{"id":102,"date":"2022-04-18T17:21:40","date_gmt":"2022-04-18T15:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chessily.com\/?page_id=102"},"modified":"2022-06-06T18:42:06","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T16:42:06","slug":"chess-opening","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chessily.com\/chess-opening\/","title":{"rendered":"Chess Opening"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span>Chess Opening \u2013 The Ultimate Guide To Start Your Game<\/span><\/h1>\n

The opening is the first phase in every game of chess. It is defined as roughly the first 10 moves, after which the game transitions into the middlegame<\/a>. Beginners often feel confused and overwhelmed with the sheer amount of possible moves. But fear not: Opening theory is not as complicated as it seems. Let’s do a deep-dive into different chess openings<\/strong>, strategies<\/strong> and a bit of theory<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/span>7 Crucial Strategies for the Chess Opening<\/span><\/h1>\n

With the (seemingly) unlimited amount of moves in chess, it is impossible to remember every possible opening. However, during thousands of years of chess history, players have discovered a few key principles, that should be followed at all times during the opening. Let’s have a look at seven of them.<\/p>\n

<\/span>1. Focus on the Center<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the most important principles in openings theory is to focus on controlling the<\/strong> center. <\/strong>Center control is considered an important strategic goal, as tactical battles often take place on the central four squares.<\/p>\n

Also, pieces that are placed in the center of the board can easily be moved to almost any position on the board, providing a strategic advantage. A theoretical, optimal control of the center would look something like this:<\/p>\n

\"chess
chess opening – optimal development<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Notice how each of White’s minor pieces either attacks a center piece or defends a pawn already in the center. Obviosuly, this is a hypothetical position, but it illustrated well what we should be striving for during the chess opening.<\/p>\n

<\/span>2. Move Every Piece Just Once (If Possible)<\/span><\/h2>\n

The opening is mostly a game of speed. Whoever manages to develop all their pieces first, has a lasting advantage into the middlegame and endgame. Which is why you should be trying to get each piece into a good position as quickly as possible. In turn, moving pieces more than once is suboptimal, as that time could be spent developing other pieces. So, unless it is unavoidable, try to move each piece just once in the opening, until you are satisfied with the position of each piece.<\/p>\n

<\/span>3. Castle Early<\/span><\/h2>\n

The king<\/a> starts the game somewhat vulnerable, straight in the middle of the board. For that exact reason, it is important to protect your king \u2013 ideally by castling<\/a> him into safety. By castling, you place the king into a safe position behind a wall of pawns, making attacks on him significantly more difficult.<\/p>\n

But castling not only protects your king, it also activates one of your rooks, by moving it closer to the center and out of the corner. If it weren’t for castling, developing your rook would be much harder, as it is boxed into the corner, surrounded by pawns and the knight. This ties in neatly with our next point, which is to connect your rooks during the opening in chess.<\/p>\n

\"Castling
Castling with King and Rook (Shortside Castle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/span>4. Connect Your Rooks<\/span><\/h2>\n

A good general goal to have during your development is to connect both of your rooks<\/a>. Since both rooks start the game<\/a> on the back rank, connecting the two means moving all other pieces (except the king) away from the back row, towards the center of the board. But besides it being a good goal to have in the opening, there are also strategic advantages to have rooks, that protect each other.<\/p>\n

The back rank is generally a sensitive place, as your king is placed on it with little options for fleeing behind the wall of pawns. Having both rooks on the back rank and protecting each other \u2013 at least early in the game \u2013 is a good way to secure the back rank from infiltration by your opponent.<\/p>\n

<\/span>5. Trade Favorably<\/span><\/h2>\n

To be fair, trading favorably is a tip that applies to all phases of a chess game. But, it is especially important in the opening, as trades in the opening set the stage for the whole game, leaving players with lasting advantages (or disadvantages). Generally, a bishop pair is said to be slightly stronger than a knight pair for most players, so trading your knights for their bishops is usually advisable. Also, when you have a bishop pair, you want to trade off pawns to make room for your bishops to move, increasing their relative value.<\/p>\n

<\/span>6. Use Your Queen Wisely<\/span><\/h2>\n

Since the queen<\/a> is the strongest piece in chess, you might think it would be beneficial to get her out in the open as quickly as possible. While the reasoning is correct, actually, you want to be very careful with activating your queen early one.<\/p>\n

Since the queen is such a valuable piece, it cannot be defended properly against attacks from lesser pieces such as rook, knight, or bishop. In turn, the queen has to retreat after being attacked, losing valuable tempo. This all comes back to the principle of ideally moving each piece just once in the opening.<\/p>\n

\"chess
White Moves His Queen Too Early and Loses the Advantage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/span>7. Avoid Weak Pawns<\/span><\/h2>\n

The opening sets the stage for the middlegame and endgame, in both of which the pawn<\/a> structure plays a central role. Knowing this, we can start thinking ahead and improving our odds in the later phases of the game, by setting up a strong pawn structure in the opening.<\/p>\n

A strong pawn structure is characterized by having no isolated or doubled pawns and most pawns protecting each other in a so-called pawn chain.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Chess Opening Theory: Open, Semi-Open and Closed Games<\/span><\/h1>\n

Did you know that there are more than 1300 openings and variants that have their own names? Obviously, with the sheer amount of openings in chess, we need a way to cluster and organize them. One way to do that, is by dividing them into different kinds of games, that usually evolve from such openings. In this guide, we’ll look at the three main classifications of chess openings.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Open Games<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/i> Note<\/div>
Open Games (also known as Double King’s Pawn Opening) <\/b>start with the moves 1. e4 e5. They usually lead to games with a lot of open lines, hence the name. <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

Open Games begin with the move sequence 1. e4 e5, meaning both White and Black move their King’s pawn forward to squares. 1. e4 is the most popular move for White and generally a good choice, since it provides many benefits for the development:<\/p>\n