If you cannot stand passive play and like a game decided by a direct assault, attacking openings are for you. They share one idea: the initiative matters more than material. For a pawn, or even a piece, you get a lead in development, open lines and an attack on the king.
We have gathered the eight most combative starts - from the classic romantic gambits to modern dynamic defences played for a win with Black. Every opening can be played through on the board move by move.
Remember: a gambit works while you are ahead of your opponent in development. Sacrifice for a concrete initiative rather than for beauty - and do not miss the counterattack when the attack runs out of steam.
At club level and in blitz the Danish and King's Gambits score heavily - for a pawn White gets a crushing attack, and defending it without preparation is hard. With Black, the most combative choice is the Sicilian Defence.
Many sharp gambits equalise in theory against precise defence, so they turn up less often in elite tournaments. But in practical play, especially with limited time, the initiative for a pawn brings in plenty of points.
The Italian Game and the Evans Gambit with White: clear plans for development and an attack on f7. With Black, the Two Knights Defence. They teach the main skill of all - playing for the initiative.
If you are just starting out, have a look at the rules of chess and how to set the board up.
No arbiter skills required. The app takes over the part that usually stops people from running tournaments at all: who plays whom in each round and who finishes first.
Vibe Chess runs chess meetups - networking evenings in cities across Russia: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and more. For companies we run corporate chess tournaments, and every city and format is gathered on the home page.
Open the Vibe Chess app - it has the schedule of meetups and chess events across the cities, the registration and your own tournaments.
