Beginner's Guide to Chess Openings P1

The estimated number of possible legal chess positions are somewhere around 10 to the power of 45. Hence it is not feasible for a chess player or a computer to learn every single position possible. It is however feasible for a chess player to study and learn the first few chess moves that are likely to come up during a chess game. These first moves of a chess game are called the “opening” or “opening moves”.

The following is a very basic introduction to some of the more popular opening moves. This will be a first of a series of posts on the subject. This time we will be starting with Ruy Lopez, King’s Gambit, Giuoco Piano, French Defense and the Sicilian Defence.

Ruy Lopez

Named after a 16th Century Spanish clergyman and chess player, although he is not the first player to have used this opening move, he can be credited with making a study of it. Ruy Lopez starts out as.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5




King's Gambit

White offers a pawn in exchange for quick development. No longer played at a master level as it has been shown that black can often end up with a strong position.

1. e4 e5 2. f4





Giuoco Piano

The "Quiet Game", white attacks with his Bishop, but Black is able to even things out fairly easily, often leads to a very passive game.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5




Sicilian Defense

Often played at a master level, black attacks from the c –file which creates an asymmetrical position, which leads to many complicated games. Black attack white's e pawn, often through a Knight at f6 and Bishop at b7. Black also tries to move his pawn to d5 without retribution.

1. e4 c5




There are many variations of the Sicilian, a popular variation is called the Dragon (It is supposed to make the black pieces look like a dragon).

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6





French Defense

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5




Black gives White some control over the center, in exchange for a safe wall of pawns. This opening usually closes the center and both players try to outflank each other.


This concludes part 1 of Beginner's Guide to Chess Openings, feel free to reply and post additional information about each opening discussed here. You may also exploere these chess openings by using our opening move explorer that can be found in our Live Chess Software.