Openings

One of the oldest openings. White quickly develops the bishop to c4 to target Black’s weakest square, f7, and prepares to castle.

The Spanish Game, one of the most studied openings in chess. White pins the knight that defends e5 and builds long-term pressure.

One of the most solid positional openings. White temporarily offers a pawn to seize lasting central control.

A solid and easy-to-learn system. White plays the same developing moves regardless of Black’s reply.

An open, dynamic opening. White cracks the centre with d4 immediately to free up the pieces.

A blend of the Queen’s Gambit and the Réti. White fianchettos the kingside bishop to build long-term pressure along the long diagonal.

A flexible flank opening: 1.c4 controls the centre from the side and prepares a kingside fianchetto. It often transposes, while keeping its own clear plans such as the Reversed Sicilian.

A hypermodern flank opening: 1.Nf3 and c4 hit Black’s centre from afar, often backed by a double fianchetto, before striking with d4 or e4.

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5: an immediate pin on the f6 knight to sidestep the Indian defences and steer the game onto original ground.

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3: a flexible developing move preparing either a quiet g3 fianchetto or the aggressive f4 push (the Vienna Gambit).

A romantic, sharp opening. White offers the f-pawn to open the f-file, dominate the centre and launch a quick attack.

A safe anti-Sicilian weapon. With 2.c3 White prepares d4 to build a big pawn centre and sidestep the theory of the Open Sicilians.

1.d4 e5: Black sacrifices a pawn for fast development. Accept it, develop with tempo and keep a clear lead — without clinging greedily to the pawn.

1.d4 c5: Black challenges the centre while dodging main theory. Push 2.d5 to lock in space and build a big e4/d5 centre — the ideal structure to press.

Bird’s Opening grabs control of e5 with the f-pawn and prepares a later central push with e4. Play stays closed, strategic and asymmetrical.

The Nimzo-Larsen Attack readies a queenside fianchetto so the bishop eyes the centre from afar. It yields flexible, offbeat positions with independent plans.

The Center Game trades the d-pawn early and brings the queen out to d4. White develops quickly, castles long and attacks down the open files.

A symmetrical opening where all four knights come out early and the centre stays closed for long. White regroups the pieces before pushing d4.

The most fighting reply to 1.e4. Black creates a structural imbalance and plays for the full point.

A modern, combative branch of the Sicilian. Black creates imbalance with ...e5, accepting a hole on d5 in exchange for active play.

A solid, strategic defence. Black builds a long pawn chain and aims for a queenside counter-attack.

A rock-solid reply to 1.e4. Black prepares ...d5 without locking in the light-squared bishop.

A dynamic hyper-modern defence. Black lets White occupy the centre and counter-strikes with ...e5 or ...c5 once the development is done.

A solid reply to the Queen’s Gambit. Black supports d5 with c6 while keeping the queenside bishop’s diagonal open.

Black plays 1...f5 to grab kingside space. The Leningrad system pairs the Dutch structure with a King’s-Indian-style fianchetto and aims for an ...e5 break.

A hypermodern defence: Black lets White build a big centre, then targets it with ...Bg7, ...c5 and pressure against d4.

Black grabs 2...dxc4 and gives the pawn back later in exchange for free development and a ...c5 break against White’s centre.

Black supports the centre with 2...e6: a solid, reliable defence aiming for harmonious development and freedom via ...c5 or ...dxc4.

A solid, hypermodern defence: 3...b6 and the queenside fianchetto control the central light squares (e4, d5) without committing a pawn.

One of the most respected defences against 1.d4. Black pins the c3 knight with ...Bb4 to fight for the e4 square and damage White’s pawn structure.

Black strikes the centre on move one with ...d5. A direct, easy-to-learn defence that leads to clear pawn structures.

A famously solid defence. Instead of defending e5, Black symmetrically counter-attacks e4 and aims for comfortable equality.

The crown jewel of the Sicilian. With 5...a6 Black controls b5 and prepares ...e5, aiming for dynamic counterplay on both wings.

Hypermodern: Black lets White occupy the centre (e4-d4), then pressures it with ...g6, ...Bg7 and ...e5 or ...c5 breaks.

An unbalanced defence: Black concedes central space but gains a queenside pawn majority and a biting g7 bishop to play for the ...b5 break.

Ultra-hypermodern: Black plays ...g6 and ...Bg7 first, cedes the centre and then counterattacks with ...e5/...f5, often in a King’s-Indian attacking setup.

The Budapest Gambit offers a pawn on move two to open lines for the black knights. It yields lively positions where activity replaces material.

The Old Indian Defense props the centre up with d6 before striking with e5, keeping d5 covered. An early queen trade yields a solid endgame where Black’s king walks to c8.

Black hands over a pawn to prise open the a- and b-files and press there for a long time. The result is a deeply strategic, long-term struggle.

Black invites White’s central pawns forward, then targets that overextended mass. The result is unbalanced play full of counterattacking chances.

The Philidor Defense props up the e5 pawn with d6 instead of a knight. Black accepts a modest but solid setup, often followed by a central exchange.

The fianchetto Sicilian. With 5...g6 Black sets the king’s bishop on the long diagonal, where it bears down on the centre and White’s queenside.