Chess Openings In The Engine Era

Former world champion GM Magnus Carlsen recently lamented that it's "kind of sad to see how far you have to go to get a game, that you cannot really play the best lines anymore." Chess engines have demonstrated that all mainstream openings, and even many strange lines, should eventually result in a draw. 

GM Anish Giri explains that "the stronger the engine gets, the more it shows that variations that were considered bad before are no longer bad because the engine is able to defend them. Even what used to be a dubious opening turns out to be playable if you defend accurately and the engine shows how to defend." 

What does this era of equality everywhere mean for chess openings? Engines have forced chess players to be more subtle in the opening but haven't stopped them from aiming for a win. Check out the five major opening strategies in the engine age. As George Orwell might say, all openings are equal, but some are more equal than others.

• Home Field Advantage
• One-Time Tricks
• Memory Tests
• Just Get Them Thinking
• Is It Really Equal?
• Conclusion

Home Field Advantage

When you're not going to achieve an objective advantage out of the opening, the next best option is to get a position that you know well and your opponent doesn't. It's like a home-field advantage in sports. You know how the ball is likely to bounce, and you'll get most of the 50-50 plays going your way.

GM Hikaru Nakamura won four straight Titled Tuesdays last year using this sort of opening strategy. He loves to start games with the slightly rare move 1.b3 and reach setups that are no better for White but in which he has played thousands of games, while his opponents have limited experience.

If you look at Hikaru's online game history, he has started with 1.b3 6,474 times and counting. The only first move he has played more frequently is 1.e4. Meanwhile, his top rival, Carlsen, has only faced 1.b3 52 times on Chess.com. Magnus won't be unprepared for the opening, but he probably doesn't have quite as much of an instinctual feel for where the pieces belong and what tactics to watch for in an unusual line.

Black has walked into this trap against Hikaru 98 times in games on Chess.com. He's scored an astounding 87% in these games against some of the best players in the world!

Black isn't completely lost in this trap, but White wins a pawn by force, and Hikaru knows all the tricks to watch for. Even GM Alireza Firouzja couldn't make it to move 20 in the game above.

Sometimes Hikaru plays 1.Nf3, followed by 2.b3 to reach the same positions. This just makes it more difficult to prepare against him, as 1.Nf3 can also transpose back to the main lines. Here's a classic attacking game. He didn't rely on any opening traps, just his skill and familiarity with his plans, leading to a beautiful finish.

One-Time Tricks

Even in the computer era, not every move needs to be objectively good. Your opponent can't access engines during a game, so a dangerous surprise might score better than the "right move." GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu used this strategy perfectly in the 2024 Candidates Tournament against GM Vidit Gujrathi. The Deferred Schliemann has long been considered a dubious opening at the GM level, but it's the sort of complicated line where preparations and surprise value can pay off.

Of course, these sorts of dubious experiments don't always work out. In another Candidates Tournament, GM Fabiano Caruana sacrificed two pawns right out of the opening with a shocking idea against GM Ding Liren. However, Ding showed the composure that eventually made him a world champion, and he didn't need any preparation to refute the idea on the first attempt.

Check out IM Danny Rensch's analysis of this fascinating game. 

Memory Tests

Just because there's a way for Black to equalize in every opening, it doesn't mean that your opponent will have studied the details or be able to remember them in the critical moment. A common strategy at the top level is to try a sharp opening where the opponent can draw with best play and must find a series of only moves to get there. 

Check out the game below. GM Alexander Predke chose a dynamic line of the English against his higher-rated opponent. Black only made one major mistake, missing a key idea on move 15, but that was enough to cost him the game. Chess is so complicated that even an opening expert like GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave can't remember everything. 
 

Often, GMs are able to pass the memory test, but it's not easy. In the Superbet Chess Classic in 2023, Caruana made Giri defend a very tricky line, but Giri remembered or figured out the narrow path to salvation by finding a resourceful queen sacrifice.

Peter Doggers writes in his book, The Chess Revolution, that Giri spent roughly 70 minutes thinking, while Caruana, using the increment, ended the game with more time than he had when it began! Caruana didn't get the win this time, but he didn't risk anything and had an easy day at the office.

Just Get Them Thinking

When you're a stronger player than your opponent, you only need a way to get your opponent thinking without computer assistance to have great winning chances. No one is as strong as Carlsen, so he frequently will try a small surprise in the opening to get the opponent out of preparation. And these little novelties don't dramatically change the game. They just have to keep enough pieces on the board to let you challenge your opponent over many moves. 

Magnus has ground out wins repeatedly from equal or slightly better positions. He famously demonstrated this skill in the 2021 FIDE World Championship. After five draws, he just wanted a chance to be creative in game six and played a masterpiece.

The idea of 6.b3 and 8.c4 hasn't had many followers after this game, but that's not the point. A novelty doesn't have to be objectively good. It just has to lead to a strategically rich position.

Is It Really Equal?

The engine Stockfish evaluates the starting position at around 0.33 in White's favor. Although that advantage shouldn't be quite enough to win the game against perfect defense, it doesn't mean that Black has an easy life. Some players still try to milk that tiny advantage for all it's worth by playing the absolute engine-approved best moves. If the opponent makes a minute error, that 0.33 can grow pretty quickly. 

The Berlin endgame has been played thousands of times at the top level, but Vachier-Lagrave still keeps finding new ideas in it. In this game, he found a novelty with 17.Nh2!? and a dangerous pawn sacrifice with 37.f5. It would not be enough to beat a computer, but against a human, even one of the best in the world, it can work out brilliantly.

Conclusion

In modern chess, engines have demonstrated that both sides are O.K. in almost every opening. Engines have changed opening preparation, but we are still far from solving chess. Even though it's all equal, players have found a way to get their preferred types of equality. Some are principled, others are provocative, and some just want to play a game. 

What type of opening strategies do you use? Let us know in the comments!