The Oxford Companion to Chess lists 1,327 named openings and variants. [1] Chess players' names are the most common sources of opening names. The name given to an opening is not always that of the first player to adopt it; often an opening is named for the player who was one of the first to popularise it or to publish analysis of it.
The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory. The other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences, known as openings, have standard names such as "Sicilian Defense". The Oxford Companion to Chess lists 1,327 named openings and variants, and there are many others with varying degrees of common usage.
The French Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the following moves:
The Pirc Defence is a chess opening characterised by the response of Black to 1.e4 with 1...d6 and 2...Nf6, followed by ...g6 and ...Bg7, while allowing White to establish a centre with pawns on d4 and e4. It is named after the Slovenian grandmaster Vasja Pirc.
The Modern Defense is a hypermodern chess opening in which Black allows White to occupy the center with pawns on d4 and e4, then proceeds to attack and undermine this "ideal" center without attempting to occupy it.
The English Opening is a chess opening that begins with the move:
The Caro–Kann Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The Benoni Defense, or simply the Benoni, is a chess opening characterized by an early reply of ...c5 against White's opening move 1.d4.
The Dunst Opening is a chess opening in which White opens with the move:
The Queen's Pawn Game is any chess opening starting with the move:
Semyon Zinovyevich Alapin was a Russian chess player, openings analyst, and puzzle composer. He was also a linguist, railway engineer and a grain commodities merchant.
In chess, an exchange variation is a type of opening in which there is an early, voluntary exchange of pawns or pieces. Such variations are often quieter than other lines because the early release of tension minimizes the possibility of surprise tactics or sharp, forcing lines, particularly where it results in a symmetrical pawn structure.
The Taimanov Variation can refer to variations of four different chess openings, all named after Mark Taimanov:
In chess, the Maróczy Bind is a term alternately used to refer to an opening or its associated pawn structure, named for the Hungarian grandmaster Géza Maróczy. When the Bind is discussed as an opening, it is defined as 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4. The Maróczy Bind opening is a continuation of the Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Dragon, where 5.c4 is the characteristic move.
A Semi-Closed Game is a chess opening in which White plays 1.d4 but Black does not make the symmetrical reply 1...d5.
A Steinitz Variation is any of several chess openings introduced and practiced, or adopted and advocated by Wilhelm Steinitz, the first officially recognized World Chess Champion.
The Van 't Kruijs Opening is a chess opening defined by the move: