STOP PLAYING These 4 Chess Openings
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- Опубліковано 22 тра 2024
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0:00 Intro
1:10 2 Openings For White
10:45 2 Openings For Black
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Bong cloud has one variation super easy to learn and surprises the opponent. Has to be the top 3 openings
*Among us* 😳
Yo 🔥ua-cam.com/video/rdJ9bsN7JAw/v-deo.html
magnus plays it, so it must be good, right?
@@justdidyourmomlol exactly???
Yes, in this video
My favorite opening is when I haven't botched my queen is the first 5 moves. I call it the "Nonblotchqueen" opening.
Also known as Botez gambit declined.
@@dave4lexking omfg
@@dave4lexking well done
This is super easy to play. You leave the queen in its starting position...
You need to learn the Botez Gambit
1:20 *Ruy Lopez*
7:00 *English*
10:52 *Najdorf*
15:25 *QGA*
19:24 *Grunfeld*
Thanks! I just wanted to know how it was spelled
Thanks
I think I’m just gonna play the Vienna.
I play fianchetto
I play the farfalle (transl: butterflies). This is where a new piece which looks like a butterfly flies over the king‘s head and shits on him. The king is so pissed of that he kills the queen and himself = I win the game.
This video encouraged me to learn the Ruy Lopez and the Najdorf. Thanks for a wonderful opening repertoire.
I knew about 8 or 9 lines of ruy lopez and in this video I learnt it has more! Now I'll learn them too
I knew about 8 or 9 lines of ruy lopez and in this video I learnt it has more! Now I'll learn them too
Good luck in learning both openings. But do not forget to play some games while doing so. The learning may ieasily occupy the rest of your life.
fr
If your memory is so excellent that 20 lines of theory in multiple variations don't scare you, then knock yourself out.
Accepting the Queen's Gambit still remains to be my most traumatic experience in chess. I remember innocently grabbing that pawn and immediately regretting playing chess.
Been there, done that. When you hit 1000 elo and people start playing the Queens Gambit... I was black and thought "What could possibly go wrong" lmao
Grabbing that pawn is okay, it is hanging on to it that causes the said trauma.
@@WhiteThunder121 don't try to protect it, let the opponent capture back
@@dkpandey1996 Wise
Playing 1d4 and 2c4 against a beginner is just cruel!
Just wanna point out something interesting: 12:28 the Alapin variation of the Sicilian Defence with c3 and d4 is the EXACT reverse of the main line variation of the English Opening with c6-d5. Both of them are bad for the one playing against them. Please, LISTEN to this man and take some of his advice to heart.
Alapin is hardly scary for black if black knows what they're doing. It's not like you need to know deep theory to play against it anyway, just go d5
if black knows which move to play, alapin is practically useless. Yes you have attacking options, but they can easily defend.
I've played the Alapin with white and there really isn't much if black just plays d5. Banking on your opponent to go wrong is not a good long term strategy and won't help you improve.
I ALWAYS listen to Levy and take all of his advice to heart. Who wouldn't ? Levy is a great teacher.
@@joel9137 yeah, i see c3 i play d5 and I enjoy equality :). Honestly as a Sicilian player i have a worse score against the Morra Gambit, even though i Already studied so many times
1:20 Ruy Lòpez / Spanish Opening
7:00 English Opening
10:52 Najdorf Sicilian Defense
15:25 Queen’s Gambit Accepted
19:24 Grünfield Defense
As a humble ~800 player, my experience with the Ruy Lopez may be inconsistent on losses and victories but I can say it has been consistent with fun. A tutorial I watched on the matter described it as an opening where tactics and calculation are at the forefront and, possibly it might be placebo, but it definitely feels like playing the Spanish made me aware of applying those skills in my gameplay
fun? are you a psychopath?
where ya at nowadays oliver
Im 2200 now, still playing ruy lopez, exept now I play everything but c5(its shit)
For a beginner or sub 1400, all openings are fine, including the Spanish.
As a 450 elo, Scholar's mate opening is the best 😂
Objectively, the Bongcloud opening must be the most horrendous of options. However, at the same time, it is Hikaru's trademark. Bongcloud is beyond good and evil.
The Real magic of Bongcloud is that it is so bad that your opponent feels a slap on their face when you play it, thereby demolishing their moral!
They are now into a position of winning against a random bozo, which ammounts to nothing, or losing to said bozo, which can ruin their day, thereby increasing the odds of misplays on their side!
bongcloud is wholesome
"Bongcloud Opening Accepted: Hotbox Counterattack" is pure chess
Levy talked about openings that are great but not for beginers you know ?
Nietzsche would be proud
I've always felt bad for thinking learning the ruy lopez would be a waste of time so this video made me feel good
@@jamiewalkerdine3705This is not really relevant as there are a lot of traps in any opening.
For example, there are loads of ways of crushing novice caro-kann players because they don't know their stuff.
A lot of players still fall for 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Qe2 Nbd7 6. Nd6# lol. Even knowing that, there are loads of ideas about sacrifices on e6 that even some high level caro players are unaware of.
I also play the panov attack because loads of noob caro players don't learn the theory and get crushed instantly. Very dangerous for black.
A lot of novice and even some higher level french players still walk straight into a greek gift.
Same, I always felt it seemed needlessly reckless compared to Bc4
@@jamiewalkerdine3705 If you check the lichess database a lot of people are still falling for common caro-kann traps. A lot of the time the move that falls into the trap is the 2nd or 3rd most popular move.
Also panov attack is very popular. A lot of low level caro-kann players will immediately play dxc4 which is of course a positional mistake. White is winning the vast majority of games from this position.
@@jamiewalkerdine3705 That is true. This applies the same to traps in other openings like the Ruy Lopez though.
Traps in spanish is easy to figure out once you think and dont play mindlessly ffs. Theres no bishop traps, no space disadvantage, no nothing. You can play ruy without theory (thats what i do) because no lunatic studies ruy theory until like 2000. Also its the best opening to improve your middle gane planning because the ideas are fairly simple in ruy.
Hey Levy! Loving these videos! I have an idea. Most of us have difficulty punishing "bad" moves when it comes to the opening. Can you perhaps make a video about explaining certain principles on how to spot these miss-steps? :)
This, my God this. As a beginner nearing 1000 elo, this is still the hardest part of the game. Opponent will play something stupid, say jumping the knight into the position on move 3 or something. I'll try kicking the knight out, make an inaccuracy or something, and now the opening is in unfamiliar territory, and well... It's time to wing it and play some chess
@@markrichardson2512 I'm only a 500 but this drives me nuts. It's hard enough trying to start out and learning an opening only for my opponent to make some wild move 10 seconds into the game and I'm freaking out wondering if it's a legit move only to learn that it really wasn't and I'm just bad lol.
@@timothymantor7332 You learn an opening not by memorizing moves but by knowing which principles you have to follow and what this opening is about. Too many players just memorize moves and play bad moves after their last book move. Levy´s video is very important here.
@@markrichardson2512 whenever your learning theory there is a reason why would your opponent play a spesific move, if they don't it must be a mistake.
@@naxyan1193 that's not how theory works
It’s bold of you to assume I knew I was playing these openings.
My man
QGA player here. I kept running into literally the exact problems you listed in that section of the video. Recently I tried the Benko Gambit in one game to see how well it would do; had a completely dominant position after like 12 moves. Excellent video as always. Keep it up!
I play the QGA with a lot of succes. There are 2 positions I get 95% of the time:
After white goes 3.Nf3 of 3.e3, I play Nf6 and most of the times, I transpose into the main line, where white goes Nf3, e3 Bc4, and 0-0 and I play e6, c5 and a6. Plans are not easy, but this works.
If white goes 3.e4 or 3.Nc3, I play 3...e5 and after 4.d5 Nf6, white plays either Nc3 or e4 (the one they didn't play on move 3. Black has there a strong move 5...b5 after which I win more or less 70% of my games.
I'm not saying you have to play this, but if you want to investigate it again, this is what I would recommend (I'm rated 1800, right on the line between intermediate and advanced.
I like to play e5 and b4+
I switched from the QGA to the Benko too. One of the nice things was, I might have been lost in some positions, but I was able to fight a lot more than in the QGA, and that was important to me.
It also made me less scared to sac pawns for activity in general, too!
Throughout this video Levi is saying to avoid openings that are complex and difficult to learn. Given that, you'd think he'd be an advocate of the QGA, which is not a difficult opening at all. Just realize that as a general rule it's a bad idea to try hanging onto the pawn. A typical move order to start the game is 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 (if 3. e4 then 3...e5 or 3...Nf6, as suggested in the video, are easy to play and perfectly okay) e6 4. Bxc4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c5 (using the c-pawn to challenge the center is an important point to equalizing quickly) 6. O-O a6, reaching what can be considered the starting position of the QGA. What's nice about this position is the light-squared bishop has the a8-h1 to play on, instead of getting stuck behind pawns as in the QGD. From here, just get your pieces out to good squares, and with reasonable play you'll be surprised how often you attain the advantage around moves 15 to 20.
Benko Gambit is a solid opening. If you get to an endgame it's always better for black.
you should make a series of this, for different rating tiers
given Gotham doesn't do much editing etc. I don't see why he doesn't occasionally make 2-4 hour videos where he just talks about openings and chess philosophy etc. Especially since he's kind of plateaued at blitz and there's no point in him playing anymore unless he takes 6 months off for hardcore classical study
We need this
He did a tier list of openings with Hikaru for three levels: grandmaster, intermediate, and beginner. If you're looking for ideas for openings, they're great vids to check out.
@@waltlock8805 he should do full strategic overviews of these openings and play some games, also should go more in depth into middle game structures and all the weird little non intuitive things masters are aware of, it's frustrating because I feel I am way more talented at chess than Gotham he just knows more stuff I don't have the time to learn through trial and error
fr, the ruy Lopez is really good above 1500
I remember reading a beginner's chess book and the first opening it introduced was the Ruy Lopez and I never understood why the bishop had to attack the knight only to backtrack after the pawns kick it away again so I'm surprised this is the first opening I shouldn't learn
Got the same book. It says it’s not best for beginners but it’s still good to learn
If Black kicks the bishop back straight away then you're just in a better version of the italian game where you have a bishop pointed at f7 that can't be hit with tempo by a d5 push. And in all of the positions before the bishop is kicked, Black is under constant pressure due to the tension on the knight that's defending the center, so White can use this to influence the position slightly in his favor. I'm not a titled player but that's basically it.
Same
I like the Semi-Slav but too many people play the Exchange Slav. The solution is to play the Winawer Countergambit and really bring them out of their comfort zone
I just find the slav very restrictive in general. Any recommendation for learning to play it?
And is it hard?
@Peter play it like a reversed London. Although be careful about the order of your development. Generally you should do Nf6 before Bf5.
I have been playing the Grünfeld for sometime now and honestly, against 1300 lower its not that bad if you do a little study.
Won very good games with c5.
Yo 🔥ua-cam.com/video/rdJ9bsN7JAw/v-deo.html
Same, under 1500 everyone will just go for Exchange
Grünfeld* lol
@@nikmrn Sorry I am a little stupid sometimes.
Yeah grunfeld is a decent opening , I enjoy playing with it and against it ( mainly against it tho)
Here I'm gonna share my golden experience.
So I studied French, and there's almost 15 systems such as Advance, Winawer, Classical, Open | Closed | Modern Tarrasch, and there's also ton of sidelines such as King's Indian System where white playing d3 instead of d4.
Also in Grunfeld which is my favorite against d4, just so insanely complex and there's also more than 10 systems in this opening.
I also studied KID, Budapest, Caro Kann, QGD, Slav, Sicilian, and I'm totally agree with Levi that some openings just doesn't belong to amateur play. Budapest, Ponziani, Englund, Scandinavian probably the easiest opening to play than any other else.
However we shouldn't memorize chess openings because it isn't effective. I studied tons of openings but I always found my enemies playing weird chess, and shockingly I don't know what to do. Then I realize it is far more effective to study pawn structure such as Caro Formation, Slav, Maroczy, Benoni, Stonewall, etc than study opening.
Believe me, opening always share many pattern between each other. You can play KID as white against Caro Kann, French, Sicilian if you know the system with e4, d3, g3-Bg2, Nc3-Ne2, Nf3-Nh4/Ne1 then goes for f4. I think the big idea arises because of the pawn structure. In the Dutch Defense, one of black common maneuver is to play Qe8 then Qg6/Qh5 but that also because of the pawn structure makes it possible. If we play a French and somehow black play f5-e6-d5, we can also do our maneuver in the Dutch with Qe8-Qg6 or we can also do the Budapest rook's maneuver a5-Ra6-Rg6/Rh6 in other opening.
So I believe memorizing chess opening isn't important, it's all about the pawn structure and couple of ideas we can absorb in many different openings.
I agree. I notice the queens gambit declined and the French are similar.
@@jackanderson719 nah, the French is another animal entirely. It's underratedly very tactical
@@wandregisel6385 depends on the variation.
@@jackanderson719 perhaps, but I can't think of any. Unless you mean "similar" in that the light-square bishop is locked in. But the ideas are wildly different. The main strategic feature of the French (in its most critical variations) is the central pawn chain, something that pretty much never occurs in the QGD. More similar to the French would be the King's Indian Defense, since both involve pawn chains, but they play very differently
"we shouldn't memorise openings"
Honestly, thank you. I fully agree, but I'm waaaaay too much of a beginner to really feel confident in expressing that opinion, however I totally agree. Rote learning specific moves seems like a really inefficient way to learn, at the beginning.
I started chess playing the Ruy Lopez and after the invariable Morphy Defense my bishop always ended up on the same diagonal as the Vienna Game - so I said screw it and started learning the Vienna and never play the RL anymore.
Same when I started learning opening some blog on Google suggest the ruy lopez I was just 200-300 elo after learning ruy lopez I lost to some fishing pole trap etc and I switched to the Vienna gambit
Seriously appreciate this video as a beginner. I was wondering how to start studying chess openings, because I do like chess alot but I also find it hard to sit down and study anything. It's definitely an optimisation problem for me and I was struggling with it for awhile, wondering where should I even start and it was very helpful to get some advice on which openings are even worth the hassle. Also I have to say the grunfield looks really cool. Thanks Levi.
5 seconds in and I already know the sicilian is gonna be one of them.
The Ruy Lopez is the first opening my dad taught me,and i play it all my life. It's really hard to know it well, but i've beaten 2200 with it as a 1650.
Yo 🔥ua-cam.com/video/rdJ9bsN7JAw/v-deo.html
???
Hey man, if you know an opening and have practiced it, by all means use it.
This video isn't for folks who already know the Ruy Lopez or QGA or whatever, this video is for folks who don't know their openings yet and are looking for openings to learn.
@@webbowser8834 true
@@webbowser8834 Exactly, I have learned the Grunfeld the most out of any opening and I crush people easily with it as I am 1200. You can play any opening(low level) as long as you learn to refute the stupid variations which you know the opponent will play. You rarely get the main line in lower levels.
You did it again Levi! just what I need to hear in my struggle to learn the game. Focus on small success! keeps me challenged and not frustrated. Thanks for taking the time to make content at all levels.
Very instructive. Thank you!
One of the best parts of the Kan is that a lot of people try to play the "English Attack" against it with 6.Be3 just like in the Najdorf. The problem is that after b4 and then pinning white's knight to the king, the attack is not nearly as effective against the Kan as it is against the Najdorf.
It's not completely losing, but it's just a little bit too slow to be scary, and if white stubbornly moves the Queen into the bishop's path with Qd2 in an effort to long castle black is already better. I've had this happen more than once.
A good opening against players who play routine moves without actually considering the position.
I agree that the Sicilian can be tricky to grasp and a lot of time to undertake but I also thinks it’s given me super interesting and dynamic positions, and as long as you are comfortable working through different positions that come up, like the alapin or 2.Nc3 or the rossolimo then I think it’s a really good choice. I play the accelerated dragon and you can crush people very quickly with it.
Nice vid, more would be great! Agree totally with the approach, play openings where you can get opponents to play into positions you have lots of experience with, this initially means restricting the variety of good variations available to your opponent. When I started playing (many years ago) my openings where the Caro-Kann and the QGD (Cambridge Springs if I could get it), later I used the Dutch, mainly as 1...f5 was available in most closed opening, therefore getting... a familiar position. Now... I still play the Caro (mixed with some French and Sicilians), but play the Czech Benoni (and a Budapest once in a while) v d4 and have have built a repertoire around e5/d6/c5 pawn structure v the English/Reti/KIA. One fun idea is that once the centre is closed (e5/d6/c5 pawn structure) you play ...h5/h4 if they fianchettoed, VERY effective in blitz as lots of players panic and the centre strike is no longer the instant principled remedy.
Hey, thanks Levy. I was actually trying to figure out what to play with black against d4.
Also, you really helped me out with the Vienna gambit. I don't always get the position but it's a huge amount of fun when I do and it's easy to learn. Thank you.
This is very helpful. I definitely have tried many of these moves and I'm only around 640 rapid. I do fairly well since I'm aware of some of these higher level ideas and most of my opponents aren't but there are still a lot of ways things can go wrong. Either way being aware is the first step and now that I've seen a few counters and ideas here I can better implement strategies.
I really hope to see more stuff like this that is a bit more in depth and focused on what to avoid, what you want to achieve with a position, and just other general ways to break through tough positions. I've finally stopped blundering so much, but there are just a lot of moments where a position is gridlocked and it's tough to know what move is the right move to open up the position in my favor or at least make things more difficult for my opponent.
I recently put together a comprehensive Gambits Repertoire for myself and have been having a lot of fun and a good amount of success with it, partially exactly because I have a response ready to most openings that forces my opponent to play into my opening, not the other way around - so in around 90% of my games I get to play the way I want.
Most instructional chess video I saw in years. So many lines touched upon. I certainly agree with the ruy Lopez, I suggest adding
the scotch gambit as a variation of the scotch game to the repertoire.
Thank you for everything! Chess is getting much more fun with all the knowledge you share with us🔥
Great video Levy, please continue making great content. Your videos on openings are some of my favorite.
I'm 1800 in rapid and I started to play the sicilian (najdorf) when I was at 900 elo
I want to say, you'll learn the side lines and how to punish them way before having your first open sicilian.
people just know 2 moves of theory and just let you do your things and then get crushed.
the only real problem you'll have I believe is that most of the side lines are more oriented towards positional chess instead of attacking chess.
But I've come to really like the expansions on the queen side when facing the grand prix and especially the fake one (with f4 on move 2).
also people seems to prefer the delayed alapin (to the alapin) which is just not good of an opening.
and for the najdorf yes it's really hard but you should manage if you learn to know when to castle and when not to...
but around 1500 people seems to like putting a knight on d5 really early in the game which is really bad as it releases the pressure instantly and you just end up in a better position if you just take it (in the early part of the game the d5 square isn't attacked enough in most lines and a white pawn arrive on that square)
Your knowledge is amazing, getting back into chess, and your videos have helped that drastically. I know I’m terrible but I’m gonna put some time in this, I want to start challenging my brain more.
Interesting. I am one of those annoying ppl who does very little study and plays about 1400-1600 most of the time. Some of my best and worst games are apparently the ruy Lopez. As white I usually make it all the way to pawn h3 (just thinking of how to restrict blacks knights). This explains so much!
FIDE 1400-1600?
The Ruy Lopez was my common go to as well and I consistently crushed....problem is that I didn't have access to a single chessbook, teacher or video. I had time to evolve it over 6 years of playing. Now a days though if I tried that same process of learning I would get crushed by people studying the foils to it. Just like video states it is too complex. Intermediate players should keep it simple.
Yo Levy, could you make a video talking about how to study chess? I love this game and find it really satisfying to beat someone by punishing a mistake I've already seen. Still, I've tried to read books on openings, some 1.d4 stuff, some book on the French Defense and I think the usual "memorize the moves" approach to be somewhat dull and dry. Would be great if you, as a teacher could point us to some other learning method for the amateur player, I've always thought about some kind of concept based learning, like study about pawn breaks, in general, then apply it to some opening you already been playing for awhile, or something along these lines. Love your content!
Levy has a beginner course that covers that. Buy it.
first lesson as a amateur players about "studying", do not learn much opening theory, do tactics,middlegames and endgames, learn chess fundamentals like it's a bible, around 1500, start having a simple repertoire with white and black against most popular responses, after a while learning to calculate is important.
Against the Alapin, I recommend playing d5. You’ll have to take back with the queen if they take the pawn but there aren’t immediate threats on the queen which is nice so you can develop your pieces. I’ve seen top level games where black gets a comfortable position, including a monster game from Nepo. I suggest looking into some games.
I don't like the scandi so I play blackmar-diemer against it, but the knight kicking away the queen motif is still glued into my head. So when I see someone block that C3 early, instant D5 from me. You took away that knight's main development square and I'm sure as hell going to take advantage of it. That being said I don't like playing the sicillian either as either side lol.
I’m not an IM, BUT, in my experience, the Grünfeld is very playable as long as you book about 12 moves for Exchange, Stockholm, and Three Knights’ Variation. I’d also look into the Accelerated Russian Variation and Brinckmann Attack as well.
I’m glad you changed your mind about the Grunfeld. I’m not high rated but I’ve had a lot of success and fun playing it. I’ve found the games to be tactical and sharp.
I remember when I first started I played the “Kadas opening”, I knew it was bad but I tried to make it work. Eventually gave up and just went for the stonewall
Yo 🔥ua-cam.com/video/rdJ9bsN7JAw/v-deo.html
is kadas 1.h4?
@@turbodart yes, usually followed by d5 then Rh3
Great! Thanks for your videos. A few days ago my six year old son asked me to teach him chess, which I was glad to do. I then fancied learning a bit more and found your videos. You do a great job of combining education with entertaiment. Well done
I think what you said about the spanish is basically what I eventually figured out for myself but wasn't able to put into words. It's just complicated and the many responses made it feel like I didn't easily know what to do in each game. I switched to the danish and I found it much easier to play and it's helped me get to 2000. I think the scotch is probably a better alternative than the danish and it's what I think I'll switch to, but I do like the psychological edge a gambit often gives you so I won't switch just yet I don't think :)
ive used grunfeld on my journey from 1200 to 1500. i love that regardless of what white plays the plan is more or less the same with getting bishop on g7, castle -> c5 + knight c6 + queen a5 + bishop g4 pinning knight. so many people in this elo range just fall under the pressure and like the winrate suggests, you just end up with a winning position most of the time
Superb insight! Contrarily, sometimes I like to take the approach of entering a dark forest and applying theory when I've learned it and principles and calculation when I can. That's why I have played the Ruy Lopez as white for such a long time, even welcoming the Marshall. Indeed, the number of variations is staggering. I feel, no matter the number of variations within choice of opening, it is the dark forest element of play of the game that makes me love it.
exactly. chess is at its best when it's crazy and complicated. i don't know why you would want it to be simple.
@@yaboi6851 because you win more
Man I really enjoy your channel! You make this stuff so interesting, it really makes me want to play! Thanks man.
This is a really good video idea, thank you!
Hey Gotham, I haven’t seen you make a video on the Pirc defense for black yet. It’s my favorite and most simple opening that I’ve learned
I learned so much more about opening theory by playing simple openings than studying the complex super GM meta openings.
If anything, simple openings taught me some of the stuff you need to be aware of as a prerequisite for the complex ones.
For example, the french taught me about the importance of pawn breaks controlling the center which helped me navigate the closed positions of the italian and spanish openings. The London helped me learn purposeful maneuvers to attack which is really valuable for me learning how to properly counter attack out of the more positional Sicilian positions.
Now I am revisiting those openings with my new understanding to finally break past 1600
As a novice it feels that the advantage of attempting the Lopez is that you get to practice dynamic games rather than rehearsing an open. It feels like something to throw in from time to time just to make sure you’re thinking and not performing an opening which I tend to do when I get too ‘deep’ in an opening
Play whatever you like sure you’ll lose some game but it’s about having fun. I’m 1900 + rated.
Love this video. Great content! It is clear that you are trying to diversify your content since entirely focussing on youtube, an this reflects in the quality of your videos.
I love your educational content dude,
You really seem to get into it.
I don’t know why but when i was starting chess i immediately learned the spanish and kept studying it without understanding how difficult it was, so i went up the rating ladders just playing it and the result is that i love the spanish
I love your videos dude
Thanks for this video. Very helpful. Anyway, if I may have a request for you. Can you perhaps make a video about explaining the simplest and easiest way (with the white) to deal with French defence to teach beginner?
The best way to play is to not play at all. :)
Agreed
😂🤣
I never lost against Magnus Carlsen.
Best advice a chess player can receive.
Is this a reference to "Wargames"?
Small hint for anyone around my rating (1400-1500 Lichess): I've almost never had a opponent that knew what to do after the Albin countergambit as response to the queens gambit. I've never been allowed to play the trap, but generally do get a very good position after a few moves. (which I then screw up the way a 1400 Lichess player occasionally does :p )
I actually got someone to fall for it all the way through on lichess lmfao (he resigned after i took his queen)
@@echelon1014 lucky you 😊
I know exactly which trap you're talking about. Since I'm quite aware of it, I don't fall for it, but I also don't get much against the Albin. I mostly play the English these days
Welp, there's all my favourite openings.
In my active time for the reasons given in the video I studied the scandinavian as a response to e4 and the kings indian as a response to d4, finding that I was able to control the starting middle-game-position right from the start. I never was able to get a repertoire as white being so manageable, resulting in the fact that more of my wins were with black than white.
I think ruy is pretty good for intermediate players, i have been playing it on and off for 10 years and sure you need to have a weapon for berlin and other weird variations but it will greatly expand your chess knowledge, feel and intuition as well as your calculating skills. I main Kann for 2 years now and i love it greatly recommended for anyone who likes the Sicilian, also check the early b5 kann which is a great surprise weapon. Against queen's gambit i greatly suggest the nimzo indian, such an easy opening to understand and also leads to very interesting fun games.
Love the Nimzo Indian as well, always fun games
I’m studying the English atm (specifically the Botvinnik variation by Simon Williams) and this variation really does present consistent results and the best thing about the opening is the ideas are easy to understand and you can get the same set up for most of blacks responses, of course there are specifics you need to keep in mind but it’s very good because if you can spot and figure out blocks plan and actively stop it, it pretty much plays itself :D that’s my opinion on the matter 😂
What's your ELO? I'm looking to grind against the English because I'm still so unfamiliar with it. Not too common and I don't have practice in facing it. I'm around 1400 rapid.
awesome angle Levy. Debates endless but great consideration. was taught Najdorf and Grunfeld for starters ...
Hey levy. Are there any books you recommend for learning the practical openings and the lines afterwards? I'm a reader so I figured that would help me out a bit more. Have a nice Christmas.
I used to play the e5 - f5 set up against the English which I used to like (because I used to play the grand prix attack with white), but now that I play the Alapin Sicilian I will switch to the reverse Alapin, thank you Gotham.
PS : Against the Grunfeld there is this very strong sideline Qb3, it is a 0,0 position when GMs plays it, it will be +3 if WE play it.
Tip from an English player: If you're going to play the reverse Alapin, you have to play Nf6 on move two, and then c6 if White plays g3 on move three. If you play c6 on move two like in the normal Alapin, White can play 3. Nf3, which has a 60% winrate for White. (Also, if White plays 3. Nf3 after you play Nf6, c6 just blunders the e-Pawn)
I like playing the Sicilian because my opponents have no idea what to do against it.
I have a 70% win rate in the Sicilian even though I am butchering it objectively.
Lmao. Meanwhile I don’t know any opening, other than “e4; confusing variation”
then you will reach 1500 and will face every single anti sicilian in history.
@@hector9586 1500s don't properly know anti sicilians either
I don't play Sicilian against higher rated opponents.
Played it once against a 1400. I was better in the opening but he stomped me with a kingside attack.
@@Mathijs_A I mean, Alapin is not hard to play the most weird looking moves is Na3 in some variations.
You make some good points. I like the Ruy lopez I like the exchange variation. Iam curios about the scotch now. I'll look at some lines and try it out. Thanks for the vedio.
Great video. Just wondering what is your opinion on the centre game
Both Ruy Lopez and English are amazing for positional players that are not afraid of cramped positions. Knowing the ~ 20 moves plans in Ruy Lopez will win you lots of blitz games on time. In these openings you have to understand how to use a knight. Beginners usually discard knights and consider them inferior to bishops. That’s not the case with Ruy Lopez and English, where knights are the only pieces that can facilitate breakouts. Bishops become active much later in the game.
The Najdorf Sicillian is for the mental asylum. More often than not white will attempt to crush you on the kings side and your counterplay is mostly on the queens side, hoping to drive away some minor pieces and push d5 while white goes g4-g5-h4 on your king. It’s like having two dudes with baseball bats attempting to hit each other in the head. Each move has to be active. Waste a tempo and you’re gone.
As someone who thrives on action--open or semi-open centers and activity--I struggle against such openings as the English.
As always, Gotham, another piece of brilliance from you. Each of these openings you mentioned I was nodding my head and laughing in agreement. The Roy Lopez is more complex than astrophysics, the Queen's Gambit accepted is a bear trap, and to even attempt the Naidorf is indeed attempting to scale Everest. I love the passion you have for the game and the exceptional verbal communication skills you have. Your videos are always so informative and genuinely entertaining. You're a brilliant teacher. Thanks again so much.👏
Playing classical openings like Ruy Lopez and queens gambit is far better for improving than stuff London and Caro kann. Also, you can easily play ruy Lopez with d3 after Nf6 avoiding complex theory.
Hey I new to chess could you make a video on positioning your chess pieces so you end up with a Sophie's Choice? TY
It’s true and I love the argument of the 3 necessaries aspects of an opening for a medium player. I’m also convinced though that trying to learn difficult openings can have the effect of realizing the actual hardness of chess. And I also think that there is a point in which one must start gaining confidence with the Sicilian or the Spanish… the problem is: when?
I remember when I started chess again around a year ago, I started to study the Ruy Lopez, and then saw a video of Gotham where he said almost exactly what he’s saying here… I stopped playing the Ruy Lopez immediately and started studying some other stuff, and looking back at it a year later and 400 points higher, it was the best decision I ever made (chess-related)
Idk man I’m 600 points higher than a year ago and it’s by far my favourite opening and I now know enough of all the variations to destroy everyone else because they are completely incompetent in the ruy lopez
@@r.m2192 I’m 500 points higher than a year ago and playing the ruy gives me good success. I’m still under 1400 so people don’t know variations at all yet but I feel comfortable with it
@@EMFObserver wait till you reach 1400😈
@@r.m2192 ruy lopez is ez to beat
Life is too short for the Ruy Lopez.
I usually don't comment on chess videos but I can't help myself with this one. THANK YOU!!! Although your speaking pace is a bit fast, you really had a lot to say for 800 players to think about! I will need to watch this video a few more times, but your clarity on what to consider playing at my level is spot on! Even more important is the way you discussed the priorities for the average player to consider. I have been focusing on a 4 Knights philosophy which gives me lots of opportunities, but I am now reconsidering my philosophy to align with what you have identified as priorities. I'll get back to you in a few weeks and let you know what I think works well for me.
The Sicilian, Ruy Lopez and English made me suffer whenever I played it because I am a clueless wanderer after sidelines. I only know at the max 12-14 lines of an opening as I pay more practically, so I had to adjust to that. And once I did it my win rate increased, I only won 5% of the times I played these. I never learnt the QGA as a beginner, always played the QGD before I switched to the Slav. Nf6 is a good idea against d4, I may start using it more...
I actually have stumbled into playing nf3 first then going into English systems and it is an extremely useful move order. The pure reti can be fun too. I also play nf6 against d5 every time and just go into a trusty kings Indian that's usually easy to play.
I’m not a good player as I simply don’t put in the time. I have found that with the scotch game I can get myself into better positions more often because there’s not much the opponent can do to avoid the game I’ve played hundreds of times. Glad you suggested it for a similar reason as I play it. That is also why I play kings Indian defense vs d4. I don’t have the time to learn anything else. Against e4 I play the French defense, with which I’ve spent time remembering the lines enough to where the first 8-10 moves is well prepared. Is the French defense a good go to or should I be looking at something else?
it does have a decent number of variations, coming from a guy who plays the French, but it's rather simple. At my level too, only 2 variations pop up usually, Advanced, Exchange. Rarely the Two Knights or the 3.Nc3 lines, and I've yet to see a Tarrasch
dude you have just described my entire repertoire but replace the scotch with the first 3 chapters of Gotham's e4 course
As you've said that you play KID and Scotch you would probably enjoy Sicilian/Open Sicilian.
It's often said that the Sicilian and the KID have the same spirit, They are both aggressive openings where black is taking a risk to play for the win.
However, Sicilian often results in more open positions like the Scotch. Open Sicilian is basically playing the Scotch against the Sicilian except it's even better in this case.
French is decent but you have to work around a tight, closed position with a bad light square bishop. In this sense, it's like the KID, except in the KID the light square bishop is the good bishop and the dark square bishop is the bad bishop (unless the board opens up).
Caro-Kann is very solid. It aims to strike in the centre with d5, like the French, without blocking in the light square bishop. The disadvantage is that you have to spend an extra tempo on playing c6-c5 instead of playing it in 1 move like in the French or Sicilian. For this reason, the Caro-Kann has a reputation as a more slow, passive opening.
@@wildorca4500 personally I enjoy direct moves that focus on tactical play. When playing the scotch, the opponent really has to play my game for a time. There are barely any viable options to deviate from it. This is the reason I enjoy the French defense too. I play kings Indian defense because I have no interest in playing into a queens gambit. It is a fairly safe opening, with not much room for the opponent to catch me off guard early.
This must be one of your most helpful videos for the student facing Opening Theory. Thank you!
Thank you. I studied the archangel defense a little, but yeah...Ruy Lopez opening is very complex.
Gothem thank u for making theses vid it’s definitely helping my game I’m currently #1 ranked in the tournament games and rating on rapid went from 700 to 905 and climbing jus wanna say thank u still trying learn the Catalan Benko bogo Indian KID and the GRÜNFELD still leaning
Man, the rui lopez is my second favourite opening for white after queens gambit/catalan if declined exactly because there are so many variations and shitty responses that i always have fun figuring out how to play against to sadistically restrict my opponent to zero and kill all his fun from the game, because he didn't prepare for literally even one lane that he could pick of all and that fact just annoys me. I guess it just fits my character. I love studying openings and always when i invent something new for me with engines, fire out 15 moves of prep for any oppenent's response with alphazerolike sacrifices against chesscom normies or my dad when i practise. And like exactly as gotham said. I love having no controll over opponents setup, because i love the strategic battle of setups. This is why i love chess. "Practicality" to be honest depends on the time that we spend. If you want to learn the game, choose opening that you can't afford to fully understand in like month period, so it improves all your knowledge as you learn it, different transformations of positions, middlegames, attacking, controlling strategical points.
Gotham's content is very casual friendly as it should be for wide public and i wrote all of that just to say that i agree with him. That crap is impractical unless you are some tryhard like me and i felt like i had to change narration for second part of comment, because this is most entertaining chess channel, i liked the video. If someone had nerves to read it all, have a wonderful day.
Thanks, you have a great one as well! :)
Yep, I always challenge myself against incompetent chess players. I am not afraid to lose. Its more fun as a challenge. Repetitive game play is boring.
“Can’t event cook simple dish, but wanna do complicated dish” (paraphrased)
I feel personally attacked. I like to try complicated dishes for fun and it hurts me at the end :(
i want to hear your advice about Taimanov, Kan, and Dragon variations. Which one is the easiest to learn? Which one is more positional? And which one is more practical?
I'm brand new just breaching the 300 mark. I picked the London randomly. I don't fully understand it. I don't remember the text book middle games and sacrifices that make the London strong. But the position has made my middle game stronger. And made my games longer. When I play high level players they don't destroy me early with it. And when I play people my level they get confused on how to break through my lines.
Tbh I think that these openings can be played at lower levels since the opponent might fall for some traps in the position, but at higher level you will get absolutely clamped when you play these opening without learning them (hence why I lost all the games when I played the Ruy Lopez cuz I was feeling spicy). So, basically to summarise everything, play openings like the caro kann and the London. Easy to learn and easy to play.
If you are playing at higher levels then you should put the time in to learn the openings properly. If you're not willing to study a bit to improve then that's on you.
To be honest, this sounds like an excuse for getting outplayed.
"Shut up, you're going to blow the kitchen up!" I love this stuff x
I’ve been using hippopotamus since learning it from your channel and love it. It gets me in trouble at times but at least the games are fun!
When will you make the Gotham Caro-Kann course on Chessable, Levy? I am life-long Najdorf player. Can't say I understand it anywhere near fully but I do fairly well with it, though there are some offbeat White lines that I don't do well against. Thinking of switching to the Caro-Kann per your recommendation, but would love to see a Chessable course. I know you have a course you are selling on your own, but a chessable course would ROCK! Will you make that happen? I predict it would be very popular among your fans. May even become the top selling Chessable course of all time.
When I first started learning openings I played the English and it wasn't that bad because most people at beginner level don't know how to play against it, so often both players dont know what they are doing
So, yes I play the Ruy Lopez and after a fair bit of study it does wipe the opponent off the board most of the time. It is defiantly not a casual opening. It was part of an openings course that I've spent literal days studying. About 5 months in and I haven't started the Sicilian or the Nimzo-Indian, so I agree. Not casual openings but very effective.
1. ... d5. And then all your hard prep is wasted.
@@iainmcclure416 actually, smile in amusement since that refutation line is extremely simple. To quote Fischer, Scandinavian is weak.
I do feel like the study you have to put in to learn the ruy if you are good enough to actually understand the plans is definitely worth it. You have guaranteed small advantage even if black plays perfectly and usually a +1 or more if black plays inaccurately or some dodgy sideline. And once you have that advantage and know how to nurture it and grow it, your opponent is kinda helpless. There is a reason they call it "the Spanish squeeze". It's an opening for life. I want to take like a year to study it fully (I'm about 1800) because once I have I'll have an opening I can play for life and get great positions and lots of wins where I just get a small steady advantage and squeeze black till he resigns.
Hi Levy ( GothamChess )..., You are bringing back people to the wonderful world of Chess ! ! Excellent video and very ( informative ), and thank you for sharing the video... Mike in Montana :)
I really need to learn some openings. I just e4, try to control the center and try to castle asap while keeping my queen in the back looking at as many of my frontline as possible. Sometimes when I'm feeling spicy I start a wayward queen attack just to see how long I can shift that queen around before I blunder it.
This video is just levy flexing how may opening variations he knows
I'm a much more happy chess player since I changed the Sicilian for Caro-Kann thanks to your videos.
15:30: There is also 1. d4 c6 which (probably) transposes into either a Caro-Kann or a Slav/Semi-Slav, unless White is trying to play the London or something.
For me (personally), best white opening for beginner is london's and queens gambit. I always go with queen's gambit and if the enemy doesn't follow with queen's pawn I can play london's instead. For black, in my opinion the most worth it to learn is caro kann. We can play this against either king or queen's pawn and can be changed into slav if we want. Altho my personal favourite is Scandinavian which IMO is easier, but only applies if enemy plays king's pawn
Please don't be Scandi. Please don't be Scandi..... It's all I play into e4
I just love levy’s passion in his videos
Qd8 Scandinavian is basically my only weapon against e4, for the same reasons stated here. Against d4 I respond with c5, but beyond 1500 elo, people don't fall for the Benoni trap, so I'm considering changing it. As for White, I consider the Center Game against e5 to be very forcing
I am currently playing the ruy Lopez as white but I fear the inability to win with it, the issue with black having so many options is that it’s also easy for me to mix up my preparation as white. I’m just a very dynamic player so I’m not sure what else there is for me to try. Keep in mind I only play sound mainlines. As black I play the French and sveshnikov Sicilian and against d4 the KID and the semi-Slav I just struggle to find something for myself as white.
As an intermediate player, I actually really like the ruy. I feel like there are not plans, like in a lot of openings, but there's like a lot of moves that white wants to play eventually, and it never feels like there's enough time to play them all if black is combative enough, so you have to pick and choose. Through experience at my level (1600ish on lichess) I kind of feel like there are certain plans for black that are more or less effective, and a list of moves that I want to do over time. I feel like I develop chess thinking by figuring out which of the laundry list of moves are appropriate for the position.
So for example, I know that in ruy positions I want to castle, break in the center at some point, (d4 +c3) and push c3 to retreat my LSB and allow it to defend the e4 pawn. (So I want to play bishop c2 at some point after bishop a5) I hope that my opponent extends the kingside to push the bishop back, and that I have pushed c3 before that, so I can retreat my bishop in a single tempo. I also potentially want to play re1, but that might weaken f2, so h3 might be useful to prevent knights or bishops dropping in.
Basically, I feel like after move 4ish, I can play basically any of these moves plus a few other plans (a4? queenside knight to f1?) and end up kind of okay as long as I'm thinking about what makes sense.
I also like that the ruy forces me to think only about one main pawn break in the centre, (in most games, it's certainly more complicated in practice) so I can focus on how the d4 push affects any bishops in the position. And I also like how it lets me play on all sides of the board and experiment with a- and b- pawn pushes. Then, if the queenside opens up, I can learn how to contest open files. And if I have c1/c2 bishops then a kingside attack looms.
Basically, I think the overall rhythm of a ruy game is really conducive to my learning. I feel like I think about the moves instead of theory I've memorized. And some predictable plans by black (a7, b6) occur in many games and have fairly straightforward responses.
Just wanted to add my two cents - there are certainly good reasons to recommend against the ruy for most levels, but I've found it really fun and fairly intuitive, actually.
I agree I don't think you need to learn that much in the mainlines. It's all quite logical. There are plans later in the game though, usually once the pawn structure changes. If it closes white often goes for a kingside attack where they try and get a knight sac on f5 for example. Or sometimes playing a5 and doubling rooks on the a file. Or just restricting blacks plans. Don't forget as well that YOU can pick sidelines that force black into positions they won't know and you will still probably have a slight edge because ruy Lopez is so strong objectively. Against the chigorin I like the d5 variation which is objectively fairly equal but you play g4 and move your queen and knights to the kingside and go for mate.
I think it really depends on what your goals are. Why would someone who actually has the time to memorize want to play a weaker opening just because he can get away with that against lower ELO players? That's how I've always felt ever since I was 800 rated.