They are called Semi-Open and Semi-Closed Games, cf.:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-Open_Game
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-Closed_Game
Open but Solid openings?
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Oct 6, 2019
0
#3
NotAGMPickles wrote:
Hello everyone! I need some help with finding some openings for white and black that gives me easy to maneuver, but not too open positions? What type of openings are these called? Suggestions? Thanks very much in advance.
Whether or not you are able to maneuver has nothing to do with being open or closed. It has to do with the amount of space you have.
Particularly as Black, often times you have to make a decision. Do you claim space, but in return, have weaknesses in your position? Or do you accept a cramped position where you have virtually no weaknesses, but you run the risk of getting run over as there is no place to move your pieces.
An example of an opening where Black gets his share of space in return for weaknesses - Dutch Defense.
1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.Nf3 d5 5.c4 c6 6.O-O Bd6 7.b3 Qe7 8.Ne5 - Already Black's biggest weakness is exposed - e5. Of course, you would need to heavily study this as in many cases, the Stonewall formation just loses for Black and you should execute a classical setup - for example, lines with an early Bf4, and especially where White has not committed his g-pawn to g3 and can still play Bf4 and Bd3. Also 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4.Nf3 d5? is bad because of 5.Bf4, 6.e3, and 7.Bd3. Instead, 4...Bb4 is strong, etc.
An Example of an opening with little to no weaknesses, but you run the risk of getting run over - Hippopotamus Defense
1.d4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Nc3 a6 5.a4 b6 6.Be3 Bb7 7.Bd3 e6 8.O-O Ne7 intending 9...h6 and 10...Nd7 (The order of Black's first 10 moves can often vary, particularly moves 6 thru 10). Black is solid as a rock, but the moment you actually try to move your pieces, you are likely to have problems. Even the Queen has trouble getting out.
Most openings are somewhere in between those two, and how much space Black has has nothing to do with whether the position is open or closed.
Take the Classical King's Indian - 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 g5. One of the most closed up openings in the center, the other being the French Advance with 6...c4 (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 c4), where three files are blocked. Black still has plenty of space - on the Kingside in the case of the King's Indian and the Queenside in the case of the French. So you still have plenty of space to maneuver. Black has a slight space disadvantage in both, but nothing compared to the suffering Black has in the Hippopotamus and you can still maneuver your pieces, and you don't have the weaknesses of the Stonewall or Classical Dutch. Instead, you usually have a single weakness to worry about. For example, in the French, it is often either g7 or h7, depending on which line is being played. For example, g7 is usually the problem in lines where Black gives up his dark-squared Bishop, like the Winawer. In the King's Indian, it is usually somewhere on the Queenside that your weakness is. For example, in the Mar Del Plata, depending on the line White plays (i.e. 10.Be3 vs 10.Nd3), you weakness could be a7, c7, or d6, but almost never all 3 in the same game.
Oct 6, 2019
0
#6
@ThrillerFan Thanks for your input! Can you suggest openings that are open?
Openings which are classified as "Open" vs "Closed"...
http://www.chessfornovices.com/chessopeningsopengame.html
http://www.chessfornovices.com/chessopeningsclosedgame.html
http://www.chessfornovices.com/chessopeningsconclusion.html
https://thechessworld.com/articles/middle-game/15-must-know-chess-pawn-formations/
Examples of positions that are open vs closed (irrespective of the opening itself)...
https://www.thechesswebsite.com/open-vs-closed/
I have sort of a standard opening for white I play a lot. It's only a general setup, so you have to play it for a while to get a feel for it. I know I should expand my white openings, but it's hard to resist when I'm just wanting a quick internet game.
I've posted about this position before, so it comes with the disclaimer that I don't force myself to use the position in every game, but with minor tweaks to the position, it's pretty strong overall against lower rated players.
Against players USCF 1700 or higher, it's less effective, but still playable. Against USCF 1800+, the games can quickly devolve into tactical mess that's far too muddled to say who has the advantage, all else being equal.
Over 1900 USCF, and most likely the opponent has too much opening knowledge for my setup to be much of a challenge, unless your playing an exact opening line that happens to use my formation.
I didn't show black moves, other than d5, because I wanted to focus on white's setup. The overall goal is to dominate the "C" file with the rook. Black can prevent that if he wants, so I didn't go that far, but it's pretty hard for black to prevent at least as much of the setup I'm showing as long as he's mostly just trying to develop in the opening and not being too aggressive on the king side of the board.
There is one dangerous line that black can play against it.
The last move, Nf3 is paramount to being able to survive the opening.
The White repertoire in Christof Sielecki's Keep it Simple: e4, which I am reading at the moment, could be what you're looking for. It certainly suits me, and I've always had a penchant for open but not too complex positions. He recommends the Scotch Four Knights vs 1.e5, Rossolimo / Moscow / Deferred Alapin vs the Sicilian, Exchange vs the French and Two Knights vs the Caro-Kann.
NotAGMPickles wrote:
Hello everyone! I need some help with finding some openings for white and black that gives me easy to maneuver, but not too open positions? What type of openings are these called? Suggestions? Thanks very much in advance.
I always had good fortune with the trusty old Caro Kann, which you can play as W or B.
Oct 6, 2019
0
#12
Indeed. I would recommend DKP openings for white & black (notably Ruy Lopez, Scotch, Italian, Ponziani etc for white; Ruy Lopez Morphy's 3. ... a6 lines for black) and QGA or QG Tarrasch variation vs 1. d4, for a start. However, you must realize that on defense you will not get the "open" positions you'd like. Reason being first and foremost is you have to equalize first, that's indisputable. We all can suggest this opening or that, what it boils down to is having no expectations. "I prefer this or that, tactical or strategic, dynamic or static, open or closed". It could be one's preconceived notion that he is a combinational player or a positional player therefore he should study openings in whatever vein one thinks they are in: that is the number one imho mistake newcomers make. I would ask, "why can't you be both?" I absolutely advocate creating one's opening repertoire as early as possible no matter what level they are at-to establish their own identity, their chess philosophy. The caveat being, of course one is doing their own due diligence in developing their play in every area: positionally, tactically, mastering rudimentary endgame themes etc. Above all, playin's the thing with me. Building experience without pretense, forget the losses or wins. Build a foundation of stern stuff. Willing to grind or face adversity. To be able to take advantage of mating combos by rote or by crook. Hopefully you get my drift. My personal philosophy is not, "work smarter, not harder"; it's "work harder AND smarter, baby!" ✌🏽
Against 1.e4 I play The Scandinavian Defense, 3...Qd8 variation. It is VERY open! At our level, the most important thing is whether you know more about how to optimally play the opening you choose than your opponent does. The 3...Qd8 Scandinavian is relatively easy to learn (compared to most other defenses to 1.e4) and if you learn it well you are likely to know more about how to play it effectively than your opponent does, as not many amateur players study the Scandinavian - they spend the majority of their effort learning how to play against the Sicilian, Caro-Kann and French Defenses and tend to dismiss the Scandi as a second rate opening, which is the subject of much debate.
Put another way, why allow your opponent to play against a defense that he/she has studied and is very likely well prepared for...instead, make them play in your back yard, where they ae less likely to be familiar...
Check out the Scandi courses on Chessable.....these are for the 3...Qd8 variation....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fEkJsfbQWM
https://www.chessable.com/chess-openings/s/scandinavian
And/or the book...
The 3...Qd8 Scandinavian: Simple and Strong by Daniel Lowinger...
https://www.amazon.com/Qd8-Scandinavian-Simple-Strong/dp/1936490765/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=3...qd8+scandinavian&qid=1570434236&s=books&sr=1-1
If the Scandinavian is good enough for Magnus Carlsen to play against Caruana in an Olympiad, it's good enough for me...
Chess Openings Resources for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/openings-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond
Oct 7, 2019
0
#19
Caesar49bc escribió:
I have sort of a standard opening for white I play a lot. It's only a general setup, so you have to play it for a while to get a feel for it. I know I should expand my white openings, but it's hard to resist when I'm just wanting a quick internet game.
I've posted about this position before, so it comes with the disclaimer that I don't force myself to use the position in every game, but with minor tweaks to the position, it's pretty strong overall against lower rated players.
Against players USCF 1700 or higher, it's less effective, but still playable. Against USCF 1800+, the games can quickly devolve into tactical mess that's far too muddled to say who has the advantage, all else being equal.
Over 1900 USCF, and most likely the opponent has too much opening knowledge for my setup to be much of a challenge, unless your playing an exact opening line that happens to use my formation.
I didn't show black moves, other than d5, because I wanted to focus on white's setup. The overall goal is to dominate the "C" file with the rook. Black can prevent that if he wants, so I didn't go that far, but it's pretty hard for black to prevent at least as much of the setup I'm showing as long as he's mostly just trying to develop in the opening and not being too aggressive on the king side of the board.
There is one dangerous line that black can play against it.
The last move, Nf3 is paramount to being able to survive the opening.
I actually play the Austrian defence against 1.d4, why would the Salvio countergambit be such a problem? It certainly won't allow your setup but white is not in danger if he doesn't hold on too much to the extra pawn.
Also, I prefer 3.e3 instead of 3.d4.
e5IsForRealMan wrote:
Caesar49bc escribió:
I have sort of a standard opening for white I play a lot. It's only a general setup, so you have to play it for a while to get a feel for it. I know I should expand my white openings, but it's hard to resist when I'm just wanting a quick internet game.
I've posted about this position before, so it comes with the disclaimer that I don't force myself to use the position in every game, but with minor tweaks to the position, it's pretty strong overall against lower rated players.
Against players USCF 1700 or higher, it's less effective, but still playable. Against USCF 1800+, the games can quickly devolve into tactical mess that's far too muddled to say who has the advantage, all else being equal.
Over 1900 USCF, and most likely the opponent has too much opening knowledge for my setup to be much of a challenge, unless your playing an exact opening line that happens to use my formation.
I didn't show black moves, other than d5, because I wanted to focus on white's setup. The overall goal is to dominate the "C" file with the rook. Black can prevent that if he wants, so I didn't go that far, but it's pretty hard for black to prevent at least as much of the setup I'm showing as long as he's mostly just trying to develop in the opening and not being too aggressive on the king side of the board.
There is one dangerous line that black can play against it.
The last move, Nf3 is paramount to being able to survive the opening.
I actually play the Austrian defence against 1.d4, why would the Salvio countergambit be such a problem? It certainly won't allow your setup but white is not in danger if he doesn't hold on too much to the extra pawn.
Also, I prefer 3.e3 instead of 3.d4.
It's not a problem to play that opening as long as you know how. Otherwise there are videos on the internet showing how black can severely punish white for lack of knowlege.
I have no idea how you can play 3.d3 when white's first move is 1.d4.
Hello everyone! I need some help with finding some openings for white and black that gives me easy to maneuver, but not too open positions? What type of openings are these called? Suggestions? Thanks very much in advance.