10 White "Opening Systems"

The challenges of learning the opening

So you have decided to embark on the frivolous journey of learning the opening? You learn a few
openings and watch well over 10 hours of opening videos. You quickly realise, there are too many
openings to learn and too many things to memorise. You go to yourself: "How could I possibly
learn all of this? I have a wife, kids and a full-time job!" You begin searching the internet for
answers. Then you come across a solution: Learn an "opening system!" What a great way to get out
of the opening unscathed with all your pieces developed, your king safe and with good middle-
game prospects! 

An introduction to opening systems

A "System" opening is normally for the player with the White pieces. It involves a series of moves
that leads to a certain opening formation. Often, white will play the same opening moves
regardless of what black plays. Here the beauty of playing an opening system (if you can call it
beautiful) is that we are learning a formation that we want to achieve, rather than memorising a set
of opening moves. 

System opening advantages: 

1. Saves time on the clock - A lot of strong blitz/bullet players will adopt opening systems as a
way to bypass the opening as quickly as possible. As we will play the same set-up over and over
again, there is no worries about learning an specific move orders. 

2. You reach positions that you are comfortable with   - As you are playing the same opening
over and over again, you will quickly become an expert in the opening system.
3. Less memorization of specific move orders - Instead, you are looking to play a set-up rather
than learning lines

System opening disadvantages:

1. Not very aggressive - Sometimes playing a system usually means you will not be playing an
aggressive opening. Often, a lot of systems will avoid any confrontation in the opening and instead
just aim to get its formation set-up. As a result, play in the opening, can become quite  stale and
dull.
2. "Single-player chess" - As you are playing the first seven moves without too much regard for
black's play, you can fall into the trap of not thinking objectively about the opening and not
thinking objectively about what your opponent is doing.

"Karjakin no-mates" playing chess against himself...

All of the following are fine openings that fulfil our key opening principles:

1. Fighting for the centre

2. Developing our pieces to good squares where they work harmoniously

3. Our kings are usually safe in opening systems - Some systems even prioritize king safety
first

Let's explore some opening systems: 

1. The Barcza System

2. Bird-Larsen Attack
3. Blackmar-Diemer Gambit

4. The Colle System

5. The Colle-Zukertort System

6. The English Opening: Bottvinnik Formation

7. The London System 

8. The Stonewall attack

9. Trompowsky attack/Torre Attack

10. Vienna Opening System