All chess openings

Solid chess openings

Openings built not to lose. The structure holds, there are no early weaknesses to defend, and the king is safe before anything else happens. The trade-off is that winning chances usually have to be created later in the game.

15 openings

• Sicilian Defence — Alapin (B22) — Sidestep 10,000 pages of Sicilian theory and just build a big centre
• Ruy López — Berlin (C67) — Solid and endgame-focused — the drawing weapon of champions
• Ruy López — Exchange Variation (C69) — Wreck Black's pawns, trade everything, win the endgame
• Petrov Defence (C42) — Counter in the centre instead of defending — the great grandmaster equaliser
• Philidor Defence (C41) — Cramped but genuinely tough — a fortress that takes real skill to crack
• French Defence — Tarrasch (C09) — Develop the knight to d2 and the Winawer simply never happens
• Caro-Kann Defence (B10) — Solid and structural — a good pawn structure from move one
• Caro-Kann — Karpov Variation (B17) — Develop the knight to d7 first so the kingside never gets shattered
• Queen's Gambit Declined (D30) — Classical and solid — control the centre with pieces
• Slav Defence (D19) — Defend d5 with the c-pawn and the problem bishop walks free
• Queen's Indian Defence (E15) — Fight for e4 with a fianchettoed bishop and give White absolutely nothing
• Dutch Defence — Stonewall (A90) — Rigid pawn chain, strong d5 outpost, attack on the kingside
• Scandinavian Defence (B01) — Trade the centre off on move one and always get the same position
• London System (D02) — Solid and reliable — same setup against anything
• Elephant Trap (D51) — The d7-knight looks pinned. It isn't, and White loses a piece finding out.