Here are 50 of the most popular and theoretically important opening moves or opening systems in chess. These include both individual first moves and named opening systems. Each entry lists either a specific move (e.g. 1.e4) or a named opening (e.g. Sicilian Defense), giving you a good mix of move ideas and recognized opening names.
♟️ White’s First Moves (Initiating Openings)
- 1.e4 – King’s Pawn Opening
- 1.d4 – Queen’s Pawn Opening
- 1.Nf3 – Reti Opening
- 1.c4 – English Opening
- 1.g3 – King’s Fianchetto Opening
- 1.b3 – Larsen’s Opening
- 1.f4 – Bird’s Opening
- 1.b4 – Polish Opening
- 1.Nc3 – Dunst Opening
- 1.h4 – Anti-Fried Liver-ish setups (rare/fun)
♞ Responses and Systems (Common Opening Families)
After 1.e4:
- 1…c5 – Sicilian Defense
- 1…e5 – Open Game
- 1…e6 – French Defense
- 1…c6 – Caro-Kann Defense
- 1…d6 – Pirc Defense
- 1…d5 – Scandinavian Defense
- 1…g6 – Modern Defense
- 1…Nf6 – Alekhine’s Defense
- 1…b6 – Owen’s Defense
- 1…Nc6 – Nimzowitsch Defense
Sicilian Defense Variations:
- Najdorf Sicilian
- Dragon Sicilian
- Sveshnikov Sicilian
- Accelerated Dragon
- Taimanov Sicilian
Common Double King Pawn Openings (1.e4 e5):
- Ruy Lopez (Spanish Opening)
- Italian Game
- Scotch Game
- Four Knights Game
- King’s Gambit
- Vienna Game
- Petrov’s Defense (Russian Game)
- Philidor Defense
After 1.d4:
- 1…d5 – Closed Game
- 1…Nf6 – Indian Game
- Queen’s Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4)
- King’s Indian Defense
- Nimzo-Indian Defense
- Queen’s Indian Defense
- Slav Defense
- Grünfeld Defense
- Catalan Opening
- Trompowsky Attack
- London System
- Colle System
- Torre Attack
Hypermodern & Flank Openings:
- English Opening (1.c4) – Reversed Sicilian lines
- Reti System (via 1.Nf3 and 2.g3 or 2.c4)
- Benoni Defense
- Benko Gambit