You can try something off-beat like the Vinnea game 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Also for Ponziani I played it before but everyone just goes off theory very fast. As for the Ruy Lopez I don't play it but I do not think you should play it as there is very different variations to study like the Marshall or the Berlin defense and many more sidelines.Well for queen's gambit, I don't know what to really say as I'm a 1.e4 player so I guess you have to figure it out yourself(Maybe watch videos online) and for the Scotch, there are many videos on it but I don't play it though
Need opening suggestions for white
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the vienna game is super strong and trappy. I was having a hard tome trying to find a strong counter gambit for it in trying to ditch the scandinavian for a "reversed king's gambit" repertoire. (rousseau, luccini, calabrese & jaenisch/schliemann). I already play it's cousin, king's gambit which is my entire reason for playing chess just about. Nf3/Bc4... sac on Bxf7+ to break black's pin on my knight with Ne5+ or Ng5+ and take it back with my queen, or with my knight if my opponent's already played Nf6. that, or castle and try to activate my rook on the f file. I don't even play book lines. it's familiar and I love attacking f7. that's me though.
If you want to play 1.d4, try the blackmar diemer gambit. it has awesome OTB stats. against the scandinavian, i play the 3.Nf3 gedult variation because it better suits my king's gambit style and I score better with it myself than 3.Nc3 which everyone else does better with, following longer term goals I'm guessing. it's stats are something like +8% for white. "safe" GM approved 48:48 & 33:33:33 "sound lines" wish they had gambit stats under 2000.
GAMBITS FOR LIFE!
@1
"still playing Italian" ++ Good.
"I don't really like the positions I get out of the opening" ++ Why not?
"I usually just win because I can exploit some obvious mistake my opponent makes"
++ That is the essence of chess: avoid mistakes and exploit mistakes.
"I'd like to be able to fight for an advantage"
++ Chess is a draw. You can only win after a mistake.
"I've been thinking of switching to the Queen's Gambit"
++ Queen's Gambit is good, but if you switch, then you will lose more.
"is there something like that in the Queen's Gambit?" ++ Yes.
"is the move order in the Queen's Gambit less important?" ++ No.
"I was also thinking of the Spanish opening (Ruy Lopez)."
++ Ruy Lopez may be the best opening.
"Would this be too theory heavy, or could I learn some ideas and do well with it?"
++ Ruy Lopez is not heavier than Italian. You can play and do well. If you switch, then you will lose more.
"the monotony of endless, boring Italian games"
++ Ruy Lopez or Queen's Gambit are no more or less boring.
Understand that there is no "best" opening.
However, there are many good, very playable openings, albeit with lots of inconclusive debate over which are better than others. The issue for less experienced players is that some openings may be more or less appropriate - easier or more difficult to learn and play, depending on the amount of "theory" to absorb - than others.
The following present many interesting possibilities...
Chess Openings Tier Lists – GMHikaru (complete, beginner thru GM)…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9CwH47r6og&list=PL4KCWZ5Ti2H43-gcoByRnZs5fVR_Lg133&index=4
In the tier lists above, chess openings are classified in terms of their appropriateness vis-a-vis player skill level - i.e., beginner vs intermediate vs GM, etc. For a given player level, the openings are rated and categorized into six "tiers", from "legendary" to "garbage" (the latter being an unfortunate choice of terms, IMO). These qualifiers are used in the context of not only the general effectiveness of the particular opening, but also how much so-called "theory" (i.e., documented variations) it encompasses, or how much emphasis is placed on positional versus tactical skill in order to play it well. So an opening they refer to as "garbage" (i.e. less 'appropriate' - a better term!) for a beginner may in fact be more appropriate for higher rated players who are assumed to possess a more highly developed requisite knowledge base and skills set. For each of the openings discussed note also whether the evaluation is from White's or Black’s perspective.
For beginner-intermediate players check out ‘GothamChess’ (IM Levy Rozman) on YouTube for recommendations and quick exposure to a variety of openings...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFod-ozimmM&t=103s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdyik5UwBtM
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gothamchess+openings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmbU97iftC8&list=PLBRObSmbZluTpMdP-rUL3bQ5GA8v4dMbT
Chess opening – Wikipedia…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_opening
Chessable’s Guide to Chess Openings (for White & Black)...
https://www.chessable.com/blog/opening-guide/
Openings Guides – SimplifyChess.com...
https://simplifychess.com/homepage/openings.html
‘Hanging Pawns’ openings videos on YouTube…
https://www.youtube.com/c/HangingPawns
Chess Openings Resources for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/openings-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond
more helpful chess resources, including openings and book recommendations, in my blog...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell
So there's three options. 1) Change your first move, 2) Change your e5 response out of e4, 3) Change your Italian lines to get a different style game.
If you're happy playing against the other common e4 responses (Sicilian, French, Caro, Pirc, Scandi) it's probably best to go with option 2 or 3. As someone who is a bit of an opening nomad I can say switching your first move is a lot of work and it will take a while for you to get comfortable in all the new variations. The Queens Gambit has many many potential black responses.
For e4-e5 there are many viable options. If you want a classical opening that is rock solid go with the Ruy or Scotch (the Italian is the third choice here). If you want something more adventurous but still playable, Vienna, Ponziani, or King's Gambit. If you want to bore yourself and your opponents to death, four knights.
Hello! When I first started playing online chess, I had no idea what opening to pick as white. I tried out a bunch of different ones, but none of them felt right to me. Eventually, I just decided to pick a solid and simple opening for now, and then come back to this issue once I reach a higher rating.
Fast forward about a year and a half and now I'm ~1600 Elo chess.com and still playing Italian. I don't really like the positions I get out of the opening, and I usually just win because I can exploit some obvious mistake my opponent makes later on in the game. I don't feel like I'm able to make progress during the game towards victory, unlike in other openings I play as black or 1. E4 sidelines. When I play against the Caro-Kann, for example, I feel like I get a good position, but when they give me everything I should want as an Italian player, I don't like how the game turns out. I'd like to be able to fight for an advantage the entire game, and I'm sick and tired of playing the Italian as white https://omegle.onl/.
I've been thinking of switching to the Queen's Gambit, but I don't know much about the opening. I know E4 has a lot of options for white on move 3 that all give the game different flavors (Italian, Spanish, Ponziani, Scotch), is there something like that in the Queen's Gambit? Is there a certain variation I should try to focus on, or is the move order in the Queen's Gambit less important?
Besides the Queen's Gambit, I was also thinking of the Spanish opening (Ruy Lopez). This would be interesting because I score well against the 1. E4 sidelines (French, Caro, etc.), so I wouldn't have to learn as many new opening variations. Would this be too theory heavy, or could I learn some ideas and do well with it?
Besides these two, I'm open to any other suggestions. Anything to break the monotony of endless, boring Italian games would be great!