Chess Game Opening Trends: White's First Move
by Stephen Ostermiller on Jun 3, 2014 | Views: 135 | Score: 1
| e4 (King's Pawn) | d4 (Queen's Pawn) | Nf3 (Zukertort Opening) | c4 (English Opening) | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 85 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 1860 | 71 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 1870 | 86 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1880 | 77 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 1890 | 76 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 1900 | 70 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1910 | 61 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 1920 | 54 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1930 | 33 | 50 | 10 | 8 | 1 |
| 1940 | 35 | 46 | 9 | 6 | 1 |
| 1950 | 39 | 43 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
| 1960 | 42 | 37 | 5 | 16 | 1 |
| 1970 | 45 | 23 | 9 | 11 | 3 |
| 1980 | 39 | 32 | 8 | 15 | 3 |
| 1990 | 40 | 35 | 11 | 7 | 1 |
| 2000 | 46 | 34 | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| 2010 | 47 | 38 | 9 | 8 | 1 |
Fraction of Chess Game Openings (White)
Sources:
businessinsider.com
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Over time, the King's Pawn opening has decreased in popularity while the Queen's Pawn opening has increased. All of these openings are fairly aggressive openings that build toward control of the middle of the board. White should attempt to take over the middle of the board as quickly as possible to maintain its advantage.