The Amateur's Mind (for want of a better category) #3 A big rant about how to choose opening lines.
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- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
- A big talk about openings, how to choose them, what to to go for, what to avoid, and most importantly the "WHY?" behind these decisions.
Join the show and the inevitable debate it is going to generate.
A great video with a lot of helpful information. Thank you very much, Andras!
For future reference:
20:43 First move as white: play 1.e4 or 1.d4
20:54 White with 1.e4 against 1...e5 play Nf3, the Scotch Opening (not the Gambit) is a good choice
21:00 Italian is OK, Ruy Lopez is Number 1
21:11 Forget about Kings Gambit, Danish Gambit and everything else
21:17 Against 1...c5 it's exclusively Open Sicilian, if you're really reluctant to play the Open Sicilian, the best compromise is the Alapin (2.c3), but just play the Open Sicilian and learn it while you play it
21:52 Against French, Pirc, Caro-Kann: play mainlines
21:56 Against Pirc: 4.f4, 4.f3, Classical 4.Nf3 are all good
22:06 Against Caro-Kann: Panov (3.exd5) and 3.Nc3 Mainline are very good, even 3.e5 Advance Variation is very good
22:17 Against French: Advance Variation (3.e5), Paulsen (3.Nc3) and Tarrasch (3.Nd2) all very good, as long as you don't take it (3.exd5 Exchange Variation)
22:25 White with 1.d4 against 1...d5: it has to be 2.c4 and then mainlines from here on
22:57 Against Queen's Gambit
23:17 Against Slav: mainline with a4
23:25 Against Semi-Slav: Meran and Botvinnik are fine, recommendation: start with the Meran as the Botvinnik is too theoretical for a beginner
23:49 Against Nimzo-Indian: e3 line
23:59 Against King's Indian: one of the mainlines
24:15 Against Gruenfeld
24:39 As Black against 1.e4: play either 1...e5 or 1...c5
24:44 If you play the Sicilian, choose a line that is flexible, IM Toth advises against the Kalashnikov because it's a rigid structure, the Sveshnikov is good, bcause you have options to break the rigidity
25:26 Classical Rauzer (5.d6) is a good choice
25:30 Najdorf is a good choice
25:41 Sheveningen is a good choice
25:45 Classical Paulsen (Nc6 and e6) is really good, because it offers active play for black
25:55 IM Toth recommends against starting off with the Dragon, because it's very specific and doesn't translate well to other Sicilians, and it's very theoretical, but it's a good option nonetheless
26:16 With 1...e5 as Black: just play mainlines
27:25 As Black against 1.d4: Nimzo-Indian, Semi-Slav and Slav are all very good
27:36 IM Toth recommends against starting off with the King's Indian, although it is a good opening, because Black is violating a lot of chess principles
31:10 Learning an opening means learning chess
36:02 Your opening choices are important, particularly as a beginner
Dude you're a lifesaver. Thank you for taking the time to do this
@@AFKsplitpushOnly I'm glad it helps!
Thanks a lot man! Appreciated.
Thank you!
Hey thanks for summing this up, with time stamps and everything. Cool!
It's quite funny how prophetic this video is. Rapport did indeed start playing more normal openings, and he's now peaked at world number 5 and is a Candidate.
He is a prophet!
The comment is at 18:30.
Then you got him as Ding Liren’s second in the world championship and they won by playing unorthodox openings. How the turntables 😂
@@whowhatme03I mean, not that unorthodox. Lots of queens gambit and Spanish. He did play 3.h3 in the Queen's Gambit ( lost), and the French(lost).
4 years later and Richard Rapport is approaching the top 10. He's made a big improvement recently by finding off-beat lines in more standard openings - so you were completely correct!
What did he used to play when this video was recorded?
@@heleneschaunard5549 Jobava London
Choices given starting at the 20:43 mark
Your comments in this particular video were so especially helpful to me. I absolutely dominate openings now and my chess ratings have spiked. Having a 2000 tactics rating was of no use to me when my pieces always ended up on passive squares and I spent most of my games trying to salvage the weaknesses I exposed in my opening.
I'm a 1500 rated player and I actually drew a 2600 today in a classical simul. Absolutely unbelievable. Thank you Andras.
P.S. I can emulate a not-entirely-butchered Hungarian accent now thanks to you as well.
Can't wait to see and hear and Andras Impersonation...
I like the way he pronounces the word "repertoire", with a distinct hungarian flavor.
I'm going to start using it. Anything to avoid the French.
REALLY love your blunt approach, really learning a lot from all of your videos! Love from Norway :D
Thanks, enjoy the channel!
Magnus Carlsen confirmed?
Commenting mainly to let the algorithm know that you're the man and you deserve more views and to say thank you for creating another top class video. Thanks Andras
I love the video. Richard Rapport is #6 in the world on 2022-04-20 with a rating of 2776 ;-). I guess he watched your video and plays better openings now.
I wish I'd watched your videos when I first started playing. That would have saved me the time I spent on gambits, the London and shallow analysis. Every beginner ought to watch this video before choosing openings.
I know this video is four years old, but I just wanted to thank you for inspiring me to play openings that give me a chance to improve my game and experience all that chess has to offer. I'm now playing the Ruy Lopez/Open Sicilian as white and Queen's Gambit Declined/Sicilian as black. If my opponents deviate from these openings, I just use basic opening principles and try to develop towards the center. Once I feel more comfortable with these openings and get a better grasp on tactics/endgames, I'll be looking to add the KID/Nimzo, E4/E5 (as black) and D4/English (as white) to my repertoire to mix things up and experience other structures.
Great video. You do I really good job at teaching without coming across as arrogant and/or knows patronising whilst critiquing the best players. In my opinion that is quite a talent and you seem very level headed. Thank you.
Finally someone who talks about pawn structure and centre control!
Your videos are helping a ton. Will donate the first chance I get to do so.
Thanks a ton!
Glad you like it, Welcome to the channel!
You explain the ideas so well. You are a wonderful teacher
My Coach(IM) after seeing my games(i am resourceful player with good calculation but sometimes unsound ideas:P ) told me to change my repertoire (French, Semi-Slav) to more Sharp Dragon & Grunfeld. I learned them and even I am not confident in my openings because there is lot of theory that is almost impossible to memorize (learn 30 moves and many deviations just to finish with ethernal check lol ) I started winning against better opponents. During this time I also improved Endgames(Dvortestky Manual and i get from 1620 to 1850 in few months and tournaments. My best perf. was 1960 FIDE and it was my last performance, so probably still there is potential to improve using this approach(tactics, openints and repeating endgames) and i still making stupid blunders, not less then before so I think I will improve more.
Still I am losing from time to time against weakplayers in crushing style but I am able to get many points against the 2000+ players which was NEVER possible in french. I often make opening mistakes but i know the ideas and know the dragon endgames and they just dont know what to do.
But the question is, is it Dragon & Grunfeld ok as they also violate a lot of principles? :) Yep they are based on development, but in Dragon my king is always in danger and in Grunfeld I am forced to find unexpected moves to not lose strategically or by force:P
Awesome video. Agreed with everyone who says there is not enough information about tactical/strategic concepts and pawn structure IE "why" compared to the mere "what" moves to play in opening videos available on the internet. More "why" analysis like what you are providing is really informative. I'm subscribed and I hope you enjoyed making this video so you can continue the series!
Now this is good advice!
This was a great video! I loved the passion behind everything you explained. People could disagree with you of course, but you can't argue that you are 100% correct. If I cannot understand how to attack the center, develop pieces, and get my king to safety, I have no business trying to memorize opening moves of some random surprise opening that makes zero sense to me but it looks cool. Because once I am out of theory, then what? I have no idea what I am supposed to do. Attack the center? I can't because I gave it to my opponent already. Develop pieces? I can't I don't have any space to put them. Castle? I can't get my bishop out of the way. It is not just about memorizing moves in the opening, but why the moves are played and what the idea is once you are out of the opening book.
Very cool video, lots of very good information :) Probably this should be called opening masterclass/insight or something similar. I am really looking forward to the next in this series, episode 2 with examples of how to punish bad opening decisions!
really helpful video. i started playing the king's indian against d4 because i wanted something aggressive, but instead i got weird and ugly positions that i don't understand at all. really glad someone else can articulate what i'm feeling.
I just love this man.... best coach on the planet, thank-you Andras
Best Chess Video i have seen.
Thanks man!
Thank you Coach Andras, I've been playing the wrong openings for many years. I hope switching to Queen's Gambit and Slav Defence will make me improve.
Don't expect instant results, usually the better the opening, harder the work is...That's why chess is great (and difficult).
Middlegame is more important . I guess there is your weakness . It's not the opening
This really reminds me of when I was first getting into chess. I had a friend, who was better than me, who always showed me the what, but never told me the why.
Very happy to be learning more why's now.
The sound was very good this time, plus we can still see your handsome mug just fine. ;) Another great video, thanks Andras!
Great video Andras & as a club player I often struggle what kind of opening I will play and most importantly, where to put your pieces after developing ( the plan ). On 23:14 in the video, I was taught by a clubplayer & friend the Tartakower after bishop G5. H7-H6, bishop h4, 0-0, e2-e3, b7-b6 where the Tartakower will start. Often black wants to play c7-c5. He explained to me that one will get a nerve block ( 4 pawns facing each other to capture each other ) and it seems that black wants that white will capture and black will capture back with the pawns so black have hanging pawns. ( Strategy of white will be removing the defenders of those pawns so a hanging pawn will fall and black wants to push the hanging pawns in the right moment). If white captures the knight with the bishop on G5 after h7-h6 and black recaptures with his bishop, then c4 x D5, e6 x D5 white won a strategic point because the bishop can't get to b7 because it has no use actually. Im still curious if the Tartakower is a good opening? Can you make a video about this perhaps or like the ( Old ) Benoni? Love your explanations and vids. Keep up your great work. Cheers from Netherlands!
I think this is my favorite of your videos so far. I am starting to play again after a long time away and have been struggling with openings. I was tempted to study some of those one-size-fits-all systems, but you just talked me out of that ;-)
From 20:22 is so helpful, thanks for going through opening recommendations for the Centah 🙂
Would love to see these as it's own video.
I just watch that vid... and loved "Some people don't like my face" ! Keep going Andras - Pimy !
YOu legend!
Been watching a lot of your videos over the last few weeks and I've had to re-watch this one 2-3 times. This is one of your very best (or not, I have yet to go through most of the content on the channel - there's so much!). Thank you Andras, really appreciate all the work you put in to make all the exceptionally instructive content.
Glad you enjoy my videos, hope they will help you to become a better player!
Most underrated channel in all of UA-cam
I have no issue with your sound quality and think you have a beautiful face sir. Seeing your intro made me think you deserve another compliment;
I also adore your accent, the blend of Hungarian and Australian is marvellous and makes the lessons that much more memorable.
Sir i think You are a best chess coach in my life . Your teaching style is so good. I just fooling love in your video.
Thanks a lot!
Excellent teaching, just discovered you!
Welcome onboard, Jim, Enjoy the channel!
Excellent video, as always :)
As an advise from a good player, I started playing 1....e5 as a response to 1.e4 (always played the Sicilian. Although it's a sound opening, the body of theory is too much for me I guess, especially since I prefered the Najdorf).
He said that you haven't played chess when you've never played the open games and despite beeing the most popular response at top level today, it's the best choice to learn the basic principles you were talking about in the vid.
Did my results improve? I can't say to be honest, but I feel more familiar with the positions.
I have noticed that my opponents seem to prefer playing KID. I'm pretty sure it's because of the thematical Kingside vs Queenside attack they get and last but not least because of its universality, they can play it against almost everything. That's what attracts amateurs to play it. However if you play something where the thematical f5-lever isn't good, many of them struggle to change plans.
My conclusion is that knowledge about the structures and changes in structures that can occur in your openings, is much more vital than memorizing long sequences of moves.
For me personally I think the more pawn structures I know (and how to play against them), the better.
And to my mind the only way to go for me , as I just don't have time to spend hours and hours in learning move sequences. It's the same in mathematics or physics. Fine if you learned a formular by heart, but much better to understand the derivation.
This video, the perpetual chess podcast interview, and your 'centah' course convinced me to switch to mainline openings. I'm now studying Sam Shankland his courses (Semi-Slav for black and 1.d4 2.c4 mainline openings). I think the only 'weak' spot is that I play the Accelerated Dragon. Maybe if Shankland is going to release his course on the classical Sicilian that would be a good option.
Hello mister @ChessCoach Andras! I am a back-to-chess person who let chess down for a lot of years. I won the 3rd place on a local league while I was 11-12 years old against club players. I was part of the school team, with no prior chess knowledge, the only training I had was from Chessmaster Grandmaster Edition during the 2-3 months of self-training. I had no theory but I still had combined pieces attacks and loved to sacrifice pieces and won against (what I thought at that time) pretty decent/strong players (from local club) with my mindset and intuition. Now that I'm back and learning (for one month now) I understand so many things and I love your tutorials and analysis. I really like the Queen's Gambit and Ruy Lopez as White. Kings Indian as Black. I suppose I should "master" these openings you describe after 20:45. And learn to visualize better and better. You got a new sub and I wish I get a candidate master one day! I will tell you here if that day comes :) Peace and light on your mind!
I totally loved the lesson!
Even after hiring a coach i would not get such a great lesson
All though some people might disagree with you beacuse as you said "they are on the wrong path" and there is no turning back now
But I personally agree with you because few months ago i started playing the Scandinavian defense main line and i went 250 rating points up in just clicks but after that when i really met some guys who knew how to counter it, my rating went down as quick as it got up.
I just needed some help from a professional and now im giving my opponents hard time
Thank u so much Andras ^_^
I can't imagine why anything you've said is controversial. It makes perfect sense.
Thanks man, I think exactly the same... weird times..
Oh my goodness, I was just started this month and was about to start using the London... but now have to seriously reconsider!
I love your recommendations and explanatory style. I've always been attracted to classical openings that focus on Steinitz/Tarrasch principles like these. Have you written a repertoire book or is there one you would recommend?
very good video! I agree with your point of view.
for a principiant internet patzer playing on since 10 years like me this was very interesting, thnx :-)
Can you explain why you sound a bit not too enthusiastic about the Italian? In the video you say you prefer the spanish instead of the italian and you promise an explanation later in the video but you probably forgot about it
Thanks for the helpful video! It was very insightful.
That leads me to your remark of playing the KID (and in similar fashion the Pirc/Modern). Currently I'm learning the KID alongside the Modern because in some variations it leads to the same structure which saves me time. It's also an opening system: once you know how to play it, you will get a feel for how the pieces should move. I hope with this that it will eventually save me some time studying openings. The counter effect can be, as you discussed in your video, that it leads to deteriation of my chess skill, because A. it's rather one-sided (always playing with the fianchetto) and B. its unnatural placement of the pieces (if you fail to grasp the long-term perspective).
Having said that, I'm curious to where you stand in adopting 'system'-openings or is it more preferable to play the Sicilian as black against E4 and the Nimzo against D4?
My own answer would be to "learn both", the KID aswell as the Nimzo , but that will require some tremendous amount of effort for an amateur. Any good advice on this?
Thanks!
Ah this channel is amazing its great that you dont waste time and tell the facts straight out
Yes this is good!...a coach and a person that talk sense!!...he will help many people to become better players!(damn why isn't there more coaches and more people like this guy on the chess scene...they should be there...THEY ARE BADLY BADLY NEEDED!!)(5* OUT OF 5*)
Hey Andras thank you for your time and effort you put into making these excellent videos! I really enjoy them. Just a tip though; when your audience say that your sound quality is low, you'd better believe them. Have you considered placing the mic to your left while keeping the camera to your right?
Probably he would need more of a studio setup to get the sound better..
Working on making the sound better.
as for the placement of the two, thanks, will give it a crack:)
I rarely give likes to vidéos I watch, but this vidéo is just oustanding. Thanks you for this long term advice. As I player who was playing King indian without any understanding what so ever and then stop playing it and until now I don't like to play against d4 but it never hit that I don't need theory at least at my to play slav or semi-slav or any others standard opening. But this idéas of that your repertoire give you the opportunity to play into différent pawns structures is the most instructive thing about this vidéo.
I've seen this video only now and I agree with all you said, but as far as I'm concerned, I can explain why I played and sometime I still do play some "awkward openings". The short explaination is that I never had a teacher (although I partecipate sometime in some collective lesson) but probably I would have needed someone who could teach me how to play against minor openings, so I think that somehow a teacher should teach how to play against minor openings, because more often than not, we must be two player aiming for mainlines. If only me is the one going for mainlines and most of the times the other is going for minor openings, I should have some hint on how to play against them.
I try to argumentate a little bit more. When I started to attend some chess club I was trying to play 1.e4 with white aiming for a Ruy Lopez and I played 1.e4 e5 wih black still aiming for a Ruy Lopez (although sometimes I tried also 1.e4 c5 against 1.e4 ). The problem was that I didn't know much about the openings except some mainline (Zaitsev variation), and for exemple when I was black and played 1.e4 e5 going for a Ruy Lopez most of my opponents played weird opening such as 1.e4 e5 2.c4 or the king's gambit or 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 etc. Even when I played 1...c5 aiming for a Najdorf they played "weird" staff (at least they where weird for me at that time) , for exemple 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 or 1.e4 c5 2.f4 or even 1.e4 c5 b4. So I decided to play the "weird" 1.e4 Nf6 as a way to say to may opponents "Ok, I know you're going to play weird stuff, so just play one of those weird stuff, but we play the one that I like the most". And the Alekhine Defense is also today my main opening against 1.e4, although I sometimes play the french now. For similar reasons I stopped playing 1.e4 with white (because rather often I got weird things like 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5) and switched to 1.d4 for a very short period. But my knowledege of 1.d4 stuffs was even worst with the exception of the Othodox Game, so I had to face very weird things like the Budapest Gambit or the Benko Gambit or 1.d4 e5 stuffs, etc. So I decided to switch to my personal choise, that is I chose to play the very weird 1.a3 so that I could play 1.a3 e5 2.Nf3 as a sort of Alekhine Defense with reversed colours or 1.a3 d5 2.Nf3 as a sort of Modern Benoni Defense with reversed colours (because at that time I played modern Benoni against 1.d4). And I can say you that I could achive my target of getting an Elo rating (I think that at that time the lowest limit was 1600) playing exclusively 1.a3 with white and the Modern Benoni with black. I also got a rather good performace of 1905 Elo points (which was more than good for my expectations). As you can easily image, after a while my Elo points started to decrease (now I'm under 1800) so I decided to change my repertoire and today I play 1.d4 and 2.c5 with white and the Semi-Slav against 1.d4. But I started to play 1.d4 only after that I learned something on how to play against the Benko Gambit and against the Budapest Gambit. The problem is that with black I still have not changed my 1.e4 Nf6 opening, even if sometimes I play the french now (but I don't play the Winaver. I play 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6). I would like to play 1...c5 but I still lack some hint on how to play against minor openings such as 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 or 1.e4 c5 2.f4. And even if with black I switched to Semi-Slav against 1.d4, my worst results are against "weird" openings such as the Colle or the London System or the Trompowsky or Torre Attack. I do even worst when my opponent starts with 1.c4 or with 1.Nf3. So, at the end of the day, in my opinion (which is obviosly based on my personal experience), in order to go confidentially through mainlines of the principal openings, a non particularly talented club player would need some help on how to play against minor openings that his opponent can choose. For the mainlines of the principle openings there are dozens of books, but this is not the case for minor openings. Most of the time for exemple books or videos about the colle system or about the 1.Nf3 opening are about how to play with white. Not much about how to play with black But if I want to play the Semi-Slav I must have some hint about how to play against the London or Jobava Attack Systems, or the or Colle or even Trompowsky or Torre attack.
sound is much better :)
exactly
What a great free lesson here, I am also studying the principles courses at chessable, thanks a lot teacher Andras, greetings from Colombia, SouthAmerica.
This is an old video so you might have changed your stance, but could you give your reasoning on why you think the Caro should only be played 2200+? I usually find your insight helpful, so I would like to know if I should avoid it or not during my development.
In my ideal world people below 2200 should play openings that dont surrender center as easily as openings like caro cann, French, Pirc etc do. that said, these are perfectly fine choices. it is partly a matter of taste
@@ChessCoachAndras Alright, thanks
Your way is great and i wish humans work that way but they don’t human brain is too complex to guide into what you say best way of approaching the game.
“ learn this much and avoid having bad mental cause the mistakes will build you”
Your approach is good for kids, and people who can have so much free time and money to access best resources and having a coach to actually let them learn from mistakes also people who have a group of friends determined to play and improve and try these openings against them in friendly games so they don’t get bored and frustrated of losing
I'm 1400 but have become very comfortable in playing the London and the Caro-Kann. I believe I still respect the principles and mainly develop with central pawn play in mind with black (the c5 push is key in the Caro).
Should I switch openings anyways? I really don't want to start playing e4 and have to learn Sicilian theory, some of it is extremely sharp and although I'm confident in my tactics I don't know many of the positional ideas. Other big chess teachers on UA-cam also discourage this. For example, GM Finegold on his lectures on the Sicilian repeatedly mentions how extremely small nuances in Sicilians can change the game from Winning to Completely Lost.
I'm fine with starting to play the Queen's Gambit over the London, as I agree that sometimes the pawn structures are too static there. My main fear in switching is facing sharp mainlines, which is often just allowing players into their own comfort zone while completely removing myself from mine. I want to get better, but I don't really want to have to decipher a complex mainline over the board while the opponent loses no time on the clock.
YOu wont be able to improve after a while unless you expose yourself to positions that are out of your comfort zone...
@@ChessCoachAndras best response that I have seen on this subject. I couldn’t agree more with you Andras. Keep up the good work.
Amazing video, I've been trying to learn to play recently and openings have been something I have been overwhelmed with the amount of information available. Hopefully this will drive me to focus on the reasons behind the moves and not just repeating them mechanically.
Thank you! My son is 8, we play allot against d4 and we made the mistake of memorizing the Slav and in a tournament it was full failure as he did not play any of the moves that we talked. Now i really understand what we did wrong and also why we should not just memorize openings. His first coach was keen to play scandinavian and scotch gambit, we had some additional lessons and it was recommended to us to play sveshnikov, alapin, slav and scotch. I start to understand the logic now. I love your content, can you make the same brakedown of ideas for those openings that i mentioned? I would love got get your view on the ideas behind the main lines. Best of luck!
Very pleased to realize that with e4 Italian, open Sicilian, e5 and Slav I am well set up for progress
On the right path!
So you seem to rate the Sicilians (as far as beginner/intermediate repertoire) as:
Good: Najdorf, Classical, Taimanov (Paulsen), Sveshnikov
Fair: Dragon
Poor: Kalashnikov
Unmentioned: Accelerated Dragon, Kan, Four Knights
I just wondered if you could give an opinion on the unmentioned ones, especially the Kan (what I am currently playing). I find the Kan very flexible and actually enjoy Hedgehog/Maroczy positions. But your video makes me wonder if maybe the Kan and particularly Hedgehog positions violate too many opening principles, or are possibly too advanced. I've got books for Kan and Hedgehog and study plenty though, so it's been going okay for me.
Thanks for your video, and again if you reply!
Kan, MAroczy is fine and Hedgehog is OK too as long as its done in moderation:)
Oh Wow! You NEED to rename this video. It answers every single question I asked you yesterday in my long post, as well as the ones I was going to ask you this morning. I only found this vid from the link in your chessable article! The important parts of the description of this video don't show up in the header on my devices because it is too far in. It cuts off at the end of "for the lack of a better category....." Please rename because this is required viewing.
Simply AMAZING!
If one chooses the Nimzo, what would the sister opening be for if White deviates with 3. Nf3? Would the QID still be acceptable given the motivation we started with for playing the Nimzo?
Yes, absolutely! Bogo Indian is OK too.
I play the najdorf and ruy lopez to learn chess but i play grunfeld to learn open position is that good or not my elo is 1700
Thank you! Again a useful video!
Great video, thank you.
You sparked so much eye opening thought!
Really great and educative video here! Nice job with this series and your channel, I do feel like I am improving by watching these. I have an idea that you might find interesting,so here it is: how about you make a series in which you will show important games for the specific opening, like the Nimzo,KID,Sicilian etc. I think this would really be helpful to many players, as you are showing ideas for that opening as well as simply analysing great chess games by great players.
Would Réti opening and Reti Gambit (1.Nf3 d5 2.c4) be a good opening choice for ~1500 rated player? Thanks,
Also: - Great video, watched it quite a few times and showed all my friends - thank you!!!
Hi Andras, love the videos, they are super informative! Can I ask how you feel about QGD for long term imporvement? You mention the semi-slav in this video. Would you recommend beginners to play the semi-slav instead of the QGD to maximise long term chess development? If so, what are the main issues with the QGD that prevent you from recommending it on the same level as the semi-slav? Thanks very much for you time :)
Still great in 2022, thanks Andras.
Great video. I am struggling to decide between Sveshnikov(+anti-sicilians) and ..e5. My goal is to improve as a player. Do you have any advice? (FIDE: 1500, tons of free time, zero experience with e5, somewhat familiar with sicilian)
Either is a good choice. In the long run Sicilian tends to be more "fun".
Thank you
How about custom thumbnail graphics to better advertise videos? This doesn't have to take too long by getting 2 or 3 templates ready that can be reused. Inkscape is a simple open source illustrator replacement, in case that helps.
can you explain this to me in more detail in an email please?
Your videos are great … excellent quality
Thank you very much
Great video
What do you think of Smith-Morra Gambit as a response to Sicilian? I read that as an aggressive opening it should be especially good for beginners - for them to learn to implement tactics. Does it fulfill your requirements?
On the other hand, it can be avoided and end as Alapin for example...
The lower the level of the player the better the morra is a pick vs the Sicilian:)
The first opening I was taught was what I now know is the Italian. Fourty-five years later and recently returned to chess, it's still my favourite. I rejected Ruy Lopez because it involved 2 moves of the same bishop early in the opening. I was horrified seeing Bobby Fischer playing f4 in the 2nd move in what I later learned was the King's Gambit.
I do NOT like playing moves I don't understand and I don't have an opening repertoire yet. It makes sense to stay with "main lines" since that's what most people play. Therefore these must be moves that "work" most of the time. Like you, I prefer an aggressive style and positions with space and flexibility.
After watching this video, I'm SO grateful that the first opening I learned was the Italain: e4, Nf3, Bc4, and king-side castle.
ChessCoach Andras, would the queen's gambit declined be a good choice for black? My current repertoire is 1.e4 with white, e5 vs e4, queen's gambit declined vs most setups, 1.c5 vs 1.f4, and 1.e6 vs 1.c4.
I used to play king's indian instead of qgd but I definitely find the KID easier to play in general. I definitely struggle against 1.d4/non-e4 setups the most. The dutch and KID have felt like the best tools vs d4/other setups.
I have been studying the qgd but I wanted your opinion on it. I want to be a better chess player but I definitely win more easily with the KID. At this point I have studied the qgd more than the KID but still find the KID easier. Some openings just click for me.(same thing with the caro kann. I studied the caro a bunch but I do way better with the sicilian and 1e5)
Awesome video. Glad I found you via Perpetual Chess Podcast 👍🏻👍🏻
What do you think of the dutch? I am scared about what you might say..😂
What do you think of playing the Petroff at club level to keep the repertoire simple? Good idea or is this too much of a ‘system’?
Fewer pawn structures than after 2...Nc6.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 whatchagonnadonow?
@@SteffenRoller play the Four Knights?
@@KeepChessSimple Indeed, that's what I'd expect playing White :-). But it would not fit the idea of a system, would
it?
Thanks for covering the Nimzo and the Slav. Emphasis on understanding and learning openings = learning chess using the Slav as an example at 31:10 is especially good.
I’m approx. 2100 on lichess classical after one year of playing chess. I play the Caro-Kann and nimzo with the black pieces and italian with white. Do you think passive openings like the caro should be switched to something else? Does the opening stagnate my progress? Thank you.
Would need to see your games to make a better call on that, but I would say as much as it makes your progress slower.
How do you feel about 2. Nc3 Vienna Game for beginner repertoire? It's my personal choice for 1. ... e5 as white, and I feel like it abides by fundamentals just fine (except maybe in some lines of the gambit or copycat), though I'd like the opinion of someone more in the know. I just saw that you auto recommended 2. Nf3
Thanks for the video. I have never had a coach and have chosen my openings by my self and what I think was the right path for chess understanding. So I play today Ruy Lopes against Nc6, Scotch two knight against the petrof, Nimzo-Indian and QID depending on whites moves, and other mainlines if my opponent chooses something else to play. But against the sicilian I have always played the Rosolimo/Moscow variations. What are your thought on those close sicilian lines?
1 - the big problem is that I have never encountered a book that has been written with the kind of logic/discourse you expose in the slav which becomes crystal clear...
2 - is there a list of the "correct" opening that should be learned first...(that you answered sorry I was in the middle of the video :))
3 - is there some books that teach opening the way: structure, plan are understood...
What about the grand Prix against the Sicilian .or is there any system I can play Sicilian against black..Fischer sozin attack maybe ?? ..I don't want to go too much into Sicilian as I know e4 E5 quite well
Excellent video
Earned a subscribe
I have a hybrid approach that you probably don't like. I basically play exactly what you say with white the Italian over the Spanish though. For black I just play the pirc against everything. In defense of doing it like this, I still learn all the main line fighting for the center structures with white.
Hi, i selected Sicilian Kan and Classic, really different. Which one should i start with?
Hard to tell. I would say the Classical is perhaps easier to understand and play, so I would go with that!
@@ChessCoachAndras thank you! I’m French defense player about 1700 on Lichess blitz if it can help
@@ChessCoachAndras Classical has this Reuzer variation …
@@tiagomoraes1510 Taimanov is still less passive than French?
@@tiagomoraes1510 well it’s called French Sicilian that’s why I ask 😀
There are system openings where you have to know tons of different pawn structures to play them well. But overall nice video
Thanks man and welcome onboard!
Hi I'm around 1900 rapid on lichess and I'm unhappy with the openings I'm playing. Vs 1. e4 would you recommend learning e5 first or c5? Or eventually both? I'm having real trouble deciding.
You recommend the najdorf for beginners? Why? Isn't this a very theoretical and difficult opening?
It is as theoretical as you make it. beginners rarely play against 2600 GMs/. An opening being too theoretical is not an argument against it but for it!!! It means it stood the test of times and is a worthy endeavour.
@@ChessCoachAndras Damn, you're right. Thank you for the reply!
I am so grateful I stumbled upon this video. I have recently gotten back into chess and have decided to change up my repertoire. When I was young, I learned the french. I have found that I generally do not like its positions as it is mostly cramped and seemingly antipositional. I was considering learning the Sicilian Kan. You did not mention it, though you did the Paulsen. Do you consider the Kan a flexible Sicilian line? It seems that way to me, but hey, I'm not the chess coach here!
Yep, Kan is good! Glad you found the video useful.
@@ChessCoachAndras Hi, I'm very late, but I wanted to know if Taimanov is good as well? Thanks a lot for the video. You're awesome.
@@sb7630 Yep, the Taimanov is totally fine.
all I have been doing is playing the stone wall attack and scandi with black >.< ....time to make some changes i guess
Yup!
One question if you have time to answer, would you also be opposed to the London System for new players because of its repetitive structures that you end up in with it? I hear the London System recommended alot to new players.
The london system would be one of the last things I would teach to beginners. The reasons are in the video.:)
Thanks a lot for this video? Could you please tell me when should I transition or try out the other "not obeying basic principles openings"? I am about 1900 lichess and play the london jovabawhich u told us not to but I wasnt playing it since I was a beginner. Till what rating should I not touch those other openings? Thanks a lot!
Never is the best choice.
@@ChessCoachAndras Thanks ! I get it now! Now I see that u recommend the scillian with black but there is a lot of theory! And I have been told not to spend too much time on openings. So should i just learn the first few moves and ideas of the main variations?
@ChessCoach Andras- what are your thoughts on the Vienna (&Gambit) for a 1000-1200 player? I grew tired of the Spanish & Italian so I encountered the Vienna and like it. I’m winning most of my games as Black against the Spanish/Italian and feel I understand them. I haven’t liked the French as Black but have since realized that it was irrational with a ~50% success rate.
What are your thoughts on the Dutch Defence for black?
I would personally avoid it, but it is bordering what I would call OK. (Provided you mean the Leningrad and the classical and NOT the stonewall)
@@ChessCoachAndras Thanks for the reply. Yeah I was thinking more the Leningrad.
I like it because it's aggressive, doesn't completely give up the middle and it tends to throw people off but I know it's also not really a conventional opening, so I wasn't sure if I should really pursue it or not.
Hi Sir, Please answer my One question.
Does Reti opening is a good choice at 1400 level? Can I play it as white?