Specific Chess Openings - A Guide for Novices and Beginners

Every chess opening has it's own unique personality. Choosing an opening repertoire to spend time learning involves matching these personalities to your own skills and tastes. We've put together a guide that provides a general overview of the most common openings - and the ideas behind them.

Don't expect to find complicated variations and lines. The guide is light on theory. It's intended to be an enjoyable introduction to the beauty behind the openings. Hopefully it will inspire you to take up study - and help you build your opening repertoire.

A Word of Caution

Spending time learning openings can be very intoxicating. Many beginners and novices spend a great deal of time learning a myriad opening variations at great depth. This is a mistake! When you are early in your chess career, your time is far better spent studying tactics, playing games, and relying on general opening principles.

That being said, it's quite healthy for novices to have fun experimenting with different openings and their associated strategic ideas. Enjoy the guide!