For an intermediate player, what is the single best chess opening to learn?

Answer 1

As an intermidiate player, you should learn many types of opening as possible if you really want to improve.

But in practice, all Grand Masters would agree that you should stick to a single opening that you like, and of course, you're familiar with.

If you're an 1.e4 player, try Ruy Lopez and Sicilian, which is undoubtedly the most popular variation in the opening 1.e4. Study both opening by both white and black perspective.

If you're a 1.d4 player, go for Queen's Gambit Decline as white and King's Indian Defence or Nimzo-Indian Defence as black.

But a piece of advice here - don't get too engrossed in opening study that you forget to revise the endgame - which is more important than opening. That too, is agreed among all Grand Masters.

For further study of the openings, I suggest you find decent books
which can be easily found via BitTorrent.

Answer 2

While there might not be any best opening, you're probably looking at your stage for the most bang for your buck in which case I'd definitely agree with Billy on the Ruy and Sicilian. With these two alone, you'll already be covered in at least half of games where your opponent cares to follow opening theory and you'll have learned some good principles and concepts for those that don't. After these, the one gaping hole will be a solid response to the Queen's Pawn Opening. And only after you've got that down would I worry about somewhat lesser used responses to the KP opening like French Defence or Caro-Kann. English and Reti openings I'd put at the bottom of the priority list since they tend anyway to transpose into stuff you learned studying the more popular openings.

Answer 3

Open with a center pawn. Develop your pieces quickly. Castle early, connect your rooks, avoid excessive pawn moves. Apply as much pressure as possible but don't launch an attack in the opening unless your opponent has made a mistake.

That's all you need to know until your rating is getting close to 2000, in my opinion. You'll do better to work things out for yourself than to try to depend on "book knowledge". Following the book creates a false sense of security and weakens your game tactically. I highly recommend Lev Alburt's series based on Russian teaching methods.

Answer 4

When learning, do not embark on a single opening!
TRY ALL AVAILABLE OPENINGS
and you will be a chesmaster.
the goodness in chess is getting beaten and at the same time learning!

Answer 5

Kings opening. Easy to attack and defend. If you are more daring, try the queen's gambit.

Answer 6

How about the Ruy Lopez.