You are here:About>Hobbies & Games>Chess> Improve Your Game> Improve Your Openings
About.comChess

Chess Instruction - Improve Your Openings

It doesn't matter how creative you may be in the middle game or endgame if you lose in the opening. Avoid the quick knockout and get a comfortable game. Maybe even deliver a quick knockout yourself!
Learn the Openings - First Steps
Why learn the chess openings? (1) Because it doesn't matter how well you play the middle game and endgame if you lose in the opening. (2) Because the position at the beginning of the game is the only position you are guaranteed to see in every game.
Chess Tutorial : Opening Essentials
Your first task in a chess game is to get a good position. To do that you need to know something about the openings. Here are opening variations, names, and more.
Chess Openings at a Glance
Click on any small diagram for a larger diagram and the moves of that opening. Under the larger diagram find a link to the Introduction for the opening.
ECO at a Glance
The acronym ECO (Encyclopedia of Chess Openings) refers to two different but related concepts: 1) A five volume reference (A-E) published by Chess Informant; and 2) A system of chess opening classification using codes A00-E99.
Opening Tutorial : Count the Developing Moves
There is an extremely useful tool for handling the chess opening. Count the developing moves. First, it gives an idea who is leading in development. Second, it tells us what moves to consider next. Third, it lets us recognize and evaluate tradeoffs for less tangible positional factors.
Opening Tutorial : Introduction to 1.e4
No chess player can ignore 1.e4, when White already attacks on the first move. Half of your opponents are going to open with the King's Pawn - how do you react?
Opening Tutorial : Introduction to 1.d4
The initial position of a chess game is nearly symmetric. Only the position of the King and Queen breaks the symmetry, and this makes all the difference between 1.d4 and 1.e4. In most games opened with 1.d4, White plays an early c4 followed by Nc3.
Opening Tutorial : Unusual First Moves
The initial position shares a feature with all chess positions -- the legal moves do not all have equal value. What distinguishes the good moves from the bad moves, and from the not-so-bad moves?
Index of Opening Tutorials
Click on any small diagram for a larger diagram and a brief introduction to that opening. Under the larger diagram find a link to the Full Tutorial for the opening.
Top 10 Popular Chess Openings
Top 10 Popular Chess Openings • What's hot? What's not? Here are ten chess openings all players should be familiar with. Are you?
Glossary : Opening Terms
Chess terminology is at its most colorful in the names that have been applied to the openings and their variations. Chess also has a technical vocabulary which applies to opening theory in general.
Opening Repertoire : View Example Games
If you've spent any time browsing our site, you've probably seen 'Openings : Repertoire Recommendations'. We enhanced this feature by combining our game viewer with an old idea from the American master and writer Al Horowitz : illustrative games.
Opening Tutorial : Caro-Kann Defense
The Caro-Kann (1.e4 c6) is the fourth most popular response to 1.e4 after 1...c5, 1...e5, and 1...e6, and is considered one of Black's most solid responses to 1.e4. The player of the Black pieces is saying that a drawn game is an acceptable result. White's problem is to generate winning chances.
Opening Tutorial : English - 1...e5
The variation 1.c4 e5 of the English Opening is called the Reversed Sicilian. Because the Reversed Sicilian is a tempo ahead of the Sicilian, many beginning players assume there must be something wrong with it for Black. Experienced players know that even if not logical, it is eminently playable.
Opening Tutorial : French Defense - 3.Nc3
The most common continuation of the French Defense is 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5. Black accepts a restricted Bishop and less space in return for a solid position which is not easily breached. The variations after 3.Nc3, where the Knight develops to its natural square, keep the central tension. Black has three good replies: 3...Bb4, 3...Nf6, and 3...dxe4.
Opening Tutorial : Kings Indian Defense - Classical Variation
The Kings Indian Defense is one of the sharpest ways to meet 1.d4. The Classical Variation (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O) is one of the sharpest ways to meet the Kings Indian. After the board is separated into two pieces by ...e5 & d5, White attacks on the Queenside and Black attacks on the Kingside. Piece exchanges are infrequent and combinations arise everywhere.
Opening Tutorial : Nimzo Indian Defense - 4.e3
One of the best moves to meet the Nimzo Indian Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4) is 4.e3. Many authorities call this the 'Rubinstein Variation'. Unlike other moves, 4.e3 doesn't attempt to refute Black's setup. White builds a strong center and aims for flexible development. One idea is to continue Ng1-e2, recapturing with the Knight if Black plays ...Bxc3+.
Opening Tutorial : Queen's Gambit Accepted
The opening 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 is known as the Queen's Gambit Accepted (QGA). In contrast to the Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD, 2...e6), which gives Black a cramped game, the QGA promises a freer game at the cost of giving up the center temporarily. Everyone knows that after 2...dxc4, Black can't keep the Pawn, but there is a lot more to the QGA than that.
Opening Tutorial : Queen's Gambit Declined - 4.Bg5
A popular response by Black to 1.d4 is the Queen's Gambit Declined (often abbreviated QGD) : 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6. The game usually continues 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5, which pins the Black Knight and threatens 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bxf6 gxf6, ruining Black's Kingside. As with most Queen Pawn openings, the QGD move orders are flexible. In this tutorial we look at the main ideas.
Opening Tutorial : Queen's Indian Defense
Which opening is the closest in spirit to the Queen's Indian Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6)? If you guessed King's Indian because of the name, you guessed wrong. The closest is the Nimzo Indian (3.Nc3 Bb4) where the battle for e2-e4 -- White to play it, Black to prevent it -- also determines the best moves for both sides.
Opening Tutorial : Reti Opening
The move 1.Nf3 is commonly known as the Reti Opening. Richard Reti (1889-1929) began playing it at the highest levels of chess in 1923. His reasoning was that since 1.e4 and 1.d4 present targets in the center, White should hold back these moves until Black's own intentions are clear. This was the foundation of the Hypermodern approach to openings.
Opening Tutorial : Ruy Lopez - 3...a6 Closed Variation
The moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 (Ruy Lopez) 3...a6 (Morphy Defense) 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 (Closed Variation) 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O, lead to the most common position in chess after eight moves by both sides. One reason for its popularity is that the opponents have so many plans available.
Opening Tutorial : Sicilian Defense - Najdorf Variation
If you play 1.e4, planning to answer the Sicilian with 2.Nf3 and 3.d4, you will meet the Najdorf Variation (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6) many times. Be prepared!
Opening Tutorial : Sicilian Defense - 2...e6 Variations
The 2...e6 variations of the Sicilian Defense start 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4. The watchwords are flexibility and double-edged play. Unlike the 2...d6 variations, Black keeps the a3-f8 diagonal open for the Bishop. The move ...Bb4 is often an option and ...Bc5 is sometimes possible. The Scheveningen and Sveshnikov Variations are both related openings.
Opening Tutorial : Slav Defense
The Slav Defense (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6) is the opening of World Champions. It was used regularly by Alekhine, Euwe, Botvinnik, and Smyslov, and is in Vladimir Kramnik's arsenal. The idea is to protect the d-Pawn without blocking the Queen Bishop as in 2...e6.
Opening Tutorial : Two Knights Defense and Giuoco Piano
The opening 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 is a carryover from the romantic era of chess. White's third move aims at f7, hinders ...d5, and leads to gambits or speculative, often unsound, sacrifices. There are two major branches for Black: the Two Knights Defense (3...Nf6) and the Giuoco Piano (3...Bc5).
Opening Survey : Games from the 2006 Unification Match
Did all of the openings in the 2006 Kramnik - Topalov World Championship Match look similar to you? Even experienced players who don't play an opening can have trouble distinguishing the differences between variations. This is true not only for the openings used in the unification match, but for all openings. Small differences in similar positions can mean big differences in subsequent play.
ChessPublishing.com
'THE chess opening theory site!' Subscription site with some features for Guests.
Charting Openings Diagrams
Displays opening variations as tree structures. Some pages use only Descriptive Notation (1.P-K4).
Chess Openings
Starting from the Initial Position, click on a move to follow an opening variation. The best moves in a position are presented at the beginning of a list.
Chess Openings
'An interactive series of over 5,000 board positions, from first moves through to full development of pieces, covering all major openings, defences and variations.'
Chess Openings (by name / by move)
'HTML version of the ECO database that is distributed with GNU Chess.'
 All Topics | Email Article | Print this Page | |
Advertising Info | News & Events | Work at About | SiteMap | Reprints | HelpOur Story | Be a Guide
User Agreement | Ethics Policy | Patent Info. | Privacy Policy©2007 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.