The 7 Chess Openings Every Beginner Should Know
Most beginners try to memorise too many openings too early. You don't need 50. You need 7 — enough to handle whatever your opponent plays without panicking. Here they are.
1. The Italian Game (e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 Bc4)
White opens with e4, Black responds e5, White develops the knight to f3, Black mirrors with Nc6, and White plays Bc4 — the bishop targeting the f7 square. This is one of the oldest openings in chess history, dating to the 16th century, and it remains one of the most popular at every level. It develops pieces quickly, controls the centre, and doesn't require deep memorisation to play well.
The principles you learn from the Italian Game — develop knights before bishops, control the centre with pawns, castle early — apply to almost every other opening. It's the best starting point for most beginners.
2. The Ruy López (e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 Bb5)
Same start as the Italian, but White plays Bb5 instead of Bc4. The bishop pins the knight on c6, which defends the e5 pawn. This is the most theoretically rich of all the "open game" openings — grandmasters still find new ideas in it — but the basic ideas are accessible to beginners: pressure the knight, control the centre, and create long-term structural advantages.
Magnus Carlsen, Garry Kasparov, and nearly every world champion have used the Ruy López as their primary weapon with White.
3. The Sicilian Defense (e4 c5)
Black's most popular response to e4. Instead of mirroring White's centre control with e5, Black plays c5 — a asymmetrical pawn that fights for the d4 square without giving White a symmetric position to attack. The Sicilian leads to the sharpest, most complex games in chess and is statistically the most common opening at the grandmaster level.
As a beginner you don't need to know the deep theory. The key idea is: Black is fighting for the centre without matching White's pawn, creating imbalance and counterattacking chances.
4. The French Defense (e4 e6)
Black plays e6, intending to follow with d5, building a solid pawn chain. The French is solid and hard to crack, but it often leads to closed positions where Black has less space. It's a good choice for players who prefer strategic, slow games over tactical fireworks.
The downside: the c8 bishop (the "bad bishop") often gets trapped behind the pawn chain and can be difficult to activate. Learning to use that bishop is a core skill in French Defense play.
5. The Queen's Gambit (d4 d5 c4)
White opens with d4 and follows with c4, offering Black a pawn. If Black takes it (Queen's Gambit Accepted), White gets a strong centre. If Black declines (Queen's Gambit Declined with e6), the game enters deep positional territory. The Netflix series made this opening famous, but it was already the most common d4 opening for a century before that.
For beginners: you can play the Queen's Gambit without knowing any theory. The ideas are straightforward — control the centre with d4 and c4, develop your pieces, castle kingside.
6. The King's Indian Defense (d4 Nf6 c4 g6)
Black lets White build a big centre with d4 and c4, then counterattacks it later. The King's Indian is a dynamic, aggressive defense that leads to sharp, attacking games. It was Bobby Fischer's favourite and remains one of the most popular defenses against d4 at every level.
The plan is clear: let White expand, castle kingside, then attack on the kingside with f5 and g5 while White typically attacks on the queenside. The resulting positions are full of tactical complexity.
7. The London System (d4 Nf6 Nf3 d5 Bf4)
A setup-based system for White that doesn't require memorising long lines. White develops the bishop to f4 before pawns are pushed, plays Nf3, and often follows with e3 and Bd3. The London is solid, reliable, and almost impossible to refute with tactics — you just develop and play chess.
It's risen dramatically in popularity over the last decade because players at all levels have realised that solid, principled play beats trying to memorise 20-move theory lines. Magnus Carlsen has played it at the world championship level.
What Matters More Than Openings
For most beginners, the opening lasts 10–12 moves. The middlegame and endgame last 40–60 moves. Spending 80% of your study time on the first 12 moves and 20% on the rest is a losing strategy. The three opening principles — control the centre, develop your pieces, castle early — will serve you better than memorising 15 moves of theory in any single opening.
Blitzzio shows you which opening is being played in live games. Watch a few games, see the openings named in real time, and you'll start recognising patterns naturally.