Want to master an opening preparation? Probably every chess player at some point starts wondering how the champions of different generations would play against each other if time-traveling existed. Would Jose Raul Capablanca or Alexander Alekhine be able to beat the current top players? What about Robert Fischer? People also wonder how a modern grandmaster would stand against Paul Morphy or Wilhelm Steinitz. All these hypothetical situations usually come down to discussing one of the most important changes that chess has ever experienced. Modern players have got an indisputable advantage – they prepare with chess engines!
The London System for a long time was considered to be a harmless and unconventional opening for lazy players. Things have changed once the current world champion Magnus Carlsen started using it to beat the best players in the world. It immediately caught everyone’s attention, and the opening got a huge boost of popularity. Nowadays it has a lot of adherents of different levels. It is a safe, solid, but at the same time, aggressive opening.
Austrian Defense, also known as the Symmetrical Defense, is quite a rare opening.
Most people have never seen its starting position, although it has been known since 1604!
Nowadays it has been played a ton by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and once even by Magnus Carlsen. He used the Austrian Defense as Black to beat his second, Daniil Dubov.
Are you an attacking player, that always wants to do something ‘active’ in a position and hates maneuvering, prophylactic moves, and other non-essential activities? If you’d rather play a sharp, nerve-wracking, double-edged game, rather than a quiet 20-move draw you should keep reading.
If so, I have awesome news for you!
The 1.e4 “best by test” opening might very well be the best fit for you! And here are the five reasons why you should consider playing 1.e4 if you are an attacking player!
Benoni Defense comes from the Hebrew expression “Ben-Oni”, which means “son of my sorrow.” This might have given you melancholic impressions, but don’t let it deceive you. The Benoni is one of the most aggressive chess openings. It leads to highly unbalanced positions, and players of all levels opt for it when they want to play for a win against 1.d4.
Nimzo-Indian Defence is probably one of the most common answers against 1.d4 nowadays. The defence was introduced by Aaron Nimzowitsch, the founder of hypermodern chess. Black doesn’t occupy the centre with pawns right from the start and plays for a quick development.
The centre is controlled first by the pieces and only later on black will decide on the central pawn break.
The Dragon variation of the Sicilian Defence is one of the most complex lines of this opening. Black aims for a sharp, aggressive play and puts white under pressure right from the start. It is a line full of tactical ideas, perfect for those who want to play for a win with the black pieces. There are many ways of playing against the Sicilian Dragon with white, but no real refutation has been found against it after all these years.
How to learn chess opening? One important step in improving your level as a chess player is having a solid, well-developed opening repertoire that stands the test of time. You shouldn’t have to change your repertoire often, but rather improve and update the lines you already have. A good repertoire will help you get good, playable positions after the opening without having to spend a lot of time thinking about the moves or plans you want to go for. If you have to spend time in the opening, the ideal situation is doing that in order to decide between the different lines and plans (that you already know) of your repertoire.
Most of the chess players enjoy having the initiative, being the attacking side. It is good but hard to achieve in every game: in some positions, the best you can do is to trade pieces and go into an endgame or play against some positional weaknesses. Those who really enjoy attacking chess would love to avoid such scenarios. They should know that the attack is like a tree – first, you need to plant and nurture it. The opening stage makes a big impact on the chances of growing an attack. If you place your pieces more aggressively or manage to weaken your opponent’s king, it creates the potential for future actions.
The Caro-Kann Defense is one of the most fashionable openings nowadays both at the grandmaster and beginner levels. It is a reliable weapon that does not require a lot of memorization and usually leads to calm positional games. The good thing is that it still allows Black to play for a win: the positions are not sharp but still quite lively.
