather than remember their home preoperation.

The Opening Names In Chess

Each opening has its own name which can be taken with three different ways. The first version is that a strong player had studied it and played it with tournament success. For example the Marshall attack. The second version is to take its name from a formation that occurs on the chessboard, for example the 2 Knights Defense, since Black immediately develops the two knights in the game. The third and final version is to take this opening the name of a country or a city, for example the Spanish defense or the opening of London System.

The 5 Basic Rules Of The Opening

If you want to play successfully in the opening then please follow the following basic rules:

1. The Pawns In The Center

We should place our pawns in the central squares, ie e4, d4, e5 and d5 in order to gain space and develop our pieces behind them.

2. Development Of The Pieces

This is the main goal in the opening, ie to develop the pieces from their initial squares. This development should not be accidental but part of a strategically plan. Since we have our pawn placed in the center of the chessboard we need our pieces to be behind them to support them.

3. King's safety

This is very important not only at the beginning of the game but at every stage of it. The king should be safe because if we lose the king we lose the game. In the opening it is possible to be under attack because we have not yet organize all of our pieces. Thus, one of the top five priorities is to put our king in safety; this can be done by castling.

4. Do NOT Hunt The Opponent's Pawns

The last two rules are for things that we should not do in the opening. A big mistake in chess is to hunt an opponent's pawn, because we waste time and delay the development of the rest of our pieces. This can cost us even if it isn't entirely clear at first glance. My advice here is do not hunt the opponent's pieces.

5. Avoid Unnecessary Moves

The last characteristic mistake is the "Superman" piece. All people have preferences, that is, they consider a piece superior to the rest. So they start with their favorite piece to attack the entire enemy army. This strategy can not work if the opponent organizes his defense properly. Chess is a strategy game and to succeed in it we must use all our available forces.

The 15 Best Chess Openings for Beginners and Advanced Players

You do not need to memorize the first moves of the game, ie the opening, but to understand them. Each opening has its own ideas that can be easily understood; follow my tips and you will become an expert in a short time! Opening is not a memory exercise, but you should understand the basic ideas that are based on the opening principles. As we said above we have to control the center with our pawns and develop the pieces.

The most common question chess players ask is which chess openings should I study first? After a little experiments and practical games, you will understand that there are a variety of openings, some more aggressive, some more defensive, some that aim to counterattack, or others that have peculiarities. But surely you can find the openings that best suit your character and style. So I would like to give you my version of the best openings that every chess player should know.

# 15 || Alekhine Defense

Alexander Alekhine was born on October 31, 1892 in Russia. The stormy, resourceful and aggressive game helped him become the 4th World Chess Champion. He lost the title to Max Euwe but gave up alcohol and so in 1937 he won it again by a wide margin. Did that inspire the author of the hit Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit"?

He was still a World Champion on March 24, 1946 when he died in his hotel room in Estoril, Portugal. The circumstances of his death are still a matter of controversy and mystery; some say he died of a heart attack while others say he drowned with a piece of meat. What is the KGB hiding from us? We will probably never know the truth ... If Alekhine had inspired Garry Kasparov to play attacking chess, then he can certainly do the same to you. Alekhine's death brought great upheavals in the chess world. So there was no Champion from 1946 to 1948. The best players of that time competed in a league for the next World Champion and Botvinnik won.

# 14 || Scandinavian Defense

The Scandinavian Defense or central counterattack begins with moves 1.e4-d5. Black's idea is to exchange a pair of center pawns, e with d. Black loses some time from his development but this is not decisive for the result. The arising lines are very stable. Scandinavian is the best opening for someone who is just start playing chess, because the plans are simple and you can learn them very easily. You can read more by clicking here.

# 13 || Caro Kann

The idea of Karo Khan is to leave the bishop's c8 diagonal open. Black wants to attack the e4 pawn immediately, and the counterplay is based against that pawn.

# 12 || French Defense

Similalry in the French Defense, Black wants to attack the e4 pawn immediately. It is a strategic opening and many times the center is closed; it is blocked with the pawns. The disadvantage of this defense is that the bishop c8 is closed.

# 11 || Italian Game

This opening is characterized by the bishop development on c4. It is an ancient opening, which is played successfully even today at a top chess level. The idea is to control the center very well and attack f7-square very quickly. Attacks on f7 can be made either by the queen expantion to h5 or by driving the knight to g5 via f3. Italian opening is the base for a variety of other systems such as: Two Knights Defense, Scotch Gambit, Evans Gambit, Greco Attack, Max Lange Attack, and more.

# 10 || Spanish Opening

Spanish is a strategic chess opening which is characterized by the bishop development on b5. The original idea was to capture the c6-knight and then the pawn on e5, but later Black players discovered that this tactical Idea did not work in practice. So, Whites may not immediately win a pawn, but it is a very reliable opening for both colors.

# 9 || Sicilian Defense

The Sicilian is the most popular opening with the Black pieces against the first White moves 1.e4; because it is offering many winning chances. The game is asymmetrical, with different pawn structure, and plenty tactical oportunities for both sides. If Black manages to survive in the first moves, then he can take the initiative. Read the comprehensive article by clicking here.

# 8 || London System | Trompowsky Attack | Torre Attack

This is a complete package of openings that Whites can play after the first move 1.d4. Players who want to avoid heavy theoritical lines can choose these continuations. White pieces develop normally and these systems offer a good control of the center. If Blacks do not know exactly what to do then they can lose the game very easily, almost without playing!

# 7 || Albin Counterattack

This is a dynamic gambit that Black can play in order to fight for the initiative. Blacks sacrifices a central pawn to open lines for their pieces and will try to get it back under favorable conditions. Exhaustive study may offer a smale adge to White, but that does not mean that Albin Counterattack is not a very dangerous weapon in the right hands ...

# 6 || Queen's Gambit Accepted / Decline

The Queen's gambit is one of the oldest openings in chess which offers rich strategic ideas. Blacks can accept the gambit by capturing the c4-pawn, or try to hold their center firmly with the d5-pawn, ie by playing the e6 move. The disadvantage of the system is that the c8-bishop remains closed, behind the pawn structure. Do you see any similarities with the French Defense here?

# 6 || Benko Gambit

The Benko Gambit is an aggressive and tactical reply to 1.d4. It will help you get an aggressive position, full of tactical possibilities. This is the best way to guarantee the victory! Read here the the ultimate chess opening guide for Benko.

# 4 || Slav Defense

Slav Defense is a very solid and sound opening. Many masters of Slavic descent helped develop the theory of this opening, including Alapin, Alekhine, Bogoljubov, and Vidmar.

# 3 || King's Indian Defense

The King's Indian is a hypermodern opening, where Black gives the center to white but he'd like to counter attack with his pieces. Usually Black will get a kingside attack.

# 2 || Grunfeld Defense

The Grünfeld Defence is a very dynamic opening in which black would like to counter attack the center and more specifically the d4-square. In many cases he can create an outside passed pawn on the queenside.

# 1 || Nimzo Indian Defense

The most popular opening. Black is fighting for the center and would like to develop his pieces normally.  

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