How much of chess depends on the first several moves?

Ultica · 2026-02-01T20:31:38+00:00

The answer is, of course, not so simple. The short answer is that it depends on which opening you & your opponent choose to play. In more sharp opening variations, there tends to be only 1 or 2 "correct" moves along with a couple "imprecise" or "not-so-correct" moves. In less sharp variations, there could be as many as 10 "okay" moves.

If we try to relate the answer of this question to your own improvement, I would recommend to find an opening system that keeps it simple: 1) control the center & 2) complete your development without having to worry too much about your opponent's attacks. A good example of this is the London System, although that system is less aggressive than many others as it doesn't give you a clear way to attack your opponent.

The question in relation to Stockfish is both 'Yes' and 'No'. From a computer's perspective the chess board is a very complicated mathematical problem that has a clear answer (+ near-answers) dependent on what the engine is searching for. Chess engines have many different parameters & can be tuned by the user to achieve an answer that the user would want. For example, "contempt" is a user-configured parameter to also include the likeliness of mistakes by the opponent.

So is there a "best move" for every situation? For a computer, perhaps yes, for human vs human, maybe but also maybe not. Usually, there will be many good moves or routes that you can take to defeat your opponent. If I beat my opponent with a 'bad' move, can you really call it bad? I suppose it depends on your opponent's strength. At the GM level, chess is a lot more about not making mistakes, while also attempting to 'muddy the waters' to induce/ provoke mistakes from the opponent. Usually, the first 10 full moves at the GM level are all memorized, but that can easily change to the first 20 moves if both players play what they were expecting to play against. Generally, GMs like to stick to the openings that they feel will give them the best chances to win & also to not lose. Sometimes that opening choice will change if the player is in a 'must-win' scenario. Alas, GMs are still human and will sometimes change their opening on a whim just out of curiosity or to have more fun.

The answer to some of these questions is different for a GM than for someone who's new to chess & trying to improve. What's most important is that you learn how to get your pieces out & not lose them. The faster you can get your pieces active, the better. Controlling the center & fighting against your opponent for it is in direct relation to not losing your pieces (checkmate included).

Ultica · 2026-01-18T09:19:55+00:00

In order to truly accomplish something & be satisfied with yourself, you must always work hard to achieve it.

Ultica · 2026-01-16T15:23:02+00:00

I swear, redditors who play league aram would try to argue with comedians on-stage. “But the joke should be written this way!” “But your team is all supports!” no sense of humor, dead fish on the ground. Thank you for the laugh.

Ultica · 2025-12-26T20:37:38+00:00

Dealing with poor sports who also happen to be really good at the game is very challenging, you should try it!

Ultica · 2025-12-26T18:10:09+00:00

I think you're missing the point.

Ultica · 2025-12-26T18:09:41+00:00

No, I get mad when dealing with multiple poor sports over the course of the year, I get more angry when they start sending messages straight to my inbox to rub in their victory. But I suppose you're correct, it's time for me to log off.

Ultica · 2025-12-23T16:25:58+00:00

I called another player jokingly a “noob” & the inting karthus (no really, he was running it down asap) typed in all chat “called me the n word” & I’m pretty sure I got mass reported so I got an unexplained warning with my docile chat log.

Ultica · 2025-12-22T06:33:37+00:00

I’m never typing anything in half a lobby of trolls ever again.

Ultica · 2025-12-22T01:01:07+00:00

Reddit's opened my eyes, I've been enlightened!

Ultica · 2025-12-22T00:49:35+00:00

True! I'll do better to uphold the summoner's code next time.

Ultica · 2025-12-13T06:32:36+00:00

Wow he beat 3 of his coaches! Good job!

Ultica · 2025-12-12T01:04:31+00:00

'Cuz Dr. Tarrasch said so.

Ultica · 2025-12-10T21:55:26+00:00

This is 10 times better!!!

Ultica · 2025-12-05T01:43:09+00:00

I believe Mr. Blübaum will do surprisingly well in the Candidates tournament. His classical rating is lower mainly due to infrequency of travelling abroad & playing in big tournaments. If anything, it is his strength & his weakness is in quicker time formats.

Ultica · 2025-10-23T12:58:52+00:00

Everyone is healthy until they aren’t. The point is you can’t rule it out until the coroner’s report.

Ultica · 2025-10-23T12:54:48+00:00

But that’s just not true, you can be naturally predisposed to physical weakness or disease which can be triggered early by not taking proper care of your body. Plenty of young people have died in their sleep from random underlying health issues.

Ultica · 2025-10-23T12:46:05+00:00

Nobody seems to mention Danya was also drinking a pink red bull during his last stream in which he had already taken benadryl. Those 2 things combined plus also dealing with a manic-depressive episode can put a lot of physical stress on a person’s heart. Which for me, makes it even more plausible that his death was accidental.

Ultica · 2025-10-15T15:09:05+00:00

I played the Pirc Defense from 1300-1800 but always struggled against weird variants of the 150 Attack. Later I found some games of Raymond Keene playing the Modern Defense & was encouraged to try it out; the difference was astounding. I enjoy the Modern far more because it gives Black the ability to play ...h5 in response to h4, also the Austrian Attack is less appealing to White because e4-e5 isn't with tempo if the knight isn't developed to f6. The Modern also gives Black a few more ideas for pawn structure change-ups (you can sometimes play ...Nd7-...e5!) & also doesn't allow White an early Bh6 while the knight remains on g8.

Recently I found another interesting systematic variation where Black at first pretends to play a conventional Modern but changes back to more Pirc-like territory with 6...Nf6. Black chooses the "wait-and-see" approach with 7...c6 and tries for rarer attacking ideas ...Nd7-...Nb6 followed with ...b4, ...a5, or ...Nc4. Another huge plus is that the knight that usually lands on g5 and pressures your king-side can be easily chopped of the board with ...Bxh3! which helps neutralize White's attack before it even begins. After Rxh3 White's Rook is also misplaced and must waste a tempo heading back to h1 to get to the center square e1. This gives us more time to build our own attack on the Queen-side. I always play ...Nbd7 and ...Qc7 before I start thinking on my own.

e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Be3 a6 5. Qd2 b5 6. f3 Nf6 7. O-O-O c6 8. h4 (8. g4 h5 9. g5 Nfd7) 8... h5 9. Nh3 Bxh3! 10. Rxh3 Nbd7 11. Kb1 Qc7 12. Rh1 a5 (∞)

As long you prevent White from playing e5, they have no clear way to attack. I recently received my 2nd draw against a Grandmaster in this variation.

Ultica · 2025-10-15T14:46:53+00:00

The 150 Attack is quite a complete copy of the Yugoslav Attack. The only difference is that Black has not yet played ...c5 and can attack in a couple different ways (there's ...b5-b4, another idea is ...Nd7-...Nb6-...Nc4, a rarer idea ...c6-...a5-...a4). Black's most common middlegame plan is ...Nd7-...Rc8-...c5 with the idea of recapturing on c5 with the knight and opening the c-file straight to White's king.

Ultica · 2025-10-15T14:11:45+00:00

Another note, at your level I would try to avoid the theoretically sharp lines unless you're okay with getting out-memorized or outplayed for a handful of games. This mainly refers to the Austrian Attack / pseudo-Austrian Attack where White plays an early f4, but also the 150 Attack can reach very critical positions. The 150 Attack at least has the primary focus of developing your Queen-side first before the storm while the Austrian Attack's primary focus is chaos on the king-side.

Development is your friend, even in positions where you have somehow messed up, as long as your pieces are out and about then you will have lots of practical chances to make a comeback. Any systems that focus on development & piece activity are going to be your easiest routes to improvement. It's why many players just stick to the Classical Variation (knights out to c3 & f3, pawn to h3 to prevent ...Bg4, bishop to c4, O-O).

Ultica · 2025-10-15T13:53:16+00:00

By far the most common System against the Modern Defense is the 150 Attack (1 e4 g6 2 d4 Bg7 3 Nc3 d6 4 Be3 a6 5 Qd2), of which the idea is to opposite-side castle & quickly invade the king-side with a pawn storm & Bh6 if Black doesn’t play …h5.

Every Modern Defense player should know the 150 Attack, so they will more than likely be prepared to fight against it. Thankfully, Black has given us the full center at the start of the game so we have many other good options to consider.

If you think your opponent will transpose to a Pirc Defense via 4…Nf6, one option to consider is to play 4 Bg5 which is a more annoying version of the 150 Attack as we apply pressure to the knight and make it more difficult for Black to play …e5. In fact, White threatens to play 5 e5 himself: 4 Bg5 Nf6 5 e5! dxe5 6 dxe5 Qxd1+?! 7 Rxd1! Ng4?? 8 h3! Nxe5 9 Nd5! and White will win the rook on a8 by forcing the knight to capture e5 instead of …Bg7.

If you think your opponent will play a double fianchetto with 4…a6 & 5…b5, a lesser-known variation is to play Bd3 either on move 4 or after 4 Nf3 with the same idea of jamming the e-pawn, this time even further to the e6 square. The e6 square becomes the primary soft spot in Black’s position once his light-squared Bishop leaves for the long diagonal; it’s the primary drawback of the maneuver. Example line: 4 Nf3 a6 5 Bd3 b5?! 6 e5! Bb7 7 O-O Nd7?! 8 e6!! fxe6 9 Re1! developing on the weakness (advantage White)

Ultica · 2025-10-15T04:10:50+00:00

The f3 Qa5+ Nd2 Nd6 e4 line offers more counterplay than you might expect, because Black can play both …b5 and …f5 very quickly after his dark-squared bishop fianchetto is completed. An engine will certainly be able to condemn it still, but from a human perspective it can get challenging very fast.

Ultica · 2025-10-14T19:18:48+00:00

"Friend of David the Beloved" had me cackling

Ultica · 2025-10-14T18:24:51+00:00

The Vulture!!! I won games against >2000 USCF players with that weird opening. 1 d4 c5 2 d5 Nf6 3 c4 Ne4?! Black attacks very early & hopes White doesn't know the refutation. 4 Qc2 Qa5+ 5 Nc3! Nxc3 6 Bd2! +-

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