“A knowledge of tactics is the foundation of positional play. This is a rule which has stood its test in chess history and one which we cannot impress forcibly enough upon the young chess player. A beginner should avoid the Queen’s Gambit and French Defence and play open games instead! While he may not win as many games at first, he will in the long run be amply compensated by acquiring a thorough knowledge of the game.” — RICHARD RETI, Masters of the Chessboard
| Re: Openings for adult class players Reply #57 – 10/13/09 at 12:40:43 |
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| Straggler wrote on 10/12/09 at 23:55:18:
But the argument for playing open games as an adult seems to rest on the assumption that everyone can improve their tactical ability. Not entirely. It’s also that open positions are fundamental. I say again, you must know how to play open positions well in order to play chess well. If someone 1700 or so just wants to have fun playing chess, he should play whatever strikes his fancy. If he wants to improve at chess, he should play systems that lead to open positions, and he should not be shy of playing with the IQP. I don’t think that starting out with the attitude that he can’t do something is very healthy for the student, in all frankness. If someone were my student and said, “I can’t do this because I’m no good at tactics,” I would say, “Don’t sell yourself short!” |
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| Fromper wrote on 01/25/11 at 02:32:35:
Are there any openings that you think everyone should play, before moving on to more complex stuff? For instance, do you think everyone should put in some time answering 1. e4 with e5 to get a feel for open games before trying the Sicilian as black? Or is the QGD (as black) a necessary precursor to trying hypermodern responses to 1. d4? What openings do you think are prerequisites to know before trying what other openings? Anyone would think you were new to the forum, since this question has been very often asked and answered, and also very often answered without even having been asked, in these pages. To repeat for the 2,427th time the Markovich Doctrine, or Dogma as many would have it: new and improving players must play 1…e5 against 1.e4, particularly the black side of the Two Knights Defense, and must play the Tarrasch Defense against the closed systems. On the White side there’s a wider range of options, but the repertoire should emphasize sharp, open positions. After they get up to 2100 or so, I don’t care what they do; I’m not strong enough to coach people much higher than that; and that seems like a good time to start branching out. Also if you don’t care about improving your game, I don’t care what you do. There’s a whole theory behind this that has been fully enunciated by me and my acolytes in old threads that I can’t be bothered to find right now, as well as a set poorly reasoned counterarguments made by some well-meaning persons with, unfortunately, only a dim understanding of this game. |
- Again, a word of warning must be given to the inexperienced: do not attempt (these openings) until you have fully tried out, first, the open game, and then the Queen’s. These are far and away the most difficult types of opening to master. The writer has spent a considerable portion of his chess-playing life studying them intensively and is still liable to be met with shocks…~
Harry GOLOMBEK in Griffiths & Golombek: Pocket Guide to the Chess Openings.