Top 10 Best Chess Openings for Your Opening Repertoire
To those who are not familiar with the word repertoire, a repertoire is the whole body of items that are regularly performed. Since we are talking about opening repertoires in chess terms, they refer to book moves or moves known and implemented in opening theory that are frequently used by players. These moves are so commonly played that they become an integral part of a player's repertoire. For example, Bobby Fischer's Sicilian Najdorf as Black and his Ruy Lopez as White were used so often by him that they became iconic parts of his opening repertoire.I created this list not just for fun or to provide interesting, mind-boggling information, but to help new chess learners understand and implement these simple openings in their games. My hope is that they can explore which openings fit their style the best and identify the ones they feel most comfortable with. Additionally, I cannot resist sharing a bit of history behind these openings, as it adds context and flavor to learning them.
That said, I must admit that my own chess style can sometimes be unorthodox. While many players rely on their opening repertoire or opening arsenal, I occasionally make unpredictable or random moves in the opening. Unfortunately, I have lost most of the games where I strayed too far from established theory and relied on these unconventional moves. However, such unexpected openings can sometimes surprise opponents, and with the right timing, they can create opportunities for success.
This is my personal, unorthodox approach to chess, though most of the time I stick to a principled 1. e4 strategy.
Despite being the most heavily analyzed opening, only a tiny fraction of the Ruy Lopez has been fully mapped out.
Watch out for the Noah's Ark Trap. It's everywhere and is a crucial element to the theory of the Ruy Lopez.
The Rotary-Albany Gambit is literally the most complex variation of the Ruy Lopez.
This is my favorite defense for responding to e4 as black by moving my pawn to c5 (simply 1. e4 c5). Unlike traditional openings like e4 e5 and d4 d5, this defense controls the center with a flank pawn. The Sicilian Defense has historical roots, having been used since the late 16th century by Italian chess masters Giulio Polerio and Gioachino Greco. It wasn't until 1813 that English master Jacob Henry Sarratt translated and renamed it the Sicilian, which in older Italian writings was called "il giocho siciliano" ("The Sicilian Game").
This is an excellent chess opening for black, not just because of its statistically proven effectiveness, but also because it leads to unbalanced play that often turns in favor of black. It provides great attacking chances for black. Ironically, white also has many great attacking opportunities in the main variations (such as the Yugoslav Attack).
It's quite a theoretical opening and has proven to be the most popular response and defense when facing e4. Despite the wealth of theory behind it, it is an excellent choice for an opening repertoire. It leads to complex play for your opponent if you implement the moves correctly. Therefore, a bit of opening theory is advised to maximize your attacking chances.
This starts out with 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4. This is one of the oldest openings, and it has been used more frequently today. This is a very easy opening to learn and a great opening for beginners, as it makes developing easier and allows for rapid castling, similar to the Ruy Lopez.
This opening was used a lot by Italian masters back in the 16th century. This is a good opening setup because, other than rapid development and castling early, it creates natural play for both tactical and positional players and controls the center. However, the bishop on b4 can be easily exposed, and black has lots of options against the Italian game.
Nonetheless, this opening will serve you well as a beginner because it is a natural setup that gains rapid castling and development. This used to be my main opening repertoire because of tricks and traps like the Fried Liver Attack. The reason I stopped using it as my repertoire is that it became tiresome to deploy the same tricks with little to no success.
This starts out with 1.d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4. A classic hypermodern opening created by the father of hypermodern chess himself, Aron Nimzowitsch. He was a brilliant innovator and theoretician who has contributed hugely to modern chess, as his openings are still being used to this day! In his honor, his chess philosophy: first restrain, then blockade and finally destroy will always remain important and timeless when it comes to style of chess.
I don't care if naysayers say this opening and other hypermodern stuff isn't for beginners. I love this opening. As a 3-month beginner (somewhat intermediate), I quite benefit nicely from this opening as black because of its fluid and positionally sound way of defense. Beginners could learn quite a lot from this, as it can be for both advanced players and beginners like me. It develops your pieces rapidly and makes you castle early.
However, it comes at the price of white having complete control of the center and the bishop pair, where you might lose one of your bishops. So if you're a passive player who prefers playing defensively, I strongly don't recommend this opening. It's a pretty aggressive opening that restrains white's activities at the cost of a bishop and giving up the center. The whole point is tricking white in the process, as it's a quiet yet very aggressive positional opening.
This starts out with 1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4. I don't play this opening a lot but sometimes when I feel like it. Most beginners will probably prefer the Scotch Game over the Ruy Lopez because of its simplicity and lack of theory. The Scotch Game controls the center very well and has a space advantage, whereas tension will be ignited early as black gains back space advantage and the center. So, it's a pretty aggressive opening.
For those who want more action and are aggressive players like me, I recommend the Scotch Gambit. It can be quite fun to play. This opening was long underappreciated centuries ago because of its lack of depth in strategic play until Kasparov revived it and played it with success in several world championship rounds. Nowadays, you see grandmasters playing it, including current world champion Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian.
This starts out with the simple c6 move after e4. If a positional player is looking for a great opening to start off with, this is definitely for them. This creates an early pawn chain for black and allows some development by freeing their light square bishop.
As an aggressive player myself, this is one of my least favorite openings to encounter, yet I do what I can and accept the fate that the opening has been unleashed regardless of whether I'll win or lose. However, this will lead to slow development and white getting more space. Yet that might be the whole point of the Caro-Kann, which is undermining the power of the center so that black can develop positionally and then attack. This approach is somewhat similar to Steinitz's positional philosophy, excluding hypermodern ideas.
While it may seem passive, don't underestimate it, especially against those who use it lethally on the board, like Anatoly Karpov!
Bit of a passive opening, yet a positionally sound one. It's a favorite among positional players. It is indeed one of the most popular responses to e4, as it advances its own d pawn to create a pawn chain on its kingside.
White, on the other hand, may have plans to attack on the queenside. Passive it may be, but don't heavily underestimate this opening. It is a sharp counterattacking defense for Black and will be very tough to face in the middlegame when wielded by an expert.
This starts with 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6. It is another hypermodern opening named after the Slovenian grandmaster Vasja Pirc. The ideas are straightforward: it allows White to control the center traditionally with pawns and pieces, while Black undermines White's center by fianchettoing a bishop. This bishop can later dominate the board if played correctly, and Black can potentially dismantle White's control.
However, this may not be ideal for beginners, as they might feel uncomfortable with White's early dominance in the center. It can become very dangerous if they play passively, as the Pirc Defense is aggressive and demands active play, despite seeming passive and unconventional at first glance. If played correctly, Black can achieve strong counterplay against White.
A very sound alternative to Nf3 is the Vienna Game, where you instead play Nc3, protecting your own e-pawn and not attacking black's e-pawn. As passive as it seems, it's a pretty aggressive opening with ideas of fianchettoing your bishop or placing your bishop on c4.
The most aggressive line in the Vienna Game is the Vienna Gambit. For example, if black plays the Falkbeer Variation, where the knight is also protecting its e-pawn, then white will deploy the very aggressive f4 move, transposing to the Vienna Gambit. If the flank pawn is accepted, white's attacking chances are even greater, making the middlegame torture for black. The best thing is it doesn't have a lot of theory compared to the Ruy Lopez and avoids the drawish Petrov Defense.
I put this last because it is such a conservative opening, and I pretty much dislike this defense as I see it every now and then while playing blitz online. It's pretty easy to beat as long as you get used to it and see the tactical patterns behind it.
However, this is a solid opening and not bad at all. It's just not very unique but rather boring, with pawns defending one another. Many people, like me, prefer to see minor pieces (like knights) developed on a nice square instead of d6, but it is what it is. Rarely do most players, including advanced players, use this opening. It's a very passive yet somewhat playable opening. It could be good for those who want to avoid theoretical openings, though it's not the best.
The Newcomers
Coolest opening.
This is an awesome queen attack.