Top 10 Popular Chess Openings

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Top 10 Popular Chess Openings

Ten chess openings all players should be familiar with.

What's hot? What's not? Here are ten chess openings all players should be familiar with. Are you?
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Sicilian Defense - ...d6 Variations

Since the most popular first move in chess is 1.e4, it follows that many of the most popular openings are King's Pawn Openings. Similarly, since the most popular response to 1.e4 is 1...c5, variations of the Sicilian Defense easily make any list of the top 10 openings.
Following this logic, the first of our most popular openings is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 as shown in the diagram. The popularity of this variation is due to the combined popularity of the four well known variations that Black can choose with the next move.

5...a6 : Najdorf Variation
5...Nc6 : Classical Variation
5...e6 : Scheveningen Variation
5...g6 : Dragon Variation

For more about the diagrammed position, see Sicilian Defense - ...d6 Variations in our Repertoire Recommendations.

Sicilian Defense - Black avoids an early ...d6

Another popular way of playing the Sicilian Defense is by avoiding an early ...d6. Two ways to do this are by playing 2...Nc6 or 2...e6 instead of 2...d6 as in the previous variation.
The move 2...Nc6 is slightly more popular than 2...e6, and usually leads to 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 as shown in the diagram. Now Black has at least four acceptable ways to continue.

4...Nf6
4...e6
4...g6
4...e5

For more about the diagrammed position, see Sicilian Defense - Black avoids an early ...d6 in our Repertoire Recommendations.

Ruy Lopez 4.Ba4

In response to 1.e4, the move 1...e5 is only slightly less popular than 1...c5. The family of openings that start 1.e4 e5 are often known as Open Games.
After the natural 2.Nf3 Nc6, attacking and defending Black's Pawn on e5, White continues the attack with 3.Bb5. This is called the Ruy Lopez, known in some languages as the Spanish Game.
The most popular continuation is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O as in the diagram. Here Black has three popular continuations.

5...Be7 : Closed Ruy Lopez
5...Nxe4 : Open Ruy Lopez
5...b5

For more about the diagrammed position, see Ruy Lopez 4.Ba4 in our Repertoire Recommendations.

Italian Game

Instead of attacking Black's e-Pawn as in the Ruy Lopez, White can attack Black's sensitive Pawn on f7. This shouldn't be done by playing Qh5, which exposes the Queen to an attack by ...Nf6, but rather by Bc4, which develops a minor piece at the same time that it attacks f7.
White can play 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4, but a more popular continuation is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 as in the diagram. Now Black has two excellent continuations.

3...Nf6 : Two Knights' Defense
3...Bc5 : Giuoco Piano

For more about the diagrammed position, see Italian Game in our Repertoire Recommendations.

French Defense

The last of our popular openings which start 1.e4 is the French Defense (1...e6). It is considerably less popular than either 1...c5 or 1...e5, but considerably more so than any of the alternatives.
The French usually starts 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 as in the diagram. Now White has four good moves.

3.Nc3 : Leads to two great families depending on whether Black responds 3...Bb4 or 3...Nf6.
3.Nd2 : Tarrasch Variation
3.e5 : Advance Variation
3.exd5 : Exchange Variation

For more about the diagrammed position, see French Defense in our Repertoire Recommendations.

Nimzo Indian or Queen's Indian?

Black must also be prepared to play against 1.d4. There are two great families known as the Indian Defense (1.d4 Nf6) and the Closed Game (1.d4 d5). Since the various Indian Defenses taken together are more popular than the Closed Game, two of our top 10 popular openings are in the Indian family.
The first is where Black plays 2...e6, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 as in the diagram. Now White decides whether to allow an immediate pin on the Queen's Knight.

3.Nc3 Bb4 : Nimzo Indian (the alternative 3...d5 transposes to a Closed Game)
3.Nf3 b6 : Queen's Indian (or 3...d5, also transposing to a Closed Game)

For more about the diagrammed position, see Nimzo Indian or Queen's Indian? in our Repertoire Recommendations.

King's Indian or Gruenfeld?

The second of our popular openings in the Indian family is where Black plays 2...g6 The most popular variation is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 as in the diagram.
Black has two popular responses.

3...Bg7 : King's Indian Defense
3...d5 : Gruenfeld Defense (occasionally called the Gruenfeld Indian Defense)

For more about the diagrammed position, see King's Indian or Gruenfeld? in our Repertoire Recommendations.

Closed Game

The Closed Game usually starts 1.d4 d5 2.c4 as in the diagram. This is better known as the Queen's Gambit. Black has three responses which have different characteristics.

2...e6 : Queen's Gambit Declined
2...c6 : Slav Defense
2...dxc4 : Queen's Gambit Accepted

For more about the diagrammed position, see Closed Game in our Repertoire Recommendations.

Reti System

Are you surprised to find that one of our top 10 popular openings is a single move? In fact we have two first moves for White in our top 10. The slightly more popular of the two is 1.Nf3 as shown in the diagram. We have three reasons for choosing a single move.
First, although 1.Nf3 is played less frequently than 1.e4 or 1.d4, it is far more popular than the next group of initial moves for White. It can't be overlooked or ignored.
Second, while there are several good responses to it, the most popular response is 1... Nf6. Now if White continues 2.d4 or 2.c4, the game will often transpose into an Indian Opening or a Closed Game. In other words, the most popular response leads back into popular openings that we have already chosen.
Finally, none of the alternatives to 1...Nf6 are as popular as our other top 10 openings. Taken together they have many adherents.

1...d5
1...c5
1...g6

For more about the diagrammed position, see Reti System in our Repertoire Recommendations.

English Opening

Our last opening is again a single move. White often plays 1.c4, as in the diagram.
We include 1.c4 for the same reasons as 1.Nf3 : (1) although played less frequently than 1.e4 or 1.d4, it has a considerable following; (2) the most popular response leads back to the 1.d4 openings; and (3) none of the alternate responses are as popular. There is one additional consideration : there are so many good responses that no single move is considerably more popular than any other.

1...Nf6
1...e5
1...e6
1...c5
1...g6
1...c6
1...f5

Many of these moves lead to less popular responses to 1.d4. The moves 1.c4 c6 will often transpose to a Slav Defense (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6), while the moves 1.c4 f5 will usually transpose to a Dutch Defense (1.d4 f5).
Only 1.c4 e5 and 1.c4 c5 lead to systems not often seen after 1.d4. Taken together, they represent an important branch of chess openings.
For more about the diagrammed position, see English Opening in our Repertoire Recommendations.

Top 10 Popular Chess Openings
Ten chess openings all players should be familiar with.
What's hot? What's not? Here are ten chess openings all players should be familiar with. Are you? * Sicilian Defense - ...d6 Variations Since the most popular first move in chess is 1.e4, it follows that many of the most popular openings are King's Pawn Openings. Similarly, since the most popular response to 1.e4 is 1...c5, variations of the Sicilian Defense easily make any list of the top 10 openings. Following this logic, the first of our most popular openings is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 as shown in the diagram. The popularity of this variation is due to the combined popularity of the four well known variations that Black can choose with the next move. 5...a6 : Najdorf Variation 5...Nc6 : Classical Variation 5...e6 : Scheveningen Variation 5...g6** : Dragon Variation For more about the diagrammed position, see Sicilian Defense - ...d6 Variations in our Repertoire Recommendations. Sicilian Defense - Black avoids an early ...d6 Another popular way of playing the Sicilian Defense is by avoiding an early ...d6. Two ways to do this are by playing 2...Nc6 or 2...e6 instead of 2...d6 as in the previous variation. The move 2...Nc6 is slightly more popular than 2...e6, and usually leads to 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 as shown in the diagram. Now Black has at least four acceptable ways to continue. 4...Nf6 4...e6 4...g6 4...e5 For more about the diagrammed position, see Sicilian Defense - Black avoids an early ...d6 in our Repertoire Recommendations. Ruy Lopez 4.Ba4 In response to 1.e4, the move 1...e5 is only slightly less popular than 1...c5. The family of openings that start 1.e4 e5 are often known as Open Games. After the natural 2.Nf3 Nc6, attacking and defending Black's Pawn on e5, White continues the attack with 3.Bb5. This is called the Ruy Lopez, known in some languages as the Spanish Game. The most popular continuation is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O as in the diagram. Here Black has three popular continuations. 5...Be7 : Closed Ruy Lopez 5...Nxe4 : Open Ruy Lopez 5...b5 For more about the diagrammed position, see Ruy Lopez 4.Ba4 in our Repertoire Recommendations. Italian Game Instead of attacking Black's e-Pawn as in the Ruy Lopez, White can attack Black's sensitive Pawn on f7. This shouldn't be done by playing Qh5, which exposes the Queen to an attack by ...Nf6, but rather by Bc4, which develops a minor piece at the same time that it attacks f7. White can play 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4, but a more popular continuation is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 as in the diagram. Now Black has two excellent continuations. 3...Nf6 : Two Knights' Defense 3...Bc5 : Giuoco Piano For more about the diagrammed position, see Italian Game in our Repertoire Recommendations. French Defense The last of our popular openings which start 1.e4 is the French Defense (1...e6). It is considerably less popular than either 1...c5 or 1...e5, but considerably more so than any of the alternatives. The French usually starts 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 as in the diagram. Now White has four good moves. 3.Nc3 : Leads to two great families depending on whether Black responds 3...Bb4 or 3...Nf6. 3.Nd2 : Tarrasch Variation 3.e5 : Advance Variation 3.exd5 : Exchange Variation For more about the diagrammed position, see French Defense in our Repertoire Recommendations. Nimzo Indian or Queen's Indian? Black must also be prepared to play against 1.d4. There are two great families known as the Indian Defense (1.d4 Nf6) and the Closed Game (1.d4 d5). Since the various Indian Defenses taken together are more popular than the Closed Game, two of our top 10 popular openings are in the Indian family. The first is where Black plays 2...e6, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 as in the diagram. Now White decides whether to allow an immediate pin on the Queen's Knight. 3.Nc3 Bb4 : Nimzo Indian (the alternative 3...d5 transposes to a Closed Game) 3.Nf3 b6 : Queen's Indian (or 3...d5, also transposing to a Closed Game) For more about the diagrammed position, see Nimzo Indian or Queen's Indian? in our Repertoire Recommendations. King's Indian or Gruenfeld? The second of our popular openings in the Indian family is where Black plays 2...g6 The most popular variation is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 as in the diagram. Black has two popular responses. 3...Bg7 : King's Indian Defense 3...d5 : Gruenfeld Defense (occasionally called the Gruenfeld Indian Defense) For more about the diagrammed position, see King's Indian or Gruenfeld? in our Repertoire Recommendations. Closed Game The Closed Game usually starts 1.d4 d5 2.c4 as in the diagram. This is better known as the Queen's Gambit. Black has three responses which have different characteristics. 2...e6 : Queen's Gambit Declined 2...c6 : Slav Defense 2...dxc4 : Queen's Gambit Accepted For more about the diagrammed position, see Closed Game in our Repertoire Recommendations. Reti System Are you surprised to find that one of our top 10 popular openings is a single move? In fact we have two first moves for White in our top 10. The slightly more popular of the two is 1.Nf3 as shown in the diagram. We have three reasons for choosing a single move. First, although 1.Nf3 is played less frequently than 1.e4 or 1.d4, it is far more popular than the next group of initial moves for White. It can't be overlooked or ignored. Second, while there are several good responses to it, the most popular response is 1... Nf6. Now if White continues 2.d4 or 2.c4, the game will often transpose into an Indian Opening or a Closed Game. In other words, the most popular response leads back into popular openings that we have already chosen. Finally, none of the alternatives to 1...Nf6 are as popular as our other top 10 openings. Taken together they have many adherents. 1...d5 1...c5 1...g6 For more about the diagrammed position, see Reti System in our Repertoire Recommendations. English Opening Our last opening is again a single move. White often plays 1.c4, as in the diagram. We include 1.c4 for the same reasons as 1.Nf3 : (1) although played less frequently than 1.e4 or 1.d4, it has a considerable following; (2) the most popular response leads back to the 1.d4 openings; and (3) none of the alternate responses are as popular. There is one additional consideration : there are so many good responses that no single move is considerably more popular than any other. 1...Nf6 1...e5 1...e6 1...c5 1...g6 1...c6 1...f5 Many of these moves lead to less popular responses to 1.d4. The moves 1.c4 c6 will often transpose to a Slav Defense (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6), while the moves 1.c4 f5 will usually transpose to a Dutch Defense (1.d4 f5). Only 1.c4 e5 and 1.c4 c5 lead to systems not often seen after 1.d4. Taken together, they represent an important branch of chess openings. For more about the diagrammed position, see English Opening in our Repertoire Recommendations.