
One of the key attractive features of Black’s opening moves is that he is preparing to develop his dark-squared Bishop swiftly. White continues with 2.c4 and now the strongest reply for Black is 2…e6ĭiagram showing best opening moves against 1.d4 Best Chess Opening Move Against 1.d4Īfter White opens up with the move 1.d4, Black’s best opening move at the elite level is to continue with the move 1.…Nf6. This difference stems from the starting position of the King and the Queen in the game of chess. The idea of placing dual pawns on d4 and c4 is quite essential in the Queen’s pawn opening, whereas we do not see the same idea repeated in the King’s pawn opening with pawns on e4 and f4. Thus, while the moves d4 and e4 are both characterized by attempts to gain an advantage in the central territory, the means which are used in either opening vary greatly. In this position of the Ruy Lopez, White has an advantage in space in the center based on the ability to bring his d-pawn forward. Therefore when White opens up with the king’s pawn opening, he often does not base his chances for the advantage on bringing out the f-pawn, but instead goes for the rapid/gradual advance of d2-d4 as a way to control his support of the center.įor example in the very popular Sicilian opening 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 White’s advantage in the center is based on the centralized position of the Knight on d4 and the ease of developing his minor pieces.Īnother example in the King’s pawn opening where d2-d4 becomes crucial is in the Ruy Lopez. However, with c2 and c4, this opens up the diagonal for the Queen which White can sometimes profit from this activity.Įven if White castles on the kingside in this position, he can suffer from untimely checks along the a7-g1 diagonal. When White plays e4 and f4 in the King’s Gambit, he opens up his king’s diagonal which serves as a demerit for White. On the other hand, there are relatively few games in which we see the counter idea with the moves e2-e4 and f2-f4 in the King’s Gambit opening. White’s idea of placing pawns on d4 and c4 is quite essential to the Queen’s pawn opening.

Therefore, it is most accurate to say that when White opens up with the 1.d4 (Queen’s pawn opening) his major idea is to continue with the moves pawn c4 and Knight c3. Similarly, if Black opts for the move 1…Nf6, White will play 2.c4 again with the same idea of bringing his Knight to c3. It’s very interesting to note that even if Black does not play in such a fashion as to prevent the move e2-e4, White often does not go for e2-e4.įor e.g if Black plays 1…e6 or 1…g6 which are both sometimes played, instead of playing 2.e4, White often plays the move 2.c4 with the idea of playing Nc3 and only then going for e2-e4.

After the move 1.d4, Black’s most common replies are the moves:īoth of these moves prevent White from advancing his e-pawn in the center.
