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Chess Opening Moves

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14 pointstsudot17 comments

What's this blog spam doing on HN? It just lists couple of opening, doesn't say the reason they are listed.

The wikipedia article is more informative: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_openings

And also, they don't put the Benoni defense which is my favorite opening :-)

Knowing your openings goes a long way in getting an upperhand in chess. Knowing the openings and end games can give you a lot of edge. Have a look at this http://www.gautamnarula.com/how-to-get-good-at-chess-fast/ the guy explains how to get good at chess.

That page says the exact opposite:

"One of the biggest mistakes players make is to devote massive amounts of time to openings. This is because openings tend to be very concrete, and beginners think that simply memorizing an opening will give them an unassailable advantage over their opponents6.

Don’t bother spending any time studying openings outside of analyzing your games. Just make sure you know the basic opening principles."

That's inane advice. Knowing several opening lines is always an advantage.

It's how a beginner becomes an intermediate player.

Beg/Ints don't PLAY the book openings anyway so you're out of book by the 4th or 5th move 99% of the time.

There are some lines that are useful to know (Avoid various <10 move mates, mostly), but beyond that basic principles will get you to 1800-2000, IF you have the tactics and calculation skills.

Plenty of examples in the high ranks too - notably Magnus Carlsen (World #1) spends very little time on openings compared to most 2600+ GMs.

Hog wash.

Knowing the SCO took me from 800 to 1600.

Hey, if it worked for you...it worked for you... but why does ever reputable chess coach advise the exact opposite?

>>Knowing the SCO took me from 800 to 1600.

Thats absolutely ridiculous and SCO is a poor reference anyway. There are a lot of good opening books that cover specific openings to ever rely on an a comprehensive guide anyway.

I'll a little confused that you claim to 'know' it. You reviewed the entire book even if you don't play certain openings or defenses? There is a lot better use of your time.

Forgive my short hand.

To be precise - "knowing the mainline of common and popular standard openings from the SCO..."

>>It's how a beginner becomes an intermediate player.

No it isn't. Having a good grasp of chess tactics makes you an intermediate player. So what if you memorize opening lines? Your intermediate opponent isn't going to follow them at all.

I was reading about the Sicilian Defence, which got me deep into another variation - The Yugoslav Attack[1] Video [2]

I'm curious to understand if chess masters have all of this committed to memory, and thats something one needs to excel at Chess.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Defence,_Dragon_Variat...

[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgYY4c7ijy8

Yes, we have this in memory. And at the highest level, extremely important.

The more important lesson is to analyze the opening position for the plans and thematic patterns at crucial junctures. Then, with critical positions memorized, you can usually work through the necessary moves at the board.

You are ranked >= FIDE Master?

There is a Paul Rowher with a peak FIDE ELO of 2235, FWIW, would you indicate a CM rank

The majority of the opening part of a Chess game is spent trying to force your opponent into a variation of an opening that you are most comfortable with. To be a good Chess player, you would need to be at least aware of most of the main lines, and then really master a few.

Hardly. I know quite a few 2000-2200 rated players that don't know many openings...but are very strong tactically and at endgames.

Much depends on the level of play you are at. Beginners flounder through weak openings while intermediate players know the main lines of the popular and strong ones.

There's really not a "master" for openings. After the first dozen moves or so you'll have your first exchange and the beginning of the middle game.

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