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white's move...
d4

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2.Nc3

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Opening moves are not pointless. It gives you an idea of the personality and intelligence of the opponent: aggressive, passive, cautious, etc. The great thing about chess is you get to spill your personality on the board.

2 edits
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Originally posted by clgray2001
Opening moves are not pointless.
How true!

Now - about the statistics of blacks first move:

The most usual response of 1. c4 is Nf6 to 32.3%
Next comes e5 to 20.7%
The third place is e6 with only 14.0%.
These three together is played 67.0 % providing 1. c4 has been moved.

Next in turn is c5, g6, c6, f5 and b6 in this order.

What is the percentage of the two moves 1. c5, e6? Multiply and you will get 1.1%. Only one out of 100 games is played this way. Quite an unusual opening, don't you think?

Statistics may be fun but it says nothing about how good a move really is. It says only that the move has been used so and so often.
e6 may well be better than Nf6 if black knows that white has prepared a plan for Nf6. Or like open positions better, or has played it dozens of times before. Only black knows why he plays this particular move.

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why would you move to e6 and not e5? Wouldn't e5 provide a stronger tactical opening?

My next guess is d5

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Originally posted by Sicilian Smaug
I believe it to be a very bad idea as black to let white play a Sicilian with a move in hand. Nf6 or c5 is safer.
Only Master+ games I belive. Looks like black's best scoring move taking into account the number of games:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/explorer?node=2&move=1.5&moves=c4&nodes=2

Lots of Gm's play it, Roman D from the Dvd's recommended it and I play it and like it.

Personal preference. You might think it's a bad idea but I don't think so. It's an aggressive opening and I like those.

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Originally posted by FabianFnas
[fen]rnbqkbnr/pppp1ppp/4p3/8/2P5/8/PP1PPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1[/fen]
1. c4 e6
If I have White here, I'm playiing d4 to try to get back into familiar QGD territory.

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I like 2.Nc3 here. Further pressure to d5, and reserves options of playing d4 or fianchettoing the KB later.

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Originally posted by DoctorScribbles
If I have White here, I'm playiing d4 to try to get back into familiar QGD territory.
You could also end up in the Nimzo Indian or the Catalan after 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 (3. g3 for the Catalan).

1 edit
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Originally posted by FabianFnas
What is the percentage of the two moves 1. c5, e6? Multiply and you will get 1.1%. Only one out of 100 games is played this way. Quite an unusual opening, don't you think?

Interesting way of looking at it..

However look at this way. There are 20 opening moves with 20 possible response. Even if we say only 10 opening moves are strong with each move having an average of 5 strong responses, that means there would be 50 strong 1-move openings, with the proportional average of any opening being 2%.

Considering we already know that e4 and d4 proportionally dominate the first move choice, 1.1%, overall isn't that uncommon, is it?

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Yeah, exactly. I know I would definitely play the Nimzo in that position and I don't think that would be a simple game for White.

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2. Nc3

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1. c4 e6 2. e4

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2...d5

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