Sunday 28 February 2021

Kid friendly openings

 Today I had a quick chat about 'kid friendly' opening books. Now I had never thought about this before, and that got m wondering. What are the 'kid friendly' openings out there?

I am going to start with the Four Knights, and the Italian Game, if only as they are the first openings most children learn. Added to the list is the Colle, which is probably the 'friendliest' 1.d4 opening.  After that it already gets tricky, at least as far as I can see.

Working from the other direction, I would regard the Kings Indian and the Sicilian as the least kid friendly. Lots of tricky lines and hand to hand combat here, so not to be recommended. I've also seen a lot of kids steamrolled playing the Pirc/Modern so that is the equivalent of 'playing on the road'. 

That leaves a lot in the middle, especially in response to 1.e4 or 1.d4. Possibly the Petroff as black is still G Rated, but I'm still thinking about a defense to 1.d4. Suggestions welcome.

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