My FAVORITE Chess Openings by Rating

Summary

This video script offers chess enthusiasts a guide to selecting effective openings across different skill levels. For beginners, the London System and Stonewall Attack with white pieces are recommended for their solid development and control of the center. As players advance, the script suggests exploring gambits and more aggressive openings like the Vienna and Closed Sicilian. For black, the King's Indian Defense and Scandinavian Defense are highlighted for their safety and simplicity. The video also emphasizes the importance of analyzing personal statistics to refine one's opening repertoire.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker was a chess teacher before becoming a streamer and YouTube content creator.
• 🏰 The London System is recommended for beginners playing with white, as it follows basic principles and is easy to learn.
• 🔰 For beginners, the Stonewall Attack is another effective opening with white, offering a more aggressive playstyle.
• 🤔 The Fried Liver Attack is suggested for e4 openings, emphasizing the importance of controlling the center with pawns or pieces.
• 👑 The King's Indian Defense is a versatile choice for black against various white openings, focusing on safety and central control.
• 🇸🇪 The Scandinavian Defense is a simple opening for black that involves an early queen sortie, which can lead to straightforward development.
• 🐉 The Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defense is recommended for black, especially for those familiar with the King's Indian structure.
• 🤺 Intermediate players with white can explore gambits like the Danish Gambit and the King's Gambit for early pawn sacrifices to gain initiative.
• 🎓 The Vienna Gambit is highlighted as a favorite for intermediate players with white against the Sicilian Defense, offering high win rates.
• 🏴‍☠️ The Closed Sicilian and Smith-Morra Gambit are recommended for intermediate players with white, focusing on attacking the opponent's king.
• 🛡 At advanced levels, the Catalan and English Openings are solid choices for white, emphasizing long-term positional play and strategic planning.

Q & A

What was the speaker's profession before becoming a YouTuber?

The speaker was a chess teacher before they started streaming and making YouTube videos.

What is the main purpose of the video?

The main purpose of the video is to share the speaker's recommendations for the best chess openings for players of different skill levels, from beginners to advanced.

Which opening does the speaker recommend for beginners playing with the white pieces?

For beginners playing with the white pieces, the speaker recommends the London System, which starts with the queen's pawn and a setup based on the dark-squared bishop on f4.

What are the basic principles the London System follows according to the speaker?

The London System follows basic principles such as fighting for the center without the drawbacks, solid development of pieces, and ensuring the king's safety.

What is the game plan for a beginner playing the London System?

The game plan for a beginner playing the London System is to play regular recreational moves, then place the knight on e5 to create an attack, and vary the play between castling, creating a kingside pawn storm, or breaking in the center.

What is the Stonewall Attack and how does it differ from the London System?

The Stonewall Attack is another opening for beginners that starts with e3, bishop d3, and f4, with the dark-squared bishop staying home and the central pawn being advanced. It is more aggressive than the London System but has a positional drawback as the central square can be blocked.

What opening does the speaker suggest for beginners playing with the black pieces?

For beginners playing with the black pieces, the speaker suggests the King's Indian setup, which involves playing d6, knight f6, g6, bishop g7, and castling.

What is the main idea behind the King's Indian setup for black?

The main idea behind the King's Indian setup is to control some central space, develop all pieces safely, and navigate the middle game carefully to build experience and climb the rating ladder.

What is the speaker's opinion on the Scandinavian Defense for beginners?

The speaker thinks the Scandinavian Defense is a simple opening for beginners to play, as it involves getting the queen out early and then following up with easy moves, despite the queen being attacked.

Which opening does the speaker recommend for intermediate players with the white pieces and why?

For intermediate players with the white pieces, the speaker recommends the Vienna Opening because it is aggressive and can lead to a high win rate against e45 positions.

What is the key to the Dutch Defense recommended by the speaker for intermediate players with black?

The key to the Dutch Defense is to temporarily weaken the king to gain a strong pawn storm and central control, which can be advantageous because it is played less frequently by white, giving black an edge.

What does the speaker suggest for advanced players with white to take their game to the next level?

For advanced players with white, the speaker suggests playing mainline positions with e4, incorporating gambits, and considering the Catalan and English openings for solid play and long-term strategic planning.

What is the Trumpowski opening mentioned by the speaker and why is it effective at higher levels?

The Trumpowski opening involves playing bishop g5 after d4, knight f6, not allowing the opponent to play a King's Indian, Grunfeld, or Benoni. It is effective at higher levels because it creates a solid system with traded off dark-squared bishops and rebuilt light-squared pieces, leading to strong pressure.

How does the speaker advise advanced players with black to approach e4 e5 positions?

The speaker advises advanced players with black to approach e4 e5 positions by playing g6 systems, which can lead to King's Indian or Bird variations, and to consider sidelines of mainline openings to surprise opponents with less familiarity.

What is the speaker's advice on studying and choosing the right opening?

The speaker advises players to check their statistics to understand their performance with different colors and opening repertoires, to try new openings with a sample size of 5-10 games, and to be patient with the learning curve, which can take up to 30-40 games.