English or Larsen opening for a beginner?

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harriw

A couple of your questions are easy to answer. The Nimzo-Larsen has way less theory. In the English the symmetrical variation and the reversed Sicilian have quite a lot of theory and in addition there are quite a lot of responses to d4 that are played against c4 (not all of them solid). I've even had someone play the French moves against the English almost neglecting my moves (that didn't end too well).

I play the English myself, but not the Nimzo-Larsen. The English can be played in a variety of ways, but usually the idea is to control the center with pieces (the bishop on g2 is often a very powerful piece) and attack on the queenside, though central play is possible in many lines. I'm not so familiar with ideas in the Nimzo-Larsen, but in general Black initially gets a stronger center there (in the English c4 controls d5) and White should counterattack it. As I have very little personal experience with it (played it only a couple of times, usually as Black), I cannot say too much about it.

RussBell

The Chess Openings Tier List for Beginners – GM Hikaru Nakamura and IM Levy Rozman…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9CwH47r6og

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHsb7-LbC34

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3FBRlzSMHc

For each of the openings discussed in the (3-part) video above be sure to pay attention to whether they are referring to White or Black’s perspective. Also, they frequently refer to some openings as "garbage" or "bad", etc., but these qualifiers are used in the context of how much so-called "theory" (e.g. documented variations) the opening encompasses and/or how much emphasis the opening places on positional versus tactical skills in order to play it well. For example, an opening they refer to as "garbage" (an unfortunate choice of terms) for a beginner may in fact be appropriate for higher rated players (Intermediates, titled players, etc.) who generally know more of the theory for the openings they play and have a more highly developed understanding of positional concepts. 

The Chess GAMBITS Tier List for Beginners – GM Hikaru Nakamura and IM Levy Rozman…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9N6Bo7BBPg

Chess Openings Resources for Beginners and Beyond...

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

blueemu

As a learning chess player, you should play a flexible opening that will expose you to several different central formations and middle-game plans, rather than an opening that will lock you into a specific system of development. This way, you'll probably lose more games at first, but you'll learn more and learn faster.

I suggest the English, rather than the Larsen or Nimzo-Larsen.

arosbishop

The English is much better for a beginner. You take a piece of the centre and that is important.

With Larsen you give up the centre to your opponent and it demands great skills to counter later.

1.c4 + 2.g3 is a good start.

 

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