Chess Openings

The openings players actually use in Chess, listed one by one. Each reads on its own, and each comes with the position it leads to: press Try it on the board and you play the next move yourself.

Italian Game

Opening 1

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6, White's 3.Bc4 is the Italian Game. It appears in games written down five hundred years ago, and it is still the opening most often recommended to beginners.

The bishop on c4 looks straight at f7. That square is defended only by Black's king, which makes it the weakest point in the starting position. The move also develops a piece and clears the way to castle, so it satisfies two of the three opening principles — push a centre pawn, bring pieces out, get the king safe — in a single move.

Black usually mirrors it with Bc5, a line known as the Giuoco Piano. If White then plays d3, the game stays quiet and easy to understand.

Suits
Anyone learning their first opening, and anyone who wants a plan they can see on the board.
First moves
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4

Ruy Lopez (Spanish)

Opening 2

From the same position as the Italian, the bishop goes to b5 instead: the Ruy Lopez, named after a sixteenth-century Spanish priest and also called the Spanish. It is the most common opening in master play and the most deeply analysed of them all.

The bishop on b5 attacks the knight on c6, and that knight is defending the pawn on e5 — so the pressure is indirect. There is no hurry to take on c6. Capturing doubles Black's pawns, but it also trades one of your two bishops away, and in a quiet position the pair is usually worth keeping.

Black normally answers a6, asking the bishop what it intends; that move is the Morphy Defence. White retreats to a4 and carries on developing.

Suits
Players who want one opening for years, and who like slow, squeezing positions.
First moves
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 (3...a6 is usual)

Sicilian Defence

Opening 3

The Sicilian Defence is 1...c5 in reply to 1.e4, and it is the most popular answer in the world. Instead of meeting the centre head-on with 1...e5, Black attacks it from the side.

White has several set-ups, but the main line is 2.Nf3 and 3.d4, trading a centre pawn off — the Open Sicilian. White takes the centre and a lead in development; Black takes an open c-file and a healthy pawn majority. Both have something, which is why the results stay close to even.

The positions get sharp quickly, so principles matter more than memory here: develop your pieces and castle early. As White, 2.Nf3 is never a mistake.

Suits
Anyone who opens 1.e4 and needs an answer to it, and Black players who like sharp positions.
First moves
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 (Open Sicilian)

French Defence

Opening 4

The French Defence is 1...e6 against 1.e4. It looks modest, but the point is clear enough: Black is preparing d5 to hit White's centre next move.

White naturally answers 2.d4, putting two pawns side by side in the middle. After 2...d5 White picks between 3.Nc3, 3.Nd2 and 3.e5. Whichever it is, the centre pawns tend to lock against each other, and the game becomes a slow, closed push.

Black's known problem is the bishop on c8, hemmed in by the pawn on e6. French players spend whole games solving it; as White, keeping it shut in is a plan in itself.

Suits
Players who like solid positions and do not want the game to explode early.
First moves
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 (or 3.Nd2, 3.e5)

Queen's Gambit

Opening 5

After 1.d4 d5, White's 2.c4 is the Queen's Gambit — the first opening most players learn if they do not start with 1.e4. As the name says, a pawn is on offer.

It is not a real gambit, though. If Black takes with 2...dxc4, White wins the pawn back later with e3 or a4. Trying to hang on to it costs Black time and leaves the pieces at home.

That is why Black more often declines with 2...e6 — the Queen's Gambit Declined. White's plan either way is the same: use the pawns on c4 and d4 to widen the centre, and develop the pieces behind them.

Suits
Players who want something other than 1.e4, and who like building a centre slowly.
First moves
1.d4 d5 2.c4 (2...e6 declines, 2...dxc4 accepts)

Try it on the board

Pick an opening and the board starts from that position. Start over as often as you like.

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Last updated 2026-09-13 · Run by Qdan, Inc.