Chess Openings

[Straussman]

As White I either play mainline 1.d4 openings or sometimes Reti/English systems.

As Black I usually play the Queen's Gambit Declined (Tartakower) against 1.d4 and the French Defense against 1.e4.

I generally prefer slower, strategic games to tactical slugfests.

[wacki]

The "Fried Liver Attack" is alot of fun. Messes up alot of opponents the first time they see it too!

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
"no one likes king indians?"

Don't play girlie chess.

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MMMMMMM, i'm suprised you would say such a thing. Tisk tisk.

[BruceZ]

[ QUOTE ]
I always played E4 because I prefer a less open game, which is what you usually get with D4.

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You stated this backwards. An "open game" by definition is one that has a king center on each side formed by 1. E4 E5. These openings revolve around the direct attack and defense of these pawns since they are initally unguarded. A "close game" is one that has a queen center such as formed by 1.D4 D5. Since the pawns are guarded, their capture is no longer an immediate issue, so instead these openings feature more subtle positional maneuvering to attack, defend, and control weak squares. If black makes any other response to 1. E4 besides 1...E5, as in the Sicilian Defence (...1. C5), the game is called "half open". In these games black attemps to form a queen center against white's king center.

[Utah]

I could be wrong since it has been many many years since I played seriously. However, my understanding is that D4 brings the Queens into the action earlier and thus leading to a more attacking and tactical game.

[vulturesrow]

Bruce is right. e4 openings are usually open games, d4 openings are closed games (usually).

[threeonefour]

I recommend 1.c4 as white... very flexible you can play it all sorts of ways and you rarely get surprised in this opening.

I also like to play 1.d4 but that is usually only if I KNOW my oppenant will let me go into some meran/anti meran variations. the botvinnik variation is by far the most interesting and sharp variation in all of chess and probably still will be in 20 years.

as black the pirc rules. 1. e4 d6 Its all i will ever play against e4, its just so much fun.

[BruceZ]

This book has a nice explanation of the classifications of openings. The author says that the open and close games have virtually nothing in common. This is because the queen center is so much more stable than the king center, especially when the queen center is made with 3 pawns.

[J_V]

While opening preparation is crucial once you hit 2000, I think you might get more enjoyment out of the game by studying middle game ideas.

I play e4 as white. I either play 2. c3 or the Grand Prix attack against the sicilian.

as black, I play the French or the gurgendize pirc agaist e4. And the Leningrad dutch, benoni, or slav against d4.

[MMMMMM]

Znosko-Borovsky also authored a delightful book (well, delightful as chess books go, I suppose) titled How Not To Play Chess. It's been many years since I read it but it still stands out in my mind.