Week 15: how to get better at chess openings when an early queen keeps beating you
Week 15 (April 15–21, 2024) was another step down: 21 games, 8 wins, 13 losses, rating 993 → 976 (-17). With White I was fine (5 wins, 4 losses). With Black I won 3 of 12, and several of those losses were over almost before they started. Looking at them together, the problem was one specific thing: White's queen coming out early. So this week is my practical take on how to get better at chess openings: not by learning more lines, but by fixing the one attack that keeps beating you.
The week in numbers
| Games | 21 (#377–#397) |
| Rating | 993 → 976 (-17) |
| Wins / losses / draws | 8 / 13 / 0 |
| As White | 5 W, 4 L |
| As Black | 3 W, 9 L |
| Lowest rating this week | 968 (after game #395) |
| Average accuracy (Stockfish) | 72.1% |
| Blunders | 38 |
| Losses after being ≥80% winning | 4 of 13 |
| Losses by abandonment | 3 |
| Most played openings | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation (3); Englund Gambit (2); Giuoco Piano Game Main Line (1); Bishop's Opening Boi Variation (1); Ruy Lopez Opening Cozio Defense (1) |
Here are my shortest Black losses of the week:
| Game | Opponent (rating) | Opening | Half-moves | What White's queen did |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #378 | morebic (1063) | Bishop's Opening | 13 | Qh5 on move 3 |
| #394 | happyhappyabby (1056) | Giuoco Piano | 19 | Qf3 on move 6, Qh5 on move 8 |
| #395 | Anya_Kosmos (995) | Vienna Game | 15 | Qf3 on move 4, Qg3 on move 5 |
Game #394 hurts most: White's queen raid was actually a mistake and I was winning (-6.51). Then White's bishop took on f7 with check, I took it back with my knight, and that allowed checkmate in one on h7. Game #395 ended with a knight fork after my own queen came out to f6 to meet White's. There was a fourth short one, game #390, which I abandoned after nine half-moves in a position that was still level. On the White side, my Englund Gambit game #391 also lasted only 16 half-moves: my pawn took a knight on e7, which opened the d-file between the two queens, and after a bishop check on f2 Black took my queen.
The opening move that decided the week
Evaluations are from White's side, so minus is good for me with Black.
Game #378: Qh5 on move 3
Against morebic (1063), after 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5, White played 3.Qh5. That queen move attacks two pawns at once: the one on e5 (with my bishop on c5 behind it) and the one on f7 (with my king behind it), and it threatens mate on f7 with the help of the bishop on c4. I defended f7 with my knight to h6. That solved one problem and left the other: the pawn on e5 still had no defender, and the engine rates my move as +5.99 for White. The queen took on e5 with check.
The engine's answer, queen to e7, protects both pawns with one move and keeps the position equal. I resigned on move 7.
Game #377: missing the knight fork
Not every Black game went wrong. Against MrPurplle (989), in a Giuoco Piano, I was winning (-5.76) when I played my queen to e8 to attack the pawn on e4. The engine's move was knight to a5: from there it attacks White's queen on b3 and bishop on c4 at the same time, a fork. After my queen move I was only slightly better (-1.76).
Two moves later I played the fork anyway, and I won the game.
Game #379: trading the wrong piece
With Black against sarmishra (1031), a Cozio Ruy Lopez, I was already worse (+2.86). White's queen on a4 was pinning my knight on c6 to my queen on d7 and king on e8. I took White's knight on f3 with my bishop. The engine's move was pawn takes on e5, which opens my queen's line to White's knight on d5. After my bishop trade, the engine's line pushes a pawn to e6 attacking my queen and wins material quickly: +8.54.
The game went downhill fast and I abandoned it after 29 half-moves.
The lesson of the week
The way I'd now answer "how do I get better at chess openings?" at this level: find the attack that beats you most often and learn one solid reply to it. For me it was the early white queen. The reply is a habit, not a line: when the queen comes out, list every pawn it attacks that has no defender, and find one move that covers all of them. In game #378 that move was Qe7. In game #394 I was even winning before I ignored a mate threat on h7. And in game #395 I met an early queen by bringing out my own, which only gave White more targets.
All games this week
| # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 377 | Apr 15 | Black | MrPurplle (989) | Win | Giuoco Piano Game Main Line | 84.4 | game |
| 378 | Apr 15 | Black | morebic (1063) | Loss | Bishop's Opening Boi Variation | 58.2 | game |
| 379 | Apr 16 | Black | sarmishra (1031) | Loss | Ruy Lopez Opening Cozio Defense | 77.1 | game |
| 380 | Apr 16 | White | MohammaYusuf (979) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 98.1 | game |
| 381 | Apr 16 | White | NeIgrok2 (1046) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 56.7 | game |
| 382 | Apr 16 | Black | Icobil (1056) | Loss | Center Game Accepted Normal Variation | 72.0 | game |
| 383 | Apr 17 | White | alebrtoinfantecampos (1147) | Loss | Modern Defense with 1 d4 | 57.3 | game |
| 384 | Apr 17 | Black | GorgiSabalerovski (1103) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Accelerated London System | 76.4 | game |
| 385 | Apr 18 | Black | Marrox1 (1127) | Loss | Giuoco Piano Game | 76.5 | game |
| 386 | Apr 19 | White | Guillaume782 (1012) | Win | London System | 92.6 | game |
| 387 | Apr 19 | Black | HAHOLLlAXMATlrlCT (999) | Loss | King's Pawn Opening | 55.2 | game |
| 388 | Apr 19 | Black | Maning77 (986) | Win | Queen's Gambit Accepted Central Variation McDonnell Defense | 73.5 | game |
| 389 | Apr 19 | White | Aj0228 (1030) | Win | Reti Opening Queenside Fianchetto Variation | 64.1 | game |
| 390 | Apr 19 | Black | Seanm7722 (1037) | Loss | Ruy Lopez Opening Classical Defense | 94.6 | game |
| 391 | Apr 19 | White | Abuwhy (978) | Loss | Englund Gambit | 57.9 | game |
| 392 | Apr 20 | White | lurtxo (973) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 72.8 | game |
| 393 | Apr 21 | White | Spartak1985UA (961) | Win | Englund Gambit | 91.3 | game |
| 394 | Apr 21 | Black | happyhappyabby (1056) | Loss | Giuoco Piano Game Giuoco Pianissimo Variation | 47.2 | game |
| 395 | Apr 21 | Black | Anya_Kosmos (995) | Loss | Vienna Game Max Lange Defense | 51.9 | game |
| 396 | Apr 21 | Black | wormy84 (1149) | Win | Grob Opening | 90.5 | game |
| 397 | Apr 21 | White | Sbarrini1968 (1159) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 64.8 | game |
Before: week 14, the eleven-game losing streak. After: week 16, knight forks. The rest is on the journey page. To see which openings keep beating you, review your own games like this.
Frequently asked questions
How do you get better at chess openings as a beginner?
Start with the attacks you keep losing to. That week three of my Black losses lasted under 20 half-moves, and in all three White's queen came out within the first six moves. Learning one solid answer to that did more than memorizing lines.
How do you stop an early Qh5 attack?
In game #378, after 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Qh5, the engine's move was 3...Qe7, which protects both the e5 pawn and f7. I played 3...Nh6, which covered f7 but left e5, and White took it with check.