By style
- Aggressive: Sicilian, King’s Indian, Italian.
- Solid: London, Caro-Kann, French.
- Positional: Ruy Lopez, English.
Openings
A small repertoire, played on purpose
Eight openings that cover White and Black at club level. Ideas first, then the lines you will actually meet. Then play, and review the games.
Why the opening still matters
The first ten moves decide whether you reach a middlegame you understand. A decent opening gets the pieces out, the king away, and a plan on the board. Memorising a tree is the usual failure — when you know why a move is played, a deviation is a position, not a panic. You still need tactics: most games under 1200 are lost to a hanging piece, not to being out of book. Pick three openings and spend the rest of the week on the games you already played.
As White
You move first. Pick the kind of position you want to see every game.
White · 1.e4 e5
Italian Game
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4
The first opening worth learning as White: pieces out, bishop on f7, and a plan you can still remember with five minutes on the clock.
White · 1.e4 e5
Ruy Lopez
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5
The Spanish Opening: pin the knight that defends e5, and play for long-term pressure instead of a quick mate on f7.
White · 1.d4
London System
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4
One setup against almost everything Black plays. The opening for people who would rather spend study time on the middlegame.
White · 1.c4
English Opening
1.c4
A flank opening that can stay English, or transpose into a Queen’s Gambit, a reversed Sicilian, or a Catalan. Flexibility is the feature and the homework.
As Black
You need an answer to 1.e4 and an answer to 1.d4. That is the list.
Against 1.e4
Black · 1.e4
Sicilian Defense
1.e4 c5
Black’s most ambitious reply to 1.e4: fight for the centre from the side, keep winning chances, and accept a lot of theory in return.
Black · 1.e4
French Defense
1.e4 e6
Black builds a pawn chain, hits the centre with ...c5, and plays a structured game instead of an open brawl.
Black · 1.e4
Caro-Kann Defense
1.e4 c6
A solid reply to 1.e4 that gets the light-squared bishop out, keeps a sound structure, and does not require a Sicilian-sized library.
Against 1.d4
How to choose
By rating
- Under 1000: Italian or London as White; French as Black.
- 1000–1500: add the Ruy, Caro-Kann, or one Sicilian — not all three at once.
- Tactics still decide more games than theory at both levels.
By time
- Almost none: London. Same setup against most replies.
- A few evenings: Italian and French. Main ideas, not encyclopaedias.
- A real hobby: Sicilian. Pick one variation and stay there.
How to actually learn one
- 01
Learn the ideas, not the tree
Pawn structure, where the pieces go, what you are trying to do on move twelve. If you only know the moves, the first deviation is a blank page.
- 02
Main line first
Five to seven moves if you are new; ten to fifteen once the position feels familiar. The main line is what you will actually see. Side lines wait.
- 03
The traps you will meet
Fried Liver, the Exchange Ruy pawn grab, a cheap Smith–Morra. Know the ones at your rating. Do not build a repertoire out of YouTube traps.
- 04
Play it, then review it
There is no opening trainer on Chess Wizard. Play the line in real games. After the game, the review shows where the evaluation moved — including whether you left the book and whether it mattered.
- 05
Fix the leak, not the whole opening
One loss is not a refutation. Look at the same structure a few times. If you always die on the same wing, that is the study — not a new first move.
Where to start
Under 1000
A solid first repertoire
Italian or London as White. French or Caro-Kann as Black. Principles you can still use when someone leaves the book on move six.
Beginner openings1000–1500
Add one weapon, not ten
Ruy Lopez or English as White. One Sicilian, or the King’s Indian, if you will actually study it. Depth over a new first move every month.
Intermediate openingsOpenings FAQ
How many openings should I learn?
Three: one as White, one against 1.e4, one against 1.d4. That covers every game. Club players do better with a small repertoire they understand than with twenty names they cannot play with five minutes left.
Should I learn openings or tactics first?
Tactics, if you have to pick. Below about 1200, games are decided by hanging pieces, not by move twelve of the Najdorf. Learn enough opening to get a playable position and a king that is castled. Then tactics. Deeper theory starts to pay once you can actually use the advantage it gives you.
How deep should I study an opening?
Under 1000: the first five to seven moves and the point of each one. 1000–1500: ten to fifteen of the main line, plus two or three replies you actually face. Past that, depth is a choice, not a requirement. Understanding still beats a line you cannot remember.
Then look at the games you already played
Chess Wizard reviews every finished game: accuracy, the three turning points, the eval graph. Free is 5 live games a day. Pro is unlimited live, plus history, review, and insights.