How Do I Choose a Chess Opening Repertoire That Fits My Playing Style?

TL;DR

Short answer	Work out which of four styles you enjoy (aggressive, positional, solid or flexible), filter by your rating, then pick one White opening and one answer each to 1.e4 and 1.d4. Choose Black defenses that share a pawn structure so you learn one set of plans.
Openings per style in our library	Positional 16, aggressive 14, solid 12, flexible 12. Most openings carry two styles.
Sharpest group	Two openings also carry the "sharp" style: the King's Gambit (900 to 2200) and the Budapest Gambit (900 to 2100)
Style pairs that share ideas	Caro-Kann + Slav (about 37 million and 26 million Lichess games). Nimzo-Indian + Bogo-Indian (about 10.7 million and 1.0 million).
Do it in one step	The opening finder in our openings library filters all 36 by rating, color and style

Step 1: figure out your style

Forget which openings the top players use. Look at your own games and ask which positions you enjoy and which ones you play well. Those two answers are usually the same.

• Aggressive: you like open lines, early tactics and attacking the king. You'd rather be a pawn down with the initiative than a pawn up and defending.
• Positional: you like slow buildups, good pawn structure and squeezing small advantages.
• Solid: you want a safe position out of the opening and to win in the middlegame or endgame. You hate losing to a trap.
• Flexible: you like delaying commitments, fianchettoes, and letting your opponent overextend before you hit back.

Most people are a mix, and so are most openings. The London System, for example, is tagged both solid and positional.

Step 2: match style to openings

Here is every opening in our library that fits each style, with its recommended Elo range.

Aggressive

A good aggressive starter set is the Vienna as White, with its optional f4 gambit, and the Budapest against 1.d4. In the Budapest, White takes the pawn with 3.dxe5 in 58% of games at 900 to 2100 on Lichess, so most of your preparation goes into one main line:

It also has a trap that fits an aggressive player perfectly. After 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Qe7 7.a3 Ngxe5, 42% of White players take the bishop with 8.axb4?? and Black wins 99% of those games thanks to 8...Nd3#.

Positional

Positional players have the widest choice, 16 openings in all. The Petroff has one of the longest ranges in our library, from 800 all the way to 2400.

Solid

Flexible

Step 3: pick Black defenses that share ideas

The best repertoires feel like one system, not three unrelated openings. The easiest way to get that is to choose Black defenses with the same pawn structure.

The classic pair is the Caro-Kann and the Slav. In both, Black supports d5 with the c-pawn so the light-squared bishop can come out before ...e6.

The Caro-Kann after 2...d5. The c6 pawn supports d5.

The Slav after 2...c6. Same c6 and d5 pawns, same idea, against 1.d4.

Both are tagged solid and positional, and between them they're backed by a lot of data: about 37 million Lichess games for our Caro-Kann trainer (800 to 2200) and about 26 million for the Slav (700 to 1700).

Other natural pairs: the Nimzo-Indian and Bogo-Indian, where the bishop goes to b4 whichever knight move White picks; and the Pirc and Modern against 1.e4, which share the ...g6 and ...Bg7 fianchetto and pair well with the King's Indian against 1.d4 once you reach 1400.

Step 4: check the rating range

Style isn't the only filter. An opening that suits your taste can still be the wrong choice if it asks for more than you can handle yet. The Najdorf is the obvious example: aggressive, famous, and recommended from 1600 in our data.

If your rating sits near the top of an opening's range, pick one that runs past it so you don't have to switch again soon. The London stops at 1400 and the Italian at 1600, while the Alapin and Caro-Kann run to 2200.

Use the opening finder

You don't have to do all this by hand. The finder at the top of our openings library has three filters: rating (under 800, 800 to 1200, 1200 to 1600, 1600 to 2000, 2000+), color and style. You can also type what you want, like "600-900 elo, white, aggressive", and it reads words like "tactical" or "attacking" as aggressive, and "quiet" or "strategic" as positional. It then narrows the list down to the openings that fit.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know what my chess playing style is?
Look at your own games. If you enjoy open positions and attacking the king, you're aggressive. If you prefer slow buildups and better structure, you're positional. If you want a safe position and to outplay people later, you're solid. If you like delaying commitments and hitting back at an overextended center, you're flexible. Most players mix two.

What is the best opening repertoire for an aggressive player?
As White, the Vienna, Scotch or Trompowsky from about 900 Elo, or the Italian from 1000 to 1600. As Black, the Scandinavian against 1.e4 at lower ratings and the Budapest Gambit or Dutch against 1.d4. The King's Indian and Najdorf suit aggressive players from 1400 and 1600.

What openings go well together in a repertoire?
Openings that share a pawn structure. The Caro-Kann against 1.e4 and the Slav against 1.d4 both support d5 with the c-pawn. The Nimzo-Indian and Bogo-Indian both put the bishop on b4. The Pirc and Modern pair naturally with the King's Indian.

Is there a tool that picks a chess opening for me?
Yes. The opening finder in our openings library filters all 36 openings by your rating, your color and your style (aggressive, positional, solid or flexible). You can also type a request such as "600-900 elo, white, aggressive".

Copy the lines (PGN)

Every line in this article in standard PGN, ready to paste into Lichess, Chess.com or any chess database.

[Event "How Do I Choose a Chess Opening Repertoire That Fits My Playing Style?: Budapest Gambit"]
[Site "chesscoachacademy.com"]
[Result "*"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 *

[Event "How Do I Choose a Chess Opening Repertoire That Fits My Playing Style?: Budapest Gambit, 8.axb4 trap"]
[Site "chesscoachacademy.com"]
[Result "*"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 Qe7 7. a3 Ngxe5 8. axb4 Nd3# *

[Event "How Do I Choose a Chess Opening Repertoire That Fits My Playing Style?: Caro-Kann Defense"]
[Site "chesscoachacademy.com"]
[Result "*"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 *

[Event "How Do I Choose a Chess Opening Repertoire That Fits My Playing Style?: Slav Defense"]
[Site "chesscoachacademy.com"]
[Result "*"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 *

Keep reading

• Best Chess Openings for Beginners: All 36 openings grouped by rating, with a short description of each one.

Try your repertoire before you commit

The fastest way to know whether an opening fits you is to play through its lines and see if the positions feel natural. Start with the opening finder to get a shortlist for your rating and style, then open one or two in the trainer. If you're leaning toward the Caro-Kann and Slav pair, those two trainers cover 14 and 18 lines.

All 36 openings are free during the open beta, and your progress on every line is tracked for free when you create an account.

Find your openings with the opening finder →
Practice the Caro-Kann Advance →
Practice the Slav Defense →