bleh, i just thought it may help because black has fewer choices for defense. For example when I play 1.e4 ( which I had been studying for the Ruy Lopez lines) black often used philidor's, or Petroff's Defense, which lines I'm not all that familiar with. So, do you guys have any suggestions on what to use for white then? I'm looking to get 1 opening and focus on it for a while, I just can't decide what to use.
If they know the lines very well they have about a 75% chance to win against me. And I had thought about playing the english. Would it be smarter to play the English over 1.e4 if I worry about going into unknown lines. And Zebano, with your experience, how is your record when using the English to something else?
PS...as black I play the sicilian against 1.e4, perhaps I should use the English to stay in familiar lines?
i've taken a look at some of your lost games and if you think it's your opening play that has lost you your games then you need a re-think. Your missing basic tactical shots. There is absolutely no point in understanding the theory behind the ruy lopez if you hang a knight on move 12. Play any opening you like and concentrate on not giving away material for 0 compensation.
Just my 2 cents.
Haha, yeah those are some very messy losses, very basic mistakes :/. When I play OTB I don't make those types of mistakes, it's just blitz and CC. And I know I need to study tactics, then endgame, middlegame, and opening, but I'm just trying to find an opening to start with to lead into games. Hence using it for a while to "master" it. Thanks for the advice though.
If you really dont want to learn a lot of material then stick to one of the flank openings. You can pretty much do what you want regardless of blacks response.
I prefer 1. f4 as its less well known and can be quite dangerous to the unsuspecting. I wouldn't use 1. b3 as it really is very passive and like someone already said makes poor use of the first move.
My advice would be to stick with 1.e4
For the beginner its the best option.
Originally posted by cmsMasterA player in my sectional switch his opening before the tournament started to avoid players being booked up on him. He chose 1.b3. We had a 4 way tie for first place in that section and there were 6 of us in that section. He was rated around 1730.
I started playing this recently and I think I may make this the opening I focus on for white. I'm usually rated about 1300-1400, so does using this opening seem like a mistake?
So no its not a mistake, but it's hard to play. I wouldn't recommended it. I suggest 1.e4 or 1.d4.
If you desperately want to avoid e4 or d4, then try the King's Indian Attack: Nf3, g3, Bg2 in almost any order. You can then decide what you want to do about the situation in the center. One idea is to adopt a Botvinnik type formation with pawns at c4,d3,e4, Be3 and N d2 or c3. It isn't especially aggressive, but will give you something solid against most defenses.