In the chess books "Chess openings for white/black, explained", do the openings really produce wins?

Question

The openings in the two books look awefully weird to me, like positions that wouldn't happen in actual tournament games. However, I know that they have been used, but I want to know if these openings in the books have been used successfully by any tournament player rated between 1500-2200?

Answer 1

Get a copy of MCO-14 for openings.  Ruben Fine's book, The Idea Behind Chess Openings" will help you understand what you are studying.  As you get stronger there are better books, but you have to walk before running.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Hello --

Most chess games are won and lost in the first 10 moves (the rest is just mopping up).

Having said that the opening is very important -- without a good sound opening bad things happen.

I don't know what your book said ...

But I would urge you to check out ...

http://www.chessgames.com

Best of luck on your journey,

Bill

Answer 3

If they don't start 1.d4 I played them.

(Yes, 1. a3 [The Andersen BTW] and even 1. f3 [off a bet])

Yes, they can win (even 1. f3:)).  No, a win is never guaranteed.

Answer 4

Instead of getting a book that attempts to teach just a small number of openings, I would get an encyclopedia like Modern Chess Openings (or even better, a computer database). That way you can experiment with various opening systems until you find ones that work for you.

In general I think chess opening books are a complete waste of money. Instead I have a CD-ROM which includes Rybka and Chess Openings 2007. This includes every single opening variation there is, complete with evaluations and a massive database of games. You would have to buy hundreds of books for the same amount of material.

Chess opening books that are called "Play White/Black and Win!" or whatever are just a gimmick. By definition, even the best openings will only produce, at best, a slight advantage.

Answer 5

Not sure about professionals but as a reasonably good player, I know that every move has an effect from the opening gambit to the end move.

Answer 6

It does not matter wat opening you use if you do not study middle-game and end-game strategies.

But the simple answer to your question is yes, they work.

Bradford

http://www.braroechess.com

Answer 7

Ok, in reality, all openings CAN produce wins. But there are NO openings that will produce guarranteed wins. Thus, "have been used successfully by any tournament player rated between 1500-2200?" - probably since the sheer number of tournament players means that a lot of positions (even odd ones) will show up.