Black Lion opening

I really like Simon Williams' enthusiasm when explaining openings. He has done a lot of hard work promoting The Black Lion. I've tried it a few times more as a novelty and a change from always playing the French. Success is limited and I'm wondering whether I should persevere. Any keen Black Lioners out there? Interested to know what you think. Thanks.

No. I found for me that there were too many variations and things to remember if white does certain moves. I've just tried to get better at the French Defence. Having said that, I like the Black Lion because opponents don't have a clue what you are up to. That is why I've been learning the Danish Gambit and Kings Gambit as white. I may return to the Black Lion in the future.

There are different ways of determining the worth of an opening.

Is the Lion an objectively playable opening? Yes. Unlike e.g. the Grob and Latvian which nearly lose by force.

Is the Lion a practical choice below IM or master level? Yes. You'll likely get a lot of pressure on your opponent or at least an equal game where you have non-zero chances to win.

Is the Lion a good opening for a beginner to grow with as they get better at chess? No. It's a one dimensional idea. It's fine as a stop-gap measure, but better are standard openings like the Spanish and Queen's Gambit Declined if you're interested in long term improvement.

And people who make youtube videos about marginal openings tend to only show you lines where you're winning. They never show you lines where you're screwed. For example:

These are good points by llama. Better first to get a handle on positional play and tactics through playing more standard openings before having a crack at obscure openings.  However braseleirosm has purchased a book on the Black Lion and so if you want to really apply yourself and study it closely then go for it.

Thanks for the answers. You are probably right about the defense being one dimensional.  However,  most casual players would like to play an opening which doesn't demand too much memorisation. I found the Black Lion quite unusual with the king side attack and often no casting. 

I didn't purchase it yet  I am still trying to figure out if I should. 

Are these black 's best moves?

I've only prepared against the Lion well enough to beat people at my level in variations like that. I don't know the "best" variations, but these moves for black are probably at least equal to whatever variations the meme GM Simon Williams shows for black on youtube.

Probably black should have castle short instead of attacking on the kingside. 

Then it will be a philidor, another opening I'm never unhappy to play against.

Hi, if I may, I'll try adding my little contribution, as Black Lion player (again) myself

First, I strongly dislike and reject the idea that you have to player "good" openings to have a real development in chess playing. Take MVL repertoire for exemple : Najdorf + Grunfeld : surely topopenings. Below a certain level, if you're playing you likely won't have a clue about what to do outside of the theory, because it's so subtle, and it answers to specific moves. But you'll likely be in sidelines, and won't be sure what to do

Black lion is really a good opening for learning, because it can cover many aspect

- take the 3...e5, Endgame variation, with queens exchanges : would make you learn about a quick endgame, why is it considered drawish, but how you can exploit it if you're more familiar with this kind of position thanks to this variation in the black lion (btw the equivalent of endgame variation but on d4 + c4 is way better for black)

- you want to defend hard attack : do not play h6, allow white do Ng5 + Bxf7. Very hard to defend but not at all winning for white

- you want to get a grisp on a black attack on the side, play the lines without the castling

- you want a more quiet game, with building a position slowly and surely, then castle. you will have a Philidor, and even if white can like play against like IIama, it's still a top 3 defense against e4 + Nf3. e5 + d6 + castle can't be wrong for black. You'll have to learn about a bad bishop, as in the French and QGD

I've seen topics bashing the black lion because of the hype and marketing. I can relate to that, but lots of ppl who were bashing it were just saying "pfff it's just a philidor, why all the fuss about it" without having read the books which clearly states if a Philidor-like as you get in Philidor position but with a Pirc move order that can avoid certain variation for white

Go black lion !

Thanks.  I am giving a try with the Alekhine. I like the idea of making the opponent overextend and later attacking the pawns.

can someone let me se how this opening go?

It is easier to go to Chessable,  search for Black Lion in the courses, there you find more about it. Perhaps they have a free version of the course called sweet and short, so you can even get this course after registration,  which is also free.

The author is Simon Williams 

hmmmmmm

You can google it.

It's something like this

The basic idea is you hold your center / queenside solidly. You ignore / absorb any agression there. That lets you focus your play on the kingside.

So for example if white plays d4, most of the time you just ignore it, and if they capture on e5 then you recapture to keep a pawn there.

If white plays d5, most of the time you just ignore it, and if they capture on c6 you recapture to keep a pawn there.

Yeah, my coach Armand Etsebeth helped create it, he is a GM