What is your favorite opening?


For white I love the kings gambit, it took me from 1000 to 1500, and I still use it. For black my favorite is the Caro-Kann. Against the Caro-Kann I prefer the Fantasy Variation and against the Scandinavian I like transposing to a Blackmar-Diemer. Against the Sicilian I’m working on perfecting my Alapin, but I admit it’s difficult. A proper Sicilian Defense is very difficult to prepare for as it’s one of the most versatile openings and requires an understanding of a relatively large amount of variations. As Black against the London, I like playing the Symmetrical Variation because it’s easy and annoying to my opponents. My least favorite opening to play against is the London because in my opinion, it’s a cop out. If you’ve come to play chess, play chess. Not the London. But I respect it. Against the the Queen’s pawn opening (specifically 1. d4 Nf3 2. c4) I’m working on the Benko Gambit but for anyone below 13-1400 I’d suggest sticking to the London, or the King’s Indian. As a bonus, if you’re an adventurous player, and 1. e4 is too cliche, look into the Catalan. Very interesting stuff.