Skybound Chess
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Beginner · 10 lessons

Openings — First Moves

The idea behind ten openings you'll meet constantly — the Italian, Ruy Lopez and Sicilian, the French and Caro-Kann, the Queen's Gambit, King's Indian, London, Scandinavian and English.

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  1. 1The Italian GameStart here1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 — point the bishop at f7, develop fast, castle early.→
  2. 2The Ruy Lopez1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 — pin pressure on the knight that guards e5.→
  3. 3The Sicilian Defence1.e4 c5 — meet the king's pawn with a flank pawn, fighting for d4 without symmetry.→
  4. 4The French Defence1.e4 e6 — a rock-solid pawn chain, at the cost of a sleepy light-squared bishop.→
  5. 5The Caro-Kann1.e4 c6 — as solid as the French, but the light-squared bishop gets out first.→
  6. 6The Queen's Gambit1.d4 d5 2.c4 — offer the c-pawn to pull Black's d-pawn off the centre.→
  7. 7The King's Indian Defence1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 — hand White a big centre now, then blow it up with ...e5 and a kingside storm.→
  8. 8The London System1.d4 and 2.Bf4 — the same solid setup against almost anything Black tries.→
  9. 9The Scandinavian Defence1.e4 d5 — challenge the centre on move one and accept an early queen sortie.→
  10. 10The English Opening1.c4 — a flank opening that fights for d5 from the side and keeps every option open.→