If you are playing chess for fun and looking for some solid openings that are easier to remember. This post is for you. I’m a 1700 rated chess player playing regularly online since 2017. And throughout this journey, there were many long instances, where the rating stopped growing.
If you are rated below me or even above me but curious to know my chess opening preferences, this thread is for you.
My Favorite Chess Opening
At the age of 5 when I first learned the rules of chess, I played The Scotch opening in every game with white pieces. At that time I didn’t know what an opening is.
Funnily, this opening is still my favorite with white pieces. And working quite well for me to play against players of my level.
Consequently, I’ll put it on top of recommended list in favorite chess openings with white:
Top 5 Recommended Chess Openings With White Pieces:
1. Scotch Opening
Scotch is played even in top-level chess and was one of the main repertoires of Grand Master Garry Kasparov. Who many believe is the greatest chess player of all times.
The openings starts with moves 1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6 and 3. d4:
From here on there are many lines in Scotch game, but the most famous and main line is the exchange variation, in which everything in the center gets exchanged.
A small advantage in Scotch game can lead to winning positions and it’s a very easy to remember opening in most of it’s lines.
If you want to see the video content in this opening line, do check out the video below from the Saint Luis Chess Club demonstrated by Grand Master Jonathan Schrantz:
But my favorite game featuring Scotch is the one played by Ian Nepomniatchi against Ding Li Ren. You can watch it in a video link below. It’s quite a game.
2. Smith Morra Gambit
Smith Mora gambit starts with 1.e4 c5 2.d4:
A highly effective line against players rated 1500 to 1600 and around because players at this level are greedy to capture any material available to pick. What they won’t understand is while they are capturing pawns, your pieces are getting developed or ready to join attack in almost no time.
One thing you have to remember in this line is that although you are getting early development and space advantage, you can’t play this opening against players 2000 and above whatsoever, because it’s a refuted opening.
You can check out the details of Smith Morra gambit refutation in the video below:
3. The Vienna Game
e4 is the most commonly played 1st move in the game of chess, yet still there are moves like Knight to c3 on move 2, that can be a surprise to most of the players rated 1700 and below.
And if you know your openings, Vienna game is an opening weapon that can destroy many players, if you are going to launch it against under 2000 rated players.
International Master Levy Rozman, recommended this opening several times in his chess content, while demonstrating games with white pieces, and his video given below will give you a great sense of how the Vienna game works:
4. Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez in chess is as old as the modern chess itself is. It starts with moves 1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. Bb5:
Although the oldest recorded game in the database is played using the Scandinavian defense, Ruy Lopez is the opening played quite frequently in every era and still is very famous in top level chess.
I’m recommending this opening for the dynamics it beings on the table. A very solid opening, where both parties can easily castle and beat the opponent purely on genuine chess skills.
But if you know the right squares to occupy and know your stronger pieces like the bishop pair in Ruy Lopez, you can outplay the opponent in 1700ish ratings.
Below is a video link, that can help you a lot to build a repertoire using the Ruy Lopez opening:
5. Italian Game
Italian game starts with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc4 3.Bc4:
Italian opening is slightly different on move 3 from Ruy Lopez, where white moves the bishop from opening position to Bc4 instead of Bb5. But the thing most common between both these openings is that they both lead to very solid lines.
Much like Ruy Lopez, Italian opening is a line that tests your genuine chess skills and will suit you if you are more of a positional chess player.
You can work on this opening starting from the video link given below:
Chess Openings Recommended For 1700 Rated Players With Black Pieces
Scandinavian Defense is by far my favorite chess opening with black pieces. It begins with the moves e4 and d5.
And has many variations. The one most in fashion is the gubinsky-melts defense variation. A chess variation that is very much liked by Magnus Carlsen and Danil Dubov and they play it often in online chess.
Check out this famous Blitz game of Magnus Carlsen against Vishy Anand featuring the Scandinavian defense gubinsky-melts variation.
There is also another game of Scandinavian where Magnus was absolutely stunned by Brazilian Grandmaster Luis Paulo Supi.
In the end, the Norwegian genius and World Champion could only repeat the word wow several times for being checkmated so cruelly.
Check the game in the video below:
With black pieces, I’m also a big fan of Kings Indian Defense. An opening that I play very often in Bullets.
The thing is, at my level, bullets are almost always a race of beating your opponent on time. And there is no better strategy than to let your opponent grab the center and come up with a plan to checkmate your king.
And if their attack goes wrong, Kings Indian defense is known for ripping the white camp through and through. Not only a disaster in the center but also Kings Indian defense has the potential to give a quick checkmate to the white king.
You just have to take care of when to strike in the center.
**Disclaimer: Don’t play King’s Indian Defense against more advanced players. They know how to hold the center permanently and dig a slow suffocating death for the black king.
Final Verdict On Chess Openings
I believe getting good with openings is only one aspect of becoming better at chess. To be a good player, you have to play a lot of games. I will never recommend picking up all the boring books because that’s the chess of old times. In modern chess, we have players like GM Hikaru Nakamura, who never studied chess formally and he even admitted it in a live stream. Check it out in a video below:
I believe for being a good chess player, aspiring to get out of that 1200 range and go further up, you need to spot the tactics in the middle game. I mean 1200 are not that good even in openings and are very prone to blundering but still, they know their openings to some extent.
Solid openings and tactical awareness can take you to a 2000 rated player. And I’m qualified to say this because I have touched 1850 once. And I have no doubt that with my current knowledge I can reach that level by the end of 2021.
Is 1700 A Good Chess Rating?
I very well know that most of the people who are going to read this post are either 1700 rated players or the ones just below it trying to reach 1700 rating.
If you are already 1700 rated, I’m quite sure you don’t like your rating. Because this is a sort of top of the failure list rating. I mean you can’t finish top 10 in an open amateur tournament with 1700 rating. You will finish just outside the top 10, at least in our local tournaments… Situation can even be worse for a 1700 rated player in countries like US, China, Russia or India. The pool of chess talent there is even more stronger.
But for people who are aspiring to reach 1700, I will advice to make it a milestone and not a goal. The goal should be at least 2000 rating. Because this is where Gambits from opponents start failing, opening traps are caught easily and your overall repertoire is decent enough to go and try to win a local tournament.
Check out these chess tips for intermediate players, they can help you get to 2000 rating in online chess.
Also Read:
Why is Chess so Popular – Top 5 Reasons Why Chess is Getting Famous
How to find your Chess Style | A Guide to Become Better Chess Player
How to Improve Your Chess Thinking? | Guide to Get Better at Chess
FAQs
How good is a 1700 rated chess player? ›
1700-1900: a very good chess player. Makes few mistakes. Has reached a level of mastery that most Chess players will never reach.
How good is 1700 rapid on chess com? ›At a full out Chess Tournament, a 1700 would just blend in and not be special. On here, where everyone is a 2830 regardless of their rating, a 1700 would be nothing. So it all depends. A 1700 OTB is still well above average.
How to get from 1700 to 2000 in chess? ›By scoring 18 out of 24 points in a match against an opponent who is rated at 2200. You can see that for yourself using this calculator . Enter your initial rating of 1700, select a K-factor of 20, enter 9 points won, and enter 2200 into each of the 12 boxes for opponents ratings.
How hard is it to get to 1700 chess? ›Approximately 3 months of hard disciplined training can get you to 1700 ELO/FIDE. Not that it really matters. There are a lot of supposedly high rated players who are just as beatable as 1000 level players.
What percentile is 1700 in chess? ›| Rating Classification | Rating range | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Class A | 1800 to 1899 | 99.69% |
| Class B | 1700 to 1799 | 99.51% |
| Class B | 1600 to 1699 | 99.14% |
| Class C | 1500 to 1599 | 98.56% |
There is no "realistic goal" in a year. It's like math, some people are better than others, But I'd say 1300 to 1400 would be a good goal, but anything over 1200 would show effort. Some players are more natural that others, and can get to 1400 in a couple months, and quite a bit higher than that after a year.
How close is chess com rating to FIDE? ›Chess.com ratings seem to be around 200 to 300 points higher than what one's FIDE rating would be. So 2000 on chess.com would likely be around 1700-1800 FIDE. Though, it varies from player to player.
How high is Magnus Carlsen IQ? ›And if Magnus Carlsen is the finest chess player the world has ever seen, he can be that intelligent! His IQ of 190 is ideal for him!
How strong is a 1800 rated chess com player? ›1800 means nothing now chess.com have stupidly allowed new players to start their ratings at 1800. 1800s are half decent players. They are good at tactics, have a basic sense of strategy, know a little opening theory, and have decent endgame knowledge. They still hang pieces occasionally.
How long to go from 1600 to 1800 chess? ›It took me a little bit more than one month to go from 1600 to 1800 USCF, but obviously I was underrated. The biggest difference is tactics, followed by opening knowledge. 1600s make a lot more blunders.
How hard is it to get an 1800 chess rating? ›
Chess takes a lot of time. So for most people I'd guess 3 to 5 years. Depends how long you've been playing as well. If you've not been playing long and are 1250 then you might get to 1800 quite quickly.
How do you get a 1800 rated chess player? ›The fastest route to 1800 is to play players rated 1100 and below ONLY. Lots of game. Good luck. Kidding aside, players1800 rated and up are advance players who have a very good grasp of openings, mid games and end games.
How to improve from 1600 to 1700 chess? ›Learn middlegame strategy for different positions. Learn common ideas in your openings. Not necessarily in that order. consistency is what got me there... just play and think through each move... don't blunder and boom 1700... also PUZZLES PUZZLES PUZZLES mostly puzzle rush/battle and the like though.
What percentage of chess players are above 1800? ›In the US Chess Federation, which is not terribly atypical for Elo ratings, an 1800 player stands above 88%-90% of all rated players.
Does chess get harder as you get older? ›Before a player's early 20s, performance on the chessboard appears to increase rapidly. Skill then appears to reach a plateau around 35 years of age, peak at age 40, and begin to steadily decline after age 45.
Is 75% accuracy good in chess? ›I'd say for me, anything over 80% leaves me feeling pretty good about my play. For a game that is at least 25 moves long where most of the moves were not forced, I would have to say that 90%+ accuracy (expert strength or better) is generally an indicator of a good game.
Is chess good for the brain? ›Chess has been proven to increase your IQ, improve memory function, help develop higher levels of creativity, simultaneously exercise both sides of the brain, help prevent Alzheimer's and dementia, and increase a child's problem solving skills.
What rank is 1700 ELO? ›Silver: Solo 5v5: Between 1400 and 1519 (Team 3v3: 1410–1519, Team 5v5: 1410–1499) (Top 10%) Gold: Solo 5v5: Between 1520 and 1899 (Team 3v3: 1520–1699, Team 5v5: 1500–1749) (Top 3%) Platinum: Solo 5v5: 1900 and above (Team 3v3: 1700+, Team 5v5: 1750+) (Top 0.2%)
What is Bill Gates chess rating? ›It gave him a great chance to pressure Carlson simply by trading off a few pieces for 10-15 seconds. ChristopherZiffo wrote: Looking at the way Bill Gates played in that game there are signs that he is probably got a rating of around 1200-1300.
Can you play 100% accuracy chess? ›Is it possible to get 100% accuracy? No. 99.7%.
What is the average US chess rating? ›
Approximately 70% of rated tournament adult players fall between 1200-1900. Statistically, 5% of rated players reach the Expert (2000) level, and 1% achieve the Master (2200) level. The rating scale is linear in nature.
What is the most common rating on chess com? ›ChessNetwork wrote: Whether it is bullet, blitz or standard, the average rating on chess.com seems to be about 1200. Here's a link for more details. In case anyone's still wondering nowadays, the average chess player on chess.com would be in the fiftieth percentile, which is 800 elo.
Which chess website has the most accurate rating? ›| CHESS.COM BLITZ | LICHESS BLITZ (+/- 135) | LICHESS CLASSICAL (+/- 130) |
|---|---|---|
| 800 | 1150 | 1260 |
| 900 | 1225 | 1365 |
| 1000 | 1300 | 1460 |
| 1100 | 1380 | 1550 |
First of all 1800 is NOT an experienced GOOD player, It's the rating that goes with a very average mediocre club player. In the US Chess Federation, which is not terribly atypical for Elo ratings, an 1800 player stands above 88%-90% of all rated players. That's not the normal meaning of average.
What is Elon Musk's IQ? ›Elon's IQ is estimated to be around 155, while Albert Einstein's is 160. With such a slight margin, Musk is undoubtedly an incredibly smart person. Who is the smartest person on earth in 2022?
What was Bobby Fischer's IQ? ›After beating Boris Spassky in 1972, he became the first American-born world chess champion. Bobby Fischer IQ was estimated to be over 180, who was an eccentric genius.
What was the IQ of Nikola Tesla? ›Nikola Tesla: IQ 160–310
Nikola Tesla, the Serbian-American inventor—and arch-rival of Thomas Edison—reportedly had an estimated IQ falling somewhere between 160 and 310, depending on the measure.
3-Check is a simple variant with one clear task in mind: Check the king as many times as you can! Normal rules apply, but you can also win (or lose!) a game by checking (or getting checked) 3 times in total. Games can still end in the traditional ways of checkmate, stalemate and time-out.
What rating is FIDE master? ›FIDE Master (FM). The usual way for a player to qualify for the FIDE Master title is by achieving a FIDE Rating of 2300 or more.
How hard is 2000 rating in chess? ›The way the Bell curve of the rating system is defined, a rating of 2000 corresponds to the top few percent of players. Clearly the 50th percentile (a median average player) will always be distinct from this.
What is the peak age for chess? ›
Many chess experts believe that most top chess players peak somewhere around age 35-40. For instance, this figure is given by GM and Doctor of Science in Psychology, Nikolai Krogius.
What's the longest chess game ever? ›The longest chess game is 269 moves between Ivan Nikolic vs. Goran Arsovic, Belgrade, 1989. The game ended in a draw. The game lasted over 20 hours.
How hard is it to get to 1600 ELO chess? ›Around 1000 hours? (10 hours a week, 2 years long). 1600 is so weak its mainly about understanding basic principles and being able to identify weak moves before you play them. Of course playing is best way to gauge your progress.
What chess rating is no longer beginner? ›The general consensus is below 1200= “beginner”, 1200-1800 is “intermediate”, 1800-2000 is “advanced”, 2000-2200 is “expert”, and 2200+ are masters at chess, with FIDE titles being awarded at certain ratings or norms after that.
Can anyone become a 2000 rated chess player? ›Everyone can reach 2000, though for some it comes quicker than for others. As for myself, 2000 is my goal for next year. I'll reach 1850 OTB in the next rating list. The problem is, I think my game has improved greatly over the last year, but it does not yet come out in my tournament play.
How many games of chess should I play a day? ›If you wish to improve, 2 games a day are a lot. You should analyze your games in order to learn something from them, and probably have some time to study chess as well.
Is 18 too late for chess? ›First of all, its never too old to do anything that you can do. 18 is very young and you've already got experience under your belt with tournaments. I'm 30 and I just started last month. I go to college and I work, but I still put in some time learning chess.
How good is a 1750 chess rating? ›Players rated around 1750 tend to play conventional chess, so in Blitz it is quite easy to quickly find strong moves to play against them. Lower rated players tend to play more randomly. Their moves are weaker, but because they are unusual it takes longer to figure out how to exploit them.
How do you constantly improve in chess? ›- Know The Rules.
- Play Lots Of Games.
- Learn From Your Games.
- Practice With Chess Puzzles.
- Study Basic Endgames.
- Don't Waste Time Memorizing Openings.
- Double-Check Your Moves.
Regularly play long-ish games against higher rated opponents. (G/30 to G/60 vs people from +1 to +300) IMO a few games a week is enough. Analyze every game you play at least a little, even if it's blitz. Check your opening choices against a database for every game.
How long does it take to go from 1600 to 2000 in chess? ›
For most people it takes never. For the minority of chess players who hit the mark, it typically takes between 1 year and 50 years. 3 years when you are talented. A bit faster(only 2 years) when you are super talented and/or study chess very much.
How much can you improve in chess in a year? ›If you study every day & play in tournaments, it's possible to jump from 1600 to 1900 in a year. At that level improving is relatively easy... I went from 950-1800 (give or take 50) in just over a year.
How good is a 1700 chess player? ›1700-1900: a very good chess player. Makes few mistakes. Has reached a level of mastery that most Chess players will never reach.
Is the popularity of chess declining? ›As people are stepping away from their screens, interest in chess shows no signs of slowing down.
Which country plays chess the most? ›| rank | country | population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iceland | 325010 |
| 2 | Monaco | 36136 |
| 3 | Andorra | 76246 |
| 4 | Armenia | 3024100 |
Chess only depends on some specific talents not general IQ (e.g. memorization and pattern recognition in a very specific form). If your general IQ is high, most likely you will be a good chess player not necessarily outstanding, also if you are a chess genius, it could be that your general IQ is just average.
Does chess increase IQ in adults? ›Multiple studies have shown that while chess playing does improve cognitive, memory, and math skills, it doesn't necessarily translate into higher test scores.
Why am I suddenly getting worse at chess? ›Not just with chess, but lots of things, when you study at first you may get a little worse as you try to incorporate new knowledge and use different ways of thinking. After that you get better though. Also improvement tends to happen in spurts. You don't get a little better every day.
How good is 1750 in chess? ›| LEVEL | BCF grades | ELO |
|---|---|---|
| {D} Minor | BCF 75-100 | ELO 1625-1750 |
| {C} Intermediate | BCF 100-125 | ELO 1750-1875 |
| {B} Major | BCF 125-150 | ELO 1875-2000 |
| {A} County | BCF 150-175 | ELO 2000-2125 |
If you're a 1600 or so player, are you a good chess player or not? Statistically speaking, a 1600 player is playing better than 90+% people who play chess.
What age do chess players peak? ›
Many chess experts believe that most top chess players peak somewhere around age 35-40. For instance, this figure is given by GM and Doctor of Science in Psychology, Nikolai Krogius.
How long does it take to improve at chess? ›If you put in a couple of hours per day and try to balance having fun vs improving, you can probably reach 1000 rating in 3-6 months and 1500 rating in 12-18 months. If you only play a couple of hours per week and never study the game, you can probably reach 1000 rating in 2 years, and you'll probably never reach 1500.
What is considered an advanced chess player? ›The general consensus is below 1200= “beginner”, 1200-1800 is “intermediate”, 1800-2000 is “advanced”, 2000-2200 is “expert”, and 2200+ are masters at chess, with FIDE titles being awarded at certain ratings or norms after that.