Chess opening

abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
The starting position of chess

The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory. The other phases are the middlegame and the endgame.[1] Many opening sequences, known as openings, have standard names such as "Sicilian Defense". The Oxford Companion to Chess lists 1,327 named openings and variants, and there are many others with varying degrees of common usage.[2]

Opening moves that are considered standard are referred to as "book moves", or simply "book".[3] When a game begins to deviate from known opening theory, the players are said to be "out of book".[3] In some openings, book lines have been worked out for over 30 moves, such as some lines in the classical King's Indian Defense and in the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense.[4]

Professional chess players spend years studying openings, and they continue doing so throughout their careers as opening theory continues to evolve. Players at the club level also study openings, but the importance of the opening phase is less there since games are rarely decided in the opening. The study of openings can become unbalanced if it is to the exclusion of tactical training and middlegame and endgame strategy.[5]

A new sequence of moves in the opening is referred to as a theoretical novelty. When kept secret until used in a competitive game, it is often known as a prepared variation, a powerful weapon in top-class competition.[6]

This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
  1. ^ "Phases of the game - Chess Strategy Online". www.chessstrategyonline.com. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  2. ^ Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1992). The Oxford Companion to Chess (2 ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 461–480. ISBN 0-19-280049-3.
  3. ^ a b "Book Move - Chess Terms". Chess.com. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  4. ^ Garry Kasparov, Modern Chess part 1, p. 353
  5. ^ Hansen, Lars Bo (October 7, 2008). How Chess Games are Won and Lost. Gambit. ISBN 978-1-906454-01-2.
  6. ^ Fine, R. (1952). The World's Great Chess Games. Andre Deutsch (now as paperback from Dover). ISBN 0-679-13046-2.