Which Chess Opening Should I Play?

I asked myself this question many times. I even bought a book about it which was very detailed, very comprehensive regarding the ideas behind the openings however, it also tackles the principles in the opening that we should be aware of and how those principles work in practice. Oftentimes, you won't have the luxury to have the best in all aspects, you won't be able to apply all the principles. There will always be trade offs and you need to choose which to prioritize more, would it be king safety or development? These are the questions that I found are more valuable to think about and learn about the opening. It is not necessary for you to memorize 20 lines of the Sicilian Defense to play it as White or Black, you just need to know what the objective is for either side.

Now, there are various options that you would have for both White and Black in the opening. There are millions of combinations of moves that could be done. But the choice of which chess opening to play depends on you. What kind of positions do you feel more comfortable with? Which chess opening do you feel all fired up or excited about? These are the considerations that you need to think about when you are deciding which chess opening to play. Of course, there are less risky openings such as the d4 openings and there are more aggressive lines in the e4 openings, however, that is not true for all variations because there are chess openings such as the Gruenfeld Defense against 1. d4 which could get very tactical and messy, very quick. There are openings like the Berlin Defense against 1. e4 which many believe leads to more draws. So your disposition would definitely factor into your decision. Your style of play, whether you are the calm and collected grinder, who builds up his position with small advantages or the highly energetic and dynamic tactician, who sacrifices all his pieces until he gets the enemy king.

I mentioned that I bought a chess openings book several years ago but I felt that they were too technical for me and I found it difficult to follow. So I will try to write articles about the different chess openings so that it would be easier for others to understand. I will use some of the games that I have played as examples to show the best practices, what to do and what not to do. These are not definitive or be-all suggestions rather they would only show how best to adapt to varying positions. Ultimately, chess openings are only the beginning part of the game and there are two other phases that one must learn and master to become better.