Queen's gambit and scillian najdorf.... They are the most sound you can possibly ask for. Aside from that they are quite good to help you learn the essence of chess (in contrast to quick opening tricks that help you learn but not improve).
Top Openings for Both Black and White
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Aug 13, 2023
0
#3
As white with 1.e4 the top opening is the Ruy Lopez/Spanish opening. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5- This opening scores best, it has a strong 38% win rate at the master level, only beaten by a couple of openings that score 39% wins, but in this case the loss rate is an incredible 26%, so it is powerful and capable of winning but it is harder to lose with than other openings by far.
However when you play 1. e4 your opponent can play the Sicilian with c5, but this isnt seen much at a lower level, but from intermediate/advanced it becomes much more popular, the Sicilian is a fighting reply for black against d4 and draws are less likely, white is still favoured but generally black has a better chance of scoring a win, too.
There are other alternatives to e4 like 1... c6 and black can also play 2... Nf6 (the Petrov) against 1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 and so getting into the Spanish game is by no means guaranteed, but a lot of players do like to respond with 1... e5 and 2... Nc6 and so for a long-term opening to study that is top-tier and has a lot of complexity, depth and theory, you have the Spanish. However just like 1.d4 there is no guarantee your opponent will play into it.
For 1. d4 you hae 2. c4, which is the Queen's Gambit, and you can play these two moves if your opponent replies 2... c5 or 2... Nf6, and the game will often become Queen' Gambit Accepted/Declined or The Nimzo-Indian (if 1...Nf6) The Queen's Gambit is perhaps the best opening for white as d4, it is very stable and also very strong and capable of winning with. Black's best reply is possibly the Nimzo but it is complex and personally I have seen much less players trying to play the Nimzo against 1. d4 than players going into a Queen's Gambit Accepted or Declined.
For Black the Sicilian (1...c5) is a top opening reply against e4, and for d4 you have the Nimzo, but if your opponent goes for a London System as d4 then you can't play the Nimzo and have to play a specific way against the London instead. Likewise as black if you play 1. c5 your opponent can avoid the Open Sicilian which is where the bulk of the theory and asymmetrical exciting games stem from, and they can go for an "anti-sicilian" such as the Alapin.
In conclusion the top openings are the Queen's Gambit and Nimzo-Indian for 1.d4 and Ruy Lopez and Sicilian for 1.e4, - These openings score best in terms of win/draw/loss percentages for their respective color, but you can't force any of these openings to occur. Additionally, you have alternatives to 1.e4 and 1.d4, the most solid perhaps being the English (1. c4) Therefore you can't escape from learning a plethora of different openings to a small degree, no matter which opening you invest most of of your time into and hope to play.
Aside from Queen's Gambit and Ruy Lopez for white, notable mentions would be the English opening, the Italian opening (a solid but symmetrical opening that is coming into fashion at the top-level as an alternative to the common Ruy Lopez). For black I would mention the Caro-Kann and the French as top openings against e4, also. I think I've named most of the strongest openings in the game.
For newer players many people recommend the Italian/Giuco Piano for 1.e4, as it is a principled, strong, stable opening that is easier to learn than the Spanish. A lot of people have recommended the London System for 1.d4 players, too, as it is perhaps the easiest solid opening to learn, however it is incredibly drawish and so while draws are very rare at a beginner level, it is not a very exciting opening, so my advice would be to move on from the London once you are starting to get the hang of things.
Aug 13, 2023
0
#4
kippuss wrote:
As white with 1.e4 the top opening is the Ruy Lopez/Spanish opening. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5- This opening scores best, it has a strong 38% win rate at the master level, only beaten by a couple of openings that score 39% wins, but in this case the loss rate is an incredible 26%, so it is powerful and capable of winning but it is harder to lose with than other openings by far.
However when you play 1. e4 your opponent can play the Sicilian with c5, but this isnt seen much at a lower level, but from intermediate/advanced it becomes much more popular, the Sicilian is a fighting reply for black against d4 and draws are less likely, white is still favoured but generally black has a better chance of scoring a win, too.
There are other alternatives to e4 like 1... c6 and black can also play 2... Nf6 (the Petrov) against 1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 and so getting into the Spanish game is by no means guaranteed, but a lot of players do like to respond with 1... e5 and 2... Nc6 and so for a long-term opening to study that is top-tier and has a lot of complexity, depth and theory, you have the Spanish. However just like 1.d4 there is no guarantee your opponent will play into it.
For 1. d4 you hae 2. c4, which is the Queen's Gambit, and you can play these two moves if your opponent replies 2... c5 or 2... Nf6, and the game will often become Queen' Gambit Accepted/Declined or The Nimzo-Indian (if 1...Nf6) The Queen's Gambit is perhaps the best opening for white as d4, it is very stable and also very strong and capable of winning with. Black's best reply is possibly the Nimzo but it is complex and personally I have seen much less players trying to play the Nimzo against 1. d4 than players going into a Queen's Gambit Accepted or Declined.
For Black the Sicilian (1...c5) is a top opening reply against e4, and for d4 you have the Nimzo, but if your opponent goes for a London System as d4 then you can't play the Nimzo and have to play a specific way against the London instead. Likewise as black if you play 1. c5 your opponent can avoid the Open Sicilian which is where the bulk of the theory and asymmetrical exciting games stem from, and they can go for an "anti-sicilian" such as the Alapin.
In conclusion the top openings are the Queen's Gambit and Nimzo-Indian for 1.d4 and Ruy Lopez and Sicilian for 1.e4, - These openings score best in terms of win/draw/loss percentages for their respective color, but you can't force any of these openings to occur. Additionally, you have alternatives to 1.e4 and 1.d4, the most solid perhaps being the English (1. c4) Therefore you can't escape from learning a plethora of different openings to a small degree, no matter which opening you invest most of of your time into and hope to play.
Aside from Queen's Gambit and Ruy Lopez for white, notable mentions would be the English opening, the Italian opening (a solid but symmetrical opening that is coming into fashion at the top-level as an alternative to the common Ruy Lopez). For black I would mention the Caro-Kann and the French as top openings against e4, also. I think I've named most of the strongest openings in the game.
For newer players many people recommend the Italian/Giuco Piano for 1.e4, as it is a principled, strong, stable opening that is easier to learn than the Spanish. A lot of people have recommended the London System for 1.d4 players, too, as it is perhaps the easiest solid opening to learn, however it is incredibly drawish and so while draws are very rare at a beginner level, it is not a very exciting opening, so my advice would be to move on from the London once you are starting to get the hang of things.
Thank you for the suggestions I will try to learn some or all of them! 
I'm hoping to studying more openings and hear your opinions on which you think are perhaps the best or strongest.