Chess Openings

The most popular Chess Openings are as follows (by the white pieces):^[1]

1. 1.d4, which has become the most popular White opening due to the effectiveness of the Sicilian Defense against 1.e4.
2. Ruy Lopez opening consists of 1. e4, e5; 2. Nf3, Nc6; and 3. Bb5. Defenses are often the Morphy defense, Steinitz defense, and the Berlin defense.
3. Giuoco Piano aka The Italian Game or the quiet game: 1. e4, e5; 2. Nf3, Nc6; and 3. Bc4 (or increasingly Bb5).
4. Queen's Gambit, which is c4 after the traditional opening defense of d4 and d5. The is for black to capture the pawn but give up the center of the board in the process.
5. Indian Defenses starts with Nf6 as a response to d4, following by the king's Indian defense, queen's Indian defense, Nimzo-Indian defense, or the Grunfeld defense.
6. English Opening is c4
7. Reti Opening is Nf3, and is named after the chess great Richard Reti

Most popular White opening move[edit]

1. e4, which is typically followed by the Roy Lopez opening (also known as the Spanish opening)^[2]
2. d4
3. c4
4. Nf3

During the Match of the Century between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, Fischer surprised Spassky by opening with c4 after Spassky had been extensively coached to expect e4 or d4 openings from Fischer.

Most popular Black Defenses[edit]

In response to the standard opening by White of 1.e4 (Ruy Lopez), the most popular defenses by Black are:^[3]

1. Sicilian Defense: 1...c5
2. classical defense that leads to Ruy Lopez play: 1...e5
3. French Defense: 1...e6
4. Caro-Kann Defense: 1...c6

less popular[edit]

1. Pirc Defense: 1...d6
2. Scandinavian defense: 1...d5. Then White typically captures that pawn, and Black responds by capturing back with its Queen.
3. modern defense: 1...g6
4. 1...Nf6

Favorite openings of top players[edit]

A superb database of the favorite openings by top players is at chessgames.com.^[4]

See also[edit]

• Top 60 Openings

References[edit]