Best Openings for Beginners (600-1200)

I was wondering what openings I could use to throw off my opponent while still being very solid. I am currently a 1150 rapid player and I am trying to get to gain more opening knowledge. I currently play the Caro Kann with black and I am very comfortable playing the Sicilian Defense although for White, my opening knowledge isn't extended past Kings Pawn - 4 Knights Variation or the Ruy Lopez.

the 4 Knights is certainly very solid but doesn't put any kind of pressure on Black. The Caro-Kann is a good choice even if it will be very hard to play for a win, I would recommend Open Sicilian for White if you are ok with learning theory

I suggest giving your opponent a somewhat unfamiliar yet solid opening at the beginner-intermediate level. The Danish, Vienna and Evans Gambits are probably the most solid gambits. The London system is however one of the strongest alongside the Catalan. 

Thank you for your insight. I will definitely try to learn the Open Sicilian. May I ask what the advantages of the Open Sicilian are compared to another opening such as the 4 knights.

It's the main-line against c5 and it fights for the win very aggressively, in the lines I prefer you castle long and pawn storm Black on the king-side making it clear that you want to win. Of course the downsides are that there is a lot of theory and Black will also have a very strong attack but I don't care since it's personally very fun and you can play the critical main-lines to put pressure on Black

try to learn some giuoco theory for black, I'd say a good moveset would be:

1 e4 e5

2 nf3 nc6

3 bc4 bc5

now at move 4 they may not play c3 but thats the only theory i know

4 c3 nf6

5 d4 exd4

6 cxd4 bb4+

and if they play nc3 the E pawn is hanging and your chilling

but if they dont play nc3 or c3 your choice to make whatever move bc i only know that theory as i've just started studying the giuoco

Thank you! I will look into this line in more detail after 3. bc4 bc5

I dont recommend playing traxler unless your opponent doesn't know any traxler theory

Well the traxler is only invited in a very specific circumstance (fried liver) which rarely happens... 

well what im saying is dont play traxler especially as a beginner if you do not know any theory no matter if your opponent doesn't know any aswell, if you know theory and your opponent doesn't you can try if you want i guess

What are the best gambits for White? I know that most players at my level do not know the proper theory for Gambits.

Danish Gambit, Vienna Gambit, And Maybe evan like the other guy said

The Danish is only good for players who do not know 5 ...d4 6. Bxd4 Nf6. After this, the Danish is destroyed. Evan's gambit is not much better than just c3; the only difference is the Knight on f6. Maybe try looking at the Fried Liver Attack and the Lolli. I think it is very profitable to study openings if you have a steady rating of more than 1000. I am 1100-1180 and that is mostly due to me studying the opening theories.

i recommend the london system, or another d4 opening, as it is very solid. it doesnt really matter what you choose as long as it is not theory dense or just traps.

    1.e4  e5 is the opening system most commonly recommended for beginners. Besides being the most direct winning attempt, these were the openings most commonly used 150-200 years ago when "opening principles" and "positional play" originate and were often explained using these openings. Also, preparing the most common combinational attacks against f7 and h7 (and preventing them) are a major element in these lines.

The Vienna is lethal at that level. Almost no one knows how to properly play against it and you can usually gain a big advantage at the start. Gothamchess has some videos about it on his youtube channel.

I thought that people at 1000+ rating had some idea of openings. But it seems, from this thread, that no one from this rating should know detailed opening theory.

You could also try the Halloween gambit

Also try things like this

or this

and this

Chess Openings Resources for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/openings-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell