Hi,
Been playing chess now since summer. I use the Colle for white and I'm now looking for an opening for black against 1.e4. A few people have suggested the Accelerated Dragon and was wondering if this would make a good opening for someone fairly new to the game, or is it to complicated? Also, I've tried the Center Counter and very briefly the Caro-Kann. Any opinions would be helpful.

thanks,
palerider

Most lines of the Sicilian require a lot of study and very accurate play. You're better off going with something that doesn't require as much study. Have you considered the French?

--Fromper

No I haven't considered the French. Can you give me some of the reasons why I may like it? I've read somewhere also that the Caro-Kann is easy to learn too. I guess they all will need study, just want to make the job a little easier at first.

thanks

The Center Counter kind of fits with the Colle. It's simple, keeps the player in familiar terrain (or gives the player a very nice position if the opponent deviates). You're going to be familiar with your opening more than your opponent in most cases in both these two, which is a plus. The downside is that the Center Counter and Colle are both limited in scope, you won't get much out of them and as a consequence of that, you won't learn as much as you will from more regular openings. That said, their mediocre nature is exactly why mediocre players will play them. (There are exceptions, but I think that everyone of those would play better with mainline business).

The CKD is fairly simple to learn, depending on the line you pick, you get a passive to somewhat passive position. Which is okay, you eventually get your equalizing try (usually c5). The French is somewhat like it, but more classical. It's a better try in general, but it gives white more options. Both are perfectly good.

The Sicilian defenses are a breed apart. As Fromper said, they require more study, not in the least because white has a whole host of anti-Sicilian tries. The Accelerated Dragon is less theoretically critical than most Sicilians though.

Honestly, no, the sicilian - even the accelerated dragon - is not a good choice for the relatively inexperienced player. Black concedes a space advantage and a development advantage to white - and those are the two advantages that weaker players know how to exploit. You'll be forced to play defense a lot, and your defensive technique will prove inadequate, and you'll lose before your counterattacks take place.

(Black's primary structural advantages in the sicilian are an extra center pawn and the half-open c-file. These are non-trivial ... if you're a very strong player. They're almost irrelevant if you don't have adequate defensive technique.)

Honestly, my recommendation would be to meet 1.e4 with 1. ... e5 and learn as you go. You need less theory than you think you do, quite frankly.

The Caro-Kann is too dull. You need to learn to play actively, not passively. That makes the french a much better choice (although not, IMO, as good a choice as 1. ...e5). The french (in most variations) is a much more aggressive choice than the Caro-Kann. It's about counterattacking, hard, against the center. The C-K is about building a solid position and waiting for white to overreach.

(Again, that makes it a bad choice for the weaker player, because even when white does overreach, you won't have the defensive technique to survive. In fact "overreaching" is an effective offensive strategy in games between weaker players).

But the french is a very aggressive opening. (You might describe it as "black declares war on the d4 square.") I don't think it's a great learning opening, because its positions are fairly unique (and there's that whole kingside-space-advantage-to-white thing). But it's relatively easy to develop move of your pieces to effective squares (just attack d4 with them - they're almost always in the right place!) and it drives a lot of 1.e4 players nuts.

But a lot of players shy away from 1. ... e5 for bad reasons. They think its too passive (it's not). They think it gives white too much choice (not really - it gives white a wide choice of mediocre options, as most openings do).

But it does one thing that almost no other opening response for white does: fight for a fair share of the center, from the first move. It's a very bold, fighting choice, because you're saying "I am NOT giving up the center without a fight."

I competely agree, you should play 1._e5. If you get tired of that than you can try 1._d5. Don't play the french, that dosen't make any normal. The french can get rather complicated and you should wait a long time before trying such an opening even if it appeals to you. In general you should be playing very simply, the Collie, 1._e5 and the Scandinavian (1._d5) all keep the position as simple as plssible and are great choices. Thats what makes 1._d5 a good choice, it keeps the position very simple and I know it can be fun to try different things once in a while. If you think about it this makes perfect sense: when you first learn to read you wouldn't read a book called Sedementary Processes, you would learn to read a book called ABC's, similiarly your second book wouldn't be Sedementary Processes either it would be The Sky is Blue. Since you are relitively new to this (I am on The Sky is Blue already!) you have to start slow, if you jump into anything but the simplest openings than you will not be able to relate to anything that is happening around you and you will not be learning. But if you can relate your opening to the things you know you will be learning a lot. If you can get the Ruy Lopez explained some to you you will learn a lot, for starters 1. e4 is good because it opens the way for the Bishop and puts a pawn in the middle 1._e5 is great because it is the same and it stops 2.d4 (after 2._ed white's center pawns can be kept back). 2. Nf3 brings out the knight and attacks blacks pawn 2._Nc6 brings out a kinght and defends the pawn 3. Bb5 attacks blacks knight although this relationship is a little more complicated since white dose not threaten to win a pawn by killing the only piece that protects it 3._a6 4. Bc6 dc 5. Ne5 Qd4 or 5._Qg5 wins the pawn back. The real point of 3. Bb5 is just to develope the bishop and get ready to castle, the reason that white chose the b5 square is because the bishop can take the knight if it wants to and double blacks pawns or wait to get help from the other pieces (the bishop is putting pressure on blacks position and that potential might turn out good). Easy right? If you stydy things that connect to what you already know like develope your pieces and controll the center you will learn. Opeinigs like the Sicilian (Sedementary Processes) take ideas form classical openings and excellerate them which means that you have to understand the classical stuff before you can understand the Sicilian. I play 1._e5 against 1.e4, I like that move and I am still learning about it. I tried the Caro-Kann when I didn't know what I was doing and I didn't know what was going on. After I learned about 1._e5 some the Caro-Kann was very fun to play, but I don't play it any more. So choose a simple opening and you will be set to get better as fast as possible.

The only drawback to this approach is that you may never play another defense as this will stand you in good stead from beginner to world championship candidate.

Crash

there is a chess opening called The Grob. try that one if you know what it is.

First of all, the Grob isn't a very good opening. Second of all, he's looking for an opening for black, and the Grob is a white opening.

--Fromper

I'd never play the Grob and would advise against playing it. It's a little too junky for my taste and decent players will rip it apart with ease.