Best chess openings for beginners, checked against top-player data (20,708 games)
Most "best openings for beginners" lists are opinions. This one starts with openings that are genuinely easy to learn (simple ideas, not much forced theory) and then checks how each one does when strong players use it. Our data is from top players, not beginners: the top 50 players on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard (6,843 recent rated blitz games) and the top 100 titled players on Lichess (13,865 recent rated games, mostly bullet and blitz). That's useful anyway: if a simple opening holds up at that level, you won't have to throw it away as you improve. Score means points per game for the top player (win 1, draw ½). Their averages were 73% with White and 67% with Black on Chess.com, 67% and 62% on Lichess, so compare each opening with those, not with 50%.
Short answer
- Simple openings hold up at the top. Of the 8 beginner-friendly openings with 50+ Chess.com games in this sample, all 8 scored within 3 points of the top players' average or better. You don't need sharp theory to get a good game.
- Recommended White repertoire: the London System. One set-up against nearly everything. It scored 71% in 90 Chess.com games (2 points below the 73% average); 69% in 219 Lichess games (2 points above the 67% average). Prefer 1.e4? The Italian Game scored 75% in 110 Chess.com games (2 points above average).
- Recommended Black repertoire: the Caro-Kann Defense against 1.e4 and the Slav Defense against 1.d4. Same idea in both (...c6 and ...d5), so it's half the work. Caro-Kann: 68% in 122 Chess.com games (1 point above the 67% average); 61% in 583 Lichess games (1 point below the 62% average). Slav: 68% in 74 Chess.com games (1 point above the 67% average); 62% in 93 Lichess games (right on the 62% average).
- Best-scoring beginner openings on Chess.com (50+ games): with White the Italian Game (75% in 110, +2); with Black the French Defense (71% in 188, +4). The French Defense scored above the Black average on both sites.
- Weakest of the bunch on Chess.com (50+ games): the Queen's Gambit Declined with Black (64% in 258, -3). Still a perfectly playable opening, just not a free win.
The beginner-friendly openings we checked
With White:
- Italian Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4): Knights and bishops out fast, castle, aim at f7. The ideas are easy to remember.
- London System (1.d4, Bf4, e3, Nf3, c3): The same set-up against almost anything Black plays, so there's very little to memorise.
- Queen's Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4): Offer a pawn to pull Black's d-pawn away from the centre. Classic, logical plans.
- Scotch Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4): Open the centre straight away. Clear, active piece play.
- Four Knights Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6): All four knights out first. Very little forced theory.
- Vienna Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3): Flexible: develop, then decide whether to push f4 and attack.
With Black:
- Caro-Kann Defense (1.e4 c6): Solid pawn on d5, the light-squared bishop gets out before ...e6. Hard to blow up early.
- French Defense (1.e4 e6): Solid pawn chain, clear counter-attack with ...c5. The light-squared bishop can get stuck.
- Scandinavian Defense (1.e4 d5): Challenge e4 on move one. You know what's coming every game.
- Petrov's Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6): Copy White's knight move and hit e4 back. Very solid, few early traps.
- Queen's Gambit Declined (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6): Hold the d5 pawn, develop, castle. The most classical answer to 1.d4.
- Slav Defense (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6): Same idea as the Caro-Kann: support d5 with ...c6 and get the bishop out before ...e6.
1. On Chess.com: how the beginner openings score with White
Games where a top-50 Chess.com blitz player had White in that opening (Chess.com's own opening names). Rows under 30 games are shown small, as hints only. White average: 73%. Chess.com files some Londons as "Indian Game", so the London row undercounts; "Queen's Gambit" includes the Declined and Accepted lines.
| Opening | Moves | Games as White | Score | vs White avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen's Gambit | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 | 309 | 71% | -2 |
| Italian Game | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 | 110 | 75% | +2 |
| London System | 1.d4, Bf4, e3, Nf3, c3 | 90 | 71% | -2 |
| Four Knights Game | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 | 46 | 66% | -7 |
| Scotch Game | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 | 23 | 80% (small sample, hint only) | +7 |
| Vienna Game | 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 | 10 | 60% (small sample, hint only) | -13 |
2. On Chess.com: how the beginner openings score with Black
The same top players with Black. Black average: 67%. Because Chess.com files the Queen's Gambit Declined and Accepted together, the "Queen's Gambit Declined" row here is the whole Queen's Gambit complex with the top player as Black.
| Opening | Moves | Games as Black | Score | vs Black avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen's Gambit Declined | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 | 258 | 64% | -3 |
| French Defense | 1.e4 e6 | 188 | 71% | +4 |
| Caro-Kann Defense | 1.e4 c6 | 122 | 68% | +1 |
| Scandinavian Defense | 1.e4 d5 | 85 | 71% | +4 |
| Slav Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 | 74 | 68% | +1 |
| Petrov's Defense | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 | 36 | 60% | -7 |
3. On Lichess: the same openings, top 100 titled players
13,865 games. Rows under 80 games are shown small. Averages: 67% with White, 62% with Black. The London row is move-based (1.d4 and an early Bf4 without c4), and the Queen's Gambit row uses Lichess's "Queen's Gambit Declined" family.
With White:
| Opening | Moves | Games as White | Score | vs White avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen's Gambit | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 | 303 | 71% | +4 |
| London System | 1.d4, Bf4, e3, Nf3, c3 | 219 | 69% | +2 |
| Four Knights Game | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 | 106 | 70% | +3 |
| Italian Game | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 | 65 | 71% (small sample, hint only) | +4 |
| Scotch Game | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 | 64 | 76% (small sample, hint only) | +9 |
| Vienna Game | 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 | 46 | 62% (small sample, hint only) | -5 |
With Black:
| Opening | Moves | Games as Black | Score | vs Black avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caro-Kann Defense | 1.e4 c6 | 583 | 61% | -1 |
| French Defense | 1.e4 e6 | 290 | 63% | +1 |
| Queen's Gambit Declined | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 | 253 | 59% | -3 |
| Scandinavian Defense | 1.e4 d5 | 153 | 58% | -4 |
| Slav Defense | 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 | 93 | 62% | +0 |
| Petrov's Defense | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 | 22 | 61% (small sample, hint only) | -1 |
4. A simple White repertoire: the London System
- What you play: 1.d4, then Bf4, e3, Nf3, c3, Bd3, Nbd2 and castle, against almost any Black set-up. You learn one picture instead of ten.
- Why it's beginner-friendly: no early pawn sacrifices, no long forced lines, and the plans (a solid centre, then Ne5 or a kingside push) repeat every game.
- How it holds up: 71% in 90 Chess.com games (2 points below the 73% average); 69% in 219 Lichess games (2 points above the 67% average). In other words, it's about as good as anything else those players use with White.
- Want open games instead? Play 1.e4 and the Italian Game against 1...e5: 75% in 110 Chess.com games (2 points above the 73% average); 71% in only 65 Lichess games (small sample). You'll also need an answer to the Sicilian, French and Caro-Kann, so it's more to learn.
5. A simple Black repertoire: Caro-Kann and Slav
- Against 1.e4: the Caro-Kann (1...c6, then ...d5). Solid, few early traps, and your light-squared bishop gets out before you play ...e6. On Chess.com the top players answered 1.e4 with 1...c6 in 124 games (68%). Playing it: 68% in 122 Chess.com games (1 point above the 67% average); 61% in 583 Lichess games (1 point below the 62% average).
- Against 1.d4: the Slav (1...d5 2.c4 c6). The same pawn shape and the same bishop idea as the Caro-Kann, so the two openings teach each other. 1...d5 against 1.d4 came up in 322 of their Chess.com games (64%). Playing the Slav: 68% in 74 Chess.com games (1 point above the 67% average); 62% in 93 Lichess games (right on the 62% average). If White doesn't play 2.c4 (say, the London), keep it simple with ...d5, ...c6, ...Bf5 and ...e6.
- Alternative: the French Defense scored 71% in 188 Chess.com games (4 points above the 67% average); 63% in 290 Lichess games (1 point above the 62% average). It's a fine pick if you like closed positions, but the light-squared bishop can be a long-term headache for newer players.
6. What actually matters more than the opening
- Differences of 2 or 3 points are noise. Almost every opening here is within a few points of the average. Pick one that suits you and play it a lot.
- Learn ideas, not move lists. Develop knights and bishops, castle early, don't move the same piece twice without a reason, and fight for the centre. The openings above make that easy.
- Know your next opponent. Once you have a repertoire, the next step is checking what the person across the board plays. The free opponent preview shows any Chess.com or Lichess player's top openings with each colour in seconds.
Want the full rankings? See the best chess openings for White, the best chess openings for Black and the most popular chess openings, all built from the same games. Every opening above has its own guide with plans and data.
Method: Chess.com sample is the top 50 of the Chess.com live blitz leaderboard on 2026-10-20, each player's most recent rated standard blitz games (up to 150, at most six monthly archives) from the public Chess.com Published-Data API, 6,843 unique games played 2026-03-21 to 2026-10-20; openings use Chess.com's names from each game's ECO link, with a few families merged (for example the Giuoco Piano into the Italian Game). Lichess sample is the last 150 rated games of the top 100 titled players on the Lichess leaderboards (2026-10-18), grouped by Lichess family name; the London row is move-based. Rows need 30+ games (Chess.com) or 80+ (Lichess); headline claims need 50+. The openings were chosen for being easy to learn, not because of their scores. OpeningSpy is independent and not affiliated with Chess.com or Lichess.