When Should I Use Different Openings?
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I’m a bit newer for starters, and theirs so many openings but I don’t know WHEN I should use them. Like specific openings counter and work around other openings and I’m a bit lost with it all.
Oh okay thanks then
And to clarify concepts: An opening consists of a sequence of moves played by both players. For instance the Spanish (Ruy Lopez) is 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 (with lots of variations starting from here). If Black plays 2. ... Nf6 you have a Russian (Petrov) and 3. Bb5 is not a Spanish game.
As another example the French starts 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5. If White plays 1. d4, then 1. ... e6 can transpose to the French if White plays 2. e4 and Black replies 2. ... d5. On the other hand if White continues 2. c4 and Black now replies 2. ... d5 we have Queen's Gambit Declined.
So you cannot play some opening against some other opening, because openings are defined by positions that require certain moves from both. Otherwise I agree with the advice from NervesOfButter, understand the opening principles first - they help you in every kind of position.
https://www.chess.com/blog/KeSetoKaiba/opening-principles-again
@NervesofButter is correct. All of these things they mentioned are known as general opening principles (there are also others such as usually avoid moving the same piece twice in the opening but in my opinion, the 3 most important is develop your pieces, control the center and castle early.
As for which opening to play, there are two main ways to approach this and either could be correct.
1) Learn one opening for each color against common things you face (what should you play on move 1 as white and what should you play as black against common opening moves like 1 e4 or 1. d4). By using one opening and learning it REALLY well, you'll eventually develop an opening repertoire where you are knowledgeable about your positions because you've seen them in many games before.
2) Learn many different openings so you can learn common patterns and ideas of each and become a better rounded chess player. The drawback here is that you won't know any one opening as well as if you stuck with only one opening and learned it really well, but on the flip side, you also might see more opening concepts quicker and therefore increase your overall pattern recognition faster.
I chose the first option when I first started playing, but I've also switched openings many times over the years and still have a wide variety of openings I could play proficiently or for fun in unrated games.
There isn't a real right or wrong here as long as you are learning and have a plan you can stick with 
You aren't the worst @chess20202021 and by the way nice win
In your game, the opening could probably be improved by pushing pawns less often and using those moves to develop your pieces instead.
Here are some ways you can exploit pawn pushing and if half an hour is too long for you to see examples, then here is also a shorter video explaining why pushing pawns in front of your castled King is especially weakening:
Thanks for checking out my videos, but I don't know how to add subtitles. I'm fairly new to YouTube and chess streaming, but if you share how to add subtitles, I could add them in future videos
Interesting
KeSetoKaiba wrote:
https://www.chess.com/blog/KeSetoKaiba/opening-principles-again
@NervesofButter is correct. All of these things they mentioned are known as general opening principles (there are also others such as usually avoid moving the same piece twice in the opening but in my opinion, the 3 most important is develop your pieces, control the center and castle early.
WOW!
Great stuff thanks for the post and links!
NervesofButter wrote:
300 Rapid players should not be wasting time on openings. Learn and understand Opening Principles:
Control the center
Develop toward the center
Castle
Connect your rooks
Alternately, play Hypermodern Opening Principles:
Control the center from a distance
Develop slowly
Either castle quickly or not at all
Connect the rooks
Force your opponent to overextend
chess20202021 wrote:
NervesofButter wrote:
300 Rapid players should not be wasting time on openings. Learn and understand Opening Principles:
Control the center
Develop toward the center
Castle
Connect your rooks
I love center game but failed to battle in rapid. Blitz is my choice. I know I wrote wrong. Rapid is better. my bad
If you like the Center Game, try the Scotch Game. They're very similar except you'll be able to use the Scotch at any ELO value.
NervesofButter wrote:
Ethan_Brollier wrote:
NervesofButter wrote:
300 Rapid players should not be wasting time on openings. Learn and understand Opening Principles:
Control the center
Develop toward the center
Castle
Connect your rooks
Alternately, play Hypermodern Opening Principles:
Control the center from a distance
Develop slowly
Either castle quickly or not at all
Connect the rooks
Force your opponent to overextend
You do know that you are giving this advice to a 300 rapid player right?
You do know you're giving traditional advice to a 300 rapid player right?
It's a lot better at lower levels to play slow, defensive opening principles and react to your opponent than it is to play quick, aggressive opening principles and let your opponent react to you.
Also, notice that I merely offered it as an alternative. I think it's a lot better to play both rather than one or the other.
NervesofButter wrote:
Ethan_Brollier wrote:
NervesofButter wrote:
Ethan_Brollier wrote:
NervesofButter wrote:
300 Rapid players should not be wasting time on openings. Learn and understand Opening Principles:
Control the center
Develop toward the center
Castle
Connect your rooks
Alternately, play Hypermodern Opening Principles:
Control the center from a distance
Develop slowly
Either castle quickly or not at all
Connect the rooks
Force your opponent to overextend
You do know that you are giving this advice to a 300 rapid player right?
You do know you're giving traditional advice to a 300 rapid player right?
It's a lot better at lower levels to play slow, defensive opening principles and react to your opponent than it is to play quick, aggressive opening principles and let your opponent react to you.
Also, notice that I merely offered it as an alternative. I think it's a lot better to play both rather than one or the other.
At 300 those games are decided by blunders, mistakes, and missed tactics. Trying to tell someone to play defensively and slowly is like trying to tell a 2 year old to speak 5 languages.
++Exactly. When you're new, there will never be a better time to learn, and down the road, they'll appreciate the advice. It might be daunting and hard, but given enough time, they should definitely be up to the challenge.
And considering the OP is playing nothing but speed chess, they are not going to slow down. That is a consistent pattern here.
++If nobody ever tells them to slow down, they'll never slow down.
Offering openings the OP is going to have no clue as to why the pawns and pieces go where they go. At least with opening principles hopefully the OP will stop and think: "Does this move follow opening principles?" That is vastly easier than: "I played move 6 of the <insert opening here>. I have no clue if my opponent is playing book moves. I don't understand what to do in this position, so i will just play a book move." This is the difference i am illustrating.
++Firstly, I didn't offer any openings, I merely offered a different set of opening principles. Openings are great and all, and I really do think everybody should know at least a few, but I agree that opening principles are better. I just don't agree with "pawns in the center knights out OUT OF THE WAY BISHOP castle rooks in the center GO GO GO". I think "ahh my opponent's pawns and pieces are all overdeveloped and will be easy targets while I sit back in my cozy hypermodern formation" is infinitely better especially at lower levels. You avoid a lot of blunders when none of your pieces are on the fourth rank by move 6.
I am not arguing with you, just trying to be helpful
++Same. I respect the advice you are giving and I think OP should follow it to some extent, I'm merely pointing out what I think is an alternative way to play chess. I'd recommend OP to try both for a while and then play whichever works better for them.
KeSetoKaiba wrote:
https://www.chess.com/blog/KeSetoKaiba/opening-principles-again
@NervesofButter is correct. All of these things they mentioned are known as general opening principles (there are also others such as usually avoid moving the same piece twice in the opening but in my opinion, the 3 most important is develop your pieces, control the center and castle early.
As for which opening to play, there are two main ways to approach this and either could be correct.
1) Learn one opening for each color against common things you face (what should you play on move 1 as white and what should you play as black against common opening moves like 1 e4 or 1. d4). By using one opening and learning it REALLY well, you'll eventually develop an opening repertoire where you are knowledgeable about your positions because you've seen them in many games before.
2) Learn many different openings so you can learn common patterns and ideas of each and become a better rounded chess player. The drawback here is that you won't know any one opening as well as if you stuck with only one opening and learned it really well, but on the flip side, you also might see more opening concepts quicker and therefore increase your overall pattern recognition faster.
I chose the first option when I first started playing, but I've also switched openings many times over the years and still have a wide variety of openings I could play proficiently or for fun in unrated games.
There isn't a real right or wrong here as long as you are learning and have a plan you can stick with
IMO the second option is much, much better until about 1200 or 1300, and then beyond 1600 the first option is better. The first option is great, but at lower levels where nobody knows what openings are "good" or plays theory, knowing theory is useless (I have a 1100 rapid friend who plays the Ruy Lopez at a 1600+ level, but regularly goes even with 1100s in other openings). In comparison, knowing the first few moves in some popular variations of popular openings and then aside from that, sticking to flank or transitional openings, hypermoderns, and opening principles is simply better as you learn faster and you'll play better against lower ELO opponents.
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