Best chess openings for Black? Week 18 says I didn't have one yet
Week 18 (May 6–12, 2024) looks fine on the rating graph: 1017 → 1022, plus 5. The results underneath it are lopsided. I played 18 rapid games and scored 6 wins, 10 losses and 2 draws, and all of my trouble was on one side of the board. With White I went 5–3. With Black I won one game out of ten. So this diary entry is really about the search every improving player does at some point, the best chess openings for Black, and why my problem this week was not the opening's name.
The week in numbers
| Games | 18 (17 at 20 minutes, 1 at 10 minutes) |
| Wins / losses / draws | 6 / 10 / 2 |
| Rating | 1017 → 1022 (+5) |
| Average accuracy | 77.9 % |
| Blunders (Stockfish) | 59 |
| Most played openings | Accelerated London System (3), Zukertort Chigorin Variation (2), Giuoco Piano (2) |
| With White / with Black | 5–3–0 / 1–7–2 |
With Black my repertoire was consistent on paper. Against 1.e4 I played 1...e5 in all eight games: two Scotch Gambits, three Giuoco Piano games, a Vienna, a Bishop's Opening and a Ruy Lopez. That gave me 1 win, 6 losses and 1 draw. The only Black win was game #447 against JoaquinGallego in the Cozio Defense. With White I opened 1.d4 every single time and usually put my bishop on f4 early, and that side of the repertoire held up.
Two other things stand out. Sunday, May 12 was a ten-game day (4 wins, 5 losses, 1 draw). And the one 10-minute game of the week, #443 against LINK8x8, went badly in a very specific way: at move 45 Stockfish had me at -8.47, completely winning, with 59 seconds left. Every move after that was played with less than 10 % of my time, the advantage came and went, and I lost on time at move 75 with 2 seconds on my clock. In six games this week (#431, #432, #436, #442, #443 and #444) I had at least an 80 % chance of winning and did not win.
Three Black positions where I grabbed instead of developing
Taking the bishop with the king
Game #431 against Rusich543 (1032). The opening became a Scotch Gambit, and by move 8 White had put a bishop on h6, next to my king.
8...Kxh6 is the most natural capture in the world, and Stockfish says it threw away the whole advantage: -2.31 became 0.00. The reason is a perpetual check, which is when one side can keep giving check forever and force a draw. After my king comes out, White plays 9.Qh3+ Kg6 10.Qf5+ Kh6 and can repeat. The engine preferred 8...d5. That pawn attacks the bishop on c4, which has no defender, and in the engine's line White saves the bishop on h6 by retreating it (9.Bd2) and I take the one on c4 (9...dxc4). I didn't even keep the draw: I resigned after my 14th move (game on Chess.com).
A queen move that White simply ignored
Game #436 against Chandu2898 (1405), the highest-rated opponent of my week. Same opening, another Scotch Gambit, and after 5.O-O I was a pawn up: the extra pawn on d4 is the one White gave away.
5...Qe7 attacks the e4 pawn, which has no defender. It felt active. Stockfish's answer for White is to ignore it: 6.c3 attacks my extra pawn on d4, and the line continues 6...d3 7.e5 d6 8.b4 Bb6, with White's pawns marching forward and pushing my bishop back. The evaluation went from -0.45 to +1.47. The quiet 5...d6, opening a path for my other bishop, kept it level. This one ended as an abandoned game (game on Chess.com).
Kicking a knight and losing the pawn behind it
Game #432 against Cavoon (1255). Here I had survived the opening against a much higher-rated player, and the position was about equal (+0.12) on move 26.
26...f6 kicks the knight on g5. But the f7 pawn was the one guarding e6, and once it moves forward it guards nothing there. White's best reply is 27.Nxe6: the knight takes the e6 pawn and from there attacks my rook on f8, my bishop on g7 and the undefended c7 pawn. That is a fork, one piece attacking several at once. The evaluation jumped to +2.14. The quiet 26...Nd6 kept everything protected. The game still ended in a draw by insufficient material, with 77 seconds left on my clock, and Stockfish says I had an 87.6 % winning chance at one point (game on Chess.com).
The lesson of the week
Look at the three moves I played: a king capture, a queen attack on a pawn, a pawn kick against a knight. All three "do something". The engine's moves, d5, d6 and Nd6, mostly develop or protect. My lesson for Black is not "switch openings". It is this: when I'm already equal or better, I play the calm move that develops or covers a weakness, and before any capture or kick I look at the checks and captures my opponent gets in reply. The search for the best chess openings for Black can wait until I stop giving the advantage back in the first ten moves of the ones I already play.
All games this week
| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 431 | May 6 | Black | Rusich543 (1032) | Loss | Scotch Game Scotch Gambit Haxo Sarratt Variation | 68.6 | game |
| 432 | May 6 | Black | Cavoon (1255) | Draw | Queens Pawn Opening Anti Torre Attack | 83.7 | game |
| 433 | May 7 | White | wallythewhite (995) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening Accelerated London System | 95.0 | game |
| 434 | May 7 | Black | djohnnny (1184) | Loss | Vienna Game Falkbeer Stanley Reversed Spanish Variation | 88.7 | game |
| 435 | May 8 | White | Sherus_10 (1057) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 96.1 | game |
| 436 | May 8 | Black | Chandu2898 (1405) | Loss | Scotch Game Scotch Gambit Haxo Gambit | 57.7 | game |
| 437 | May 8 | White | Oponent6000 (1121) | Loss | Trompowsky Attack Classical Defense | 79.3 | game |
| 438 | May 8 | White | ahshaf3y (1140) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 64.8 | game |
| 439 | May 12 | Black | ismailabdul42 (1107) | Loss | Bishops Opening Berlin Defense | 55.7 | game |
| 440 | May 12 | Black | Casti75 (1072) | Loss | Giuoco Piano Game | 65.4 | game |
| 441 | May 12 | White | amirhossein1980 (1136) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 86.7 | game |
| 442 | May 12 | White | onehorseopen (1385) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Accelerated London System | 67.6 | game |
| 443 | May 12 | Black | LINK8x8 (1016) | Loss | Slav Defense Exchange Variation | 73.0 | game |
| 444 | May 12 | Black | ARMAN37700 (992) | Draw | Giuoco Piano Game Giuoco Pianissimo Variation | 82.7 | game |
| 445 | May 12 | White | pop-meister (1093) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening Accelerated London System | 84.8 | game |
| 446 | May 12 | White | mouhelen (1144) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening | 96.9 | game |
| 447 | May 12 | Black | JoaquinGallego (1021) | Win | Ruy Lopez Opening Cozio Defense | 77.1 | game |
| 448 | May 12 | Black | JUANMANUEL2020 (1026) | Loss | Giuoco Piano Game | 78.8 | game |
Back to week 17, on to week 19, or see every week on the journey hub. If you want the same colour-by-colour breakdown for your own games, review your own games like this.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best chess openings for Black at around 1000?
My own data can't crown one. This week I answered 1.e4 with 1...e5 in all eight games and scored 1 win, 6 losses and 1 draw; the trouble came from early grabbing moves, not from the opening's name.
Is the Scotch Gambit dangerous for Black at club level?
It was for me: I lost both Scotch Gambit games this week, to Rusich543 (1032) and Chandu2898 (1405), and Stockfish marked a blunder of mine by move 8 in each.
How can you lose on time in a winning position?
In game #443 I was -8.47 (winning) at move 45 with 59 seconds left in a 10-minute game. I played on with almost no time and lost on time at move 75 with 2 seconds on my clock.