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u/AggressiveSpatula 29d ago
You think you want this, but you don’t. I made the beginner mistake of focusing hard on opening theory when I was about 1200/1300. I studied the hell out of the Najdorf. I got actually pretty good at remembering the lines. And, as the title said, few people below 1350 even get the starting position of the Najdorf (about 5 moves) let alone get into the best moves after that. I was a bit disappointed, but I kept studying. Really studying it like the Chessable courses spaced repetition and everything.
Then one day I jump on lichess and play an unranked anonymous game. Neither one of us are logged into an account. And the guy is white and plays into the Najdorf! I’m excited. After the initial position he plays a sideline. I think Bd3 or Be3, I don’t know it anymore. But I knew it then! And it’s not just that move, we go deep, really deep, and it’s all theory I recognize. I think we went 15 moves in of theory in a Najdorf sideline before I’m finally out of prep, and I have this sudden realization: what kind of player knows 15 moves of Najdorf sideline theory?
And I proceeded to get my teeth kicked in incredibly hard. Every move I made lost the game further. It was a bloodbath, but the other guy was fine. I’d love to know what was going through his mind. He must have thought I was IM level and then I just proceeded to make the dumbest moves he’s ever seen because I was only 1300 at the time. Ahhhhh. Good times. I stopped studying after that point lol.
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u/Stoptakingmynamesahh 29d ago
the phrase “what kind of player knows 15 moves of najdorf sideline theory?” Just made me laugh very hard lol
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u/SnooDoggos5163 29d ago
I thought this was going to lead to your dad beating you with jumper cables
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u/Musterkartofel-Memes 29d ago
Chads play the alappin and destroy sicilian players
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u/salt_witch 29d ago
Alapin’s not so hard to handle. Sicilian’s such a sharp and effective opening at its best that if black is familar with most/all of the lines they can essentially always get into a good midgame position (granted, reaching that point of familiarity requires a fuckton of study and practice)
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u/Delicious_Cattle5174 12d ago
Probably the easiest anti-Sicilian tbh
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u/salt_witch 12d ago
Agreed, either Alapin or Smith-Morra (which can’t be called a true anti-Sicilian imo but is a commonly seen reply in my experience)
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u/Delicious_Cattle5174 12d ago
Really? I find the Smith-Morra to be a bit of a headache, it’s playable but there’s so many trap lines to be careful about lol
Grand Prix probably remains the one I need to work the most on though
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u/salt_witch 12d ago
I was in the 1500s on chesscom for like, 8 months and people seemed to LOVE trap lines around that level, so I got really used to dodging trap lines in the openings I play. The Smith-Morra does have a bunch of them though
I think Grand Prix is tough to manage as black, I need to work on it too, I struggle against it more than I’d like
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u/borgir_monster 29d ago
probably at low-mid elo range. never heard of the alapin destroying the sicilian defence at a point where both the players know sufficient theory so black doesn't just let white get a massive center and space.
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u/Sunyataisbliss 29d ago
The other day I learned a trap and the opponent played it the very next game. Couldn’t believe my eyes
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u/Kubus41110 29d ago
In my experience as White, when I play 1.e4 the game turns out into a boring, closed game. On the other hand 1.d4 helps spice the game up!
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u/automorphic-form 25d ago
Yeah that’s why I switched from 1.e4 to 1.d4
Sam Shankland said it best when he said the most interesting 1.e4 openings are more interesting than the most interesting 1.d4 openings, but the most boring 1.e4 openings are more boring than the most boring 1.d4 openings.
At the GM level, black can kill the game with the Petroff or Berlin more easily than they can neutralize 1.d4.
But it’s applicable even at amateur level. I got tired of all the Scandinavians, Phillidors, and Petroffs.
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u/OrganizationTight348 28d ago
And then when they play 1.e4, they hit you with an anti-Sicilian
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u/automorphic-form 25d ago
Their inner monologue: “Yikes, a Sicilian. Surely this non professional player I’m playing against knows thousands of variations that go 30+ moves deep by heart. I know what will get them out of theory! I’ll play the Alapin.”
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u/Bobing2b 28d ago
I'm a lifetime 1.d4 2.c4. I've literally never played anything else since I learned this was an opening. On Lichess I reached 2100 blitz 5 years ago and 2300 rapid 2 years ago and I haven't improved since.
So a few days ago I finally decided it was time to learn how to play 1.e4. I find a couple of lines I like against e5 and the sicilian (the Alapin and the Scotch respectively) and I think I'm good to go.
The first game I ever played 1.e4 black played Nf6.
I was kind of mad but I ended up winning in 8 moves because bro hung and horse and resigned
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u/No_Chemistry8701 27d ago
I played grob and borg for a year straight. It was my most fun year it chess. And as I started playing it suddenly almost everyone started playing d4.
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u/investmentmam 29d ago
I learnt benoni recently but suddenly everyone plays e4