Opening theory (chess)

Chess openings are a vital part of chess strategy. There are several purposes to the moves that a player chooses to make in the opening. Firstly, the player will attempt to control the center of the board, either by occupying it with pawns, as in classical opening theory, or by controlling it from the sides, as in hypermodern chess opening theory. Secondly, the player will attempt to get space for his pieces to operate in, particularly the bishops, which cannot move until a pawn is moved. In classical opening theory, a player will attempt to have pawns on both center squares (e4,d4), which will allow the player to move both bishops. In hypermodern opening theory, a player will usually place a pawn on c4, and fianchetto his bishops to the side, by moving the g and b pawns one square.

King pawn openings

Chess openings are usually classified by the first move that white makes. King pawn openings are all openings that begin with (1.e4). The classical defense to the king pawn opening is (1.e4 e5), where black attempts to counter white's occupation of the center, and develop his own kingside bishop. Popular variations on this include the Ruy Lopez, or Spanish game (1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5), The Giuoco Piano, or Italian game (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 Bc4 Bc5), and the Petroff Defense (1. e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6).