Best opening?
It is more common at higher levels for your opponent to play your opening prep because it’s not “dumb” but the moves they tell you to learn are the best moves, from you & opponent. It’s better to learn ideas but memorizing it isn’t useless
Hi! The best opening for everyone probably doesn't exist. Although opening choice is very personal, the correct selection of an opening is not that easy and it should suit the player's level.
Here is a link to a post with my experience with openings you might be interested in checking out:
https://www.chess.com/blog/maafernan/opening-repertoire-evolution-from-beginner-to-expert
Good luck!
It is more common at higher levels for your opponent to play your opening prep because it’s not “dumb” but the moves they tell you to learn are the best moves, from you & opponent. It’s better to learn ideas but memorizing it isn’t useless
Memorizing is useless if you don't know the ideas behind each and every move.
I have won many games by understanding ideas and opponents trying to deviate. I had a 2100 opponent over the board try to play 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 5.Ne2. He was lost by move 18 and resigned before move 30. If all I did was memorize lines of the French, I'd have been just as lost as him.
I could reel off the first 10 to 15 moves of the main line of any opening. However, some of them I just know the main line but have absolutely no idea what to do after the opening moves or what to do the moment you deviate on me (Najdorf, Alekhine, Grunfeld, Modern Benoni, etc.). Others, I actually UNDERSTAND, and can pretty easily figure out what to do when the opponent deviates (Sokolsky, English, Queen's Gambit, Colle, Torre, Trompowsky, French, Petroff, Vienna, Kings Gambit, Dutch, Kings Indian, etc.).
And as far as the Spanish - being complex is not a bad thing, and White does not threaten to win a pawn after 3.Bb5. If 3...a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6, the move 5.Nxe5? Is bad because of 5...Qd4! and Black gets the pawn back with a better position.
Hi! The best opening for everyone probably doesn't exist. Although opening choice is very personal, the correct selection of an opening is not that easy and it should suit the player's level.
Here is a link to a post with my experience with openings you might be interested in checking out:
https://www.chess.com/blog/maafernan/opening-repertoire-evolution-from-beginner-to-expert
Good luck!
And over time, it changes.
For me, the French did me well for 29 years, and I still play it via 1.d4 e6 2.e4, but after many years of realizing which lines have given me the best results and my superior understanding of minor piece endings over those below the IM level (hence my superior results in the exchange vatiation), I changed from the French to an opening with the oft open e-file, the literal possible transposition to the exchange French (5.d3 Nf6 6.d4 d5), and thus far excellent results, I now have the Petroff as my main defense to e4 rather than my backup opening, which was the case since 2016 when I officially put the Taimanov Sicilian to rest.
So yes, opening selection can be hard, and it can change. I also played the Kings Indian Defense for over 10 years before switching to the Deferred Dutch (1...e6 first, then ...f5).