Your First Openings
Italian, Scotch, Four Knights, Ruy Lopez and the famous traps · by Kapilash Chess Academy
The next step after Chess from Zero. Learn what the opening is for, then play real openings: the Italian Game, the Two Knights and the Fried Liver, the Scotch, the Four Knights and the first steps of the Ruy Lopez. As Black, answer 1.e4 and 1.d4 with simple, solid moves. Learn the famous traps — Légal, Blackburne, Elephant, Englund, Lasker, Noah’s Ark — so that they never catch you, and the mistakes beginners make in the opening. 22 examples and 123 engine-checked exercises.
Lessons
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1
What the Opening Is For — Centre, development, king safetyOpen →
The three jobs of the opening; How to count development; Why moving the same piece twice costs time.
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2
The Italian Game — 1.e4 e5 2.♘f3 ♘c6 3.♗c4 ♗c5Open →
The ideas of the Italian Game; The quiet plan with c3 and d3; The central plan with c3 and d4.
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3
The Two Knights and the Fried Liver — 3...♘f6 4.♘g5Open →
The sharp 4.Ng5 attack on f7; The correct defence 4...d5 and 5...Na5; The Fried Liver attack and why 5...Nxd5 is risky.
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4
The Scotch Game — 3.d4 — opening the centre at onceOpen →
Why White plays d4 so early; The Scotch main lines; The plan with e5 and c4.
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5
The Four Knights — Simple, solid developmentOpen →
The Four Knights position; The Spanish Four Knights with Bb5; Symmetry and how to break it.
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6
The Ruy Lopez: First Steps — 3.♗b5 — the Spanish GameOpen →
Why the bishop goes to b5; The main line with ...a6, ...Nf6 and ...Be7; Why White does not win the e5-pawn at once.
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7
Black against 1.e4 — Answering with 1...e5Open →
A simple plan with 1...e5; The Petrov Defence and its trap; Légal’s Mate.
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8
Black against 1.d4 — A simple setup and the Elephant TrapOpen →
A solid setup with ...d5, ...e6 and ...Nf6; The Queen’s Gambit Declined; The Elephant Trap.
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9
Famous Opening Traps — Learn them so they never catch youOpen →
The Blackburne Shilling trap; The Englund Gambit trap; The Lasker Trap and an underpromotion.
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10
Opening Mistakes Beginners Make — And how to punish themOpen →
Moving the queen too early; Weakening the king with f- and g-pawn moves; Grabbing pawns instead of developing.
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11
From Opening to Middlegame — What to do after move tenOpen →
How to know the opening is over; Finding a plan from the pawn structure; Improving the worst piece.
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12
Test Yourself — Mixed opening positionsOpen →
Apply what you learned in every opening; Find the best move after the opening.