{"id":3035,"date":"2022-03-10T14:40:39","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T14:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chessquestions.com\/?p=3035"},"modified":"2022-03-10T14:55:13","modified_gmt":"2022-03-10T14:55:13","slug":"the-best-first-moves-in-chess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chessquestions.com\/the-best-first-moves-in-chess\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best First Moves In Chess: For White or Black Pieces"},"content":{"rendered":"
⭐⭐⭐ Take 10 minutes to read and improve your chess game ➡️ : This article was first published on, and is Copyright of Chessquestions.com<\/p>\n
The best first moves in chess for white and definite best responses from black are outlined in this article. And they all trigger opening names in theory<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first few moves of a chess game is an important choice because it signifies potential opening strategies for either side. This means there are arguably first moves to avoid as they are considered bad, or at least disadvantageous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This article will provide the best 5 first moves that can be made in chess by the white pieces<\/a> and the 5 moves black should make in response in most cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Making the first few moves in chess is a choice of 20 for white but a more limited choice for black as there are ‘best responses’ to whatever white has chosen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These chess openings should be memorized by beginner chess players and the actual openings be the first to be studied in more depth as players look for control over the center squares in the opening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best first moves for white based on chess masters popularity are a choice of pawn to e4<\/a>, d4, c4 or g3 or a Knight for f3, while the first move for black is dictated by white’s choice and is more often than not, a black pawn to e6 or c5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside the first move for white here are the most common response for black for each<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a lot of different options to choose from, 20 possible first moves that can be made, and making the wrong decision can potentially place you in immediate trouble against a more experienced player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’ve put together a list of the 5 best first moves for white pieces, based on centuries of theory and modern chess engine analysis of popular openings. These moves will give you the best possible first move start to any game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a lot more to do than make the first pawn move in chess though, so take note of the name<\/a> of the openings for each of these first moves and work your way through studying each of them and if you have time take a look at basic chess strategy for the importance of pawn structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Lichess<\/a> database, these are the most popular first moves made across millions of games featuring titled masters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n e4 is by far the most frequently used first move accounting for 45.16% of all games in the Lichess games database. d4 follows closely behind as the most used first move with 36%, e4 and d4 account for over 80% of all first moves. Nf3, c4 and g3 make up the rest of the top 5 first moves, the latter at under 1% highlighting the preference for e4 and d4<\/p>\n\n\n\n Source: Lichess data<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n We can see clearly the e4 opening as well as the d pawn make up over 80% of all first moves. You’ll never question which is the best first move in chess again. The evidence is clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We would all love to be as good as to gain a grandmaster’s title in chess, but for almost all of us that is going to be out of reach, but is there any benefit in looking at what grandmaster chess players choose as their most popular chess openings?<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Best First Moves In Chess<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
White First Moves and Black Responses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What first move is used most often in chess?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
First Move<\/th> No of Games<\/th> % of Total Games<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> e4<\/td> 1,093,761<\/td> 45.16%<\/td><\/tr> d4<\/td> 872,114<\/td> 36.01%<\/td><\/tr> Nf3<\/td> 246,115<\/td> 10.16%<\/td><\/tr> c4<\/td> 167,542<\/td> 6.92%<\/td><\/tr> g3<\/td> 18,969<\/td> 0.78%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n The Most Popular First Move for Grandmasters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n