In chess, the first moves of a game will usually revolve around controlling the center of the board. Because of this the two most common first moves in chess are as follows: e2 to e4 (king pawn to the center), and d2 to d4 (queen pawn to the center). Black's usual response is to mirror white's move.
Both opening get control of the center on the first turn, and at first glance seam nearly identical, but actually are very different. Both openings will cause the rest of the game to be very different. Yasser Seirawan lists some of the traits of king and queen pawn games in his book, Winning Chess: Openings. Here are some of them:
King Pawn Openings:
- Sharp play ensues immediately
- The king is more vulnerable
- The game is often shorter
- The fight is delayed
- The king is less vulnerable
- The game is usually longer
(Seirawan, 31)
Position of king pawn opening |
Position of queen pawn opening |
The bishop can freely move out with a king pawn opening, meaning that the king can castle as soon as turn 4. |
The queen can easily defend the center pawn, making it easier to play defenseively |
This built in protection causes the difference of sharp vs. delayed play. In a king pawn opening, one clever or aggressive move can allow a player to take their opponents center pawn, or one stupid move can cause someone to lose their center pawn. However, with a queen pawn opening a clever move will likely not be enough, since the queen will make it that much harder to take the center pawn.
When I decided to test out both openings, I went up against a chess AI. I am admittedly horrible at chess, so I got crushed easily every time. I tended to have more success using an aggressive style of play to be better with the king pawn opening, trying to use the AI having a weaker defense over the center than with a typical queen pawn opening. But I found that I much preferred the queen pawn opening, since it is much more forgiving of my frequent mistakes.
Also, I prefer the slower, and more patient strategy promoted by a queen pawn opening, trying to use the defensive advantage of the queen pawn opening. Either opening seems strong, however the first move isn't everything. Once your pawn in center, what's next? In order to figure this out, I plan to ask myself the question: how does one defend their center pawn, and attack the enemy center pawn?
Also, I prefer the slower, and more patient strategy promoted by a queen pawn opening, trying to use the defensive advantage of the queen pawn opening. Either opening seems strong, however the first move isn't everything. Once your pawn in center, what's next? In order to figure this out, I plan to ask myself the question: how does one defend their center pawn, and attack the enemy center pawn?
Work Cited:
Seirawan, Yasser. Winning Chess Openings. Gloucester Publishers Ltd, 2003.
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