The first few moves in the chess opening lays the foundation for every chess game. Most of the chess openings have been named and analyzed for hundreds of years. It is important if you want to be successful in chess to be familiar with some of the most popular openings and understand the theory behind the moves. In this section we cover everything you need to know about the most popular chess openings. The boards below will let you know if the opening is offensive or defensive. Once you find the opening you want, click to watch an in depth video and see some of the famous chess games that have been played using that opening.
Many beginners ask what they should study first. While it’s important to understand concepts more than memorizing moves of a particular opening there are a few specific openings that all chess players should start with because they are so widely played. For white, a player should first learn the King’s Gambit, Queen’s Gambit, Ruy Lopez and the English. For black, a player should first learn the Sicilian Defense, French Defense, Scandinavian, and the Slav.
It’s important for any chess player to figure out what type of strategy they like to play. Each opening has a very different play style. Once someone determines what type of game they like to play they can then learn other openings that lead to those type of games.
There is a large body of theory regarding how the game should be played in each of these phases, especially the opening and endgame. Those who write about chess theory, who are often also eminent players, are referred to as 'theorists' or 'theoreticians'.
- There is a large body of theory regarding how the game should be played in each of these phases, especially the opening and endgame. Those who write about chess theory, who are often also eminent players, are referred to as 'theorists' or 'theoreticians'.
- Best for Beginners: Back to Basics: Openings (Carsten Hansen) Buy on Amazon.
- Chess theory consists of opening knowledge, tactics (or combinations), positional analysis (particularly pawn structures), strategy (the making of long-range plans and goals), and endgame technique (including basic mates against the lone king).
Chess Opening Theory Youtube
Chess Opening Theory Table
If you would like to filter the openings by a specific move you can click the move below: