If you look up “Chess Opening Books” on Amazon.com, you will come up with over a thousand products! There are many books, websites, and blogs like this one devoted to the chess openings. Chess openings refer to the first several moves in the game. The idea being to develop the pieces, get the king to safety, and control the center of the board.
There are many book openings that have been studied by chess experts for hundreds of years. All of them have their strengths and weaknesses and each appeals to different types of players. Studying the openings and being comfortable with them is a major part of a chess player’s preparation.
But why should chess players study the openings? Why not just show how smart you are by playing without them and just winging it? There are several reasons for this.
First, the openings save time in tournament play. In tournaments there is an amount of time for a specific number of moves to be made. For example, make the first 40 moves in two hours. If time runs out, you lose. This means that you don’t have the luxury of analyzing every move. As a result, understandign the openings help you to make solid moves more quickly.
Second, the openings help you to quickly and effectively develop your pieces while keeping your king safe. Below is an example of how not to do this as black. White has control of the center, their knight is deployed, they threaten the black rook, and can move their king bishop and castle soon. Black on the other hand has given white the center and is going to have to waste time getting the rook out of danger.
Third, the openings set you up for success in the middle game and beyond. Often well played openings can give slight positional or piece advantages that can result in significant advantages in the middle game or end game.
Finally, understanding the openings allows you to understand what your opponent is attempting to do and how to counter it!
