The best chess openings for kids are simple ones that follow good rules: put a pawn in the centre, bring out the knights and bishops, and castle early. For White, three great choices are the Italian Game, the Four Knights Game and the London System. For Black, answer 1.e4 with 1...e5 and answer 1.d4 with 1...d5. These openings teach ideas, not long lists of moves to memorise.

An opening is simply the first part of a chess game, usually the first ten moves or so. Many parents worry that their child must learn dozens of opening names. That is not true. At the beginner level, games are won by children who develop their pieces well and do not leave them where they can be captured for free. A good opening just gives your child a calm, sensible start.

What makes an opening good for a child?

A good beginner opening does three jobs. First, it fights for the centre, the four middle squares d4, e4, d5 and e5. Pieces in the middle can reach more squares. Second, it develops pieces, which means moving the knights and bishops off the back row so they can take part in the game. Third, it lets the king castle, a special move that tucks the king into a safe corner behind its pawns.

If your child understands these three jobs, they can play almost any sensible opening. You can read more in our guide to chess opening principles. The openings below are simply clean, easy examples of those principles in action.

Best openings for White

1. The Italian Game

The Italian Game starts 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4. White puts a pawn in the centre, brings out the knight to attack Black's e5 pawn, and then places the bishop on c4. From c4 the bishop looks at f7, the weakest square near Black's king, because only the king protects it at the start. After this, White usually plays moves like c3, d3 and castles.

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The Italian Game after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4. Follow the arrows: the knight attacks e5 and the bishop aims at f7.

2. The Four Knights Game

The Four Knights starts 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6. Both players bring out both knights, so all four knights are on the board, which is where the name comes from. It is very solid and almost impossible to go badly wrong in. Children learn a key habit here: knights before bishops, because a knight usually has one clear best square while a bishop has several choices.

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The Four Knights Game. Look at the four highlighted knights: each one guards or attacks a centre square.

3. The London System

The London System starts with 1.d4 and is more of a setup than a fixed line. White plays d4, brings the dark-squared bishop out to f4, then plays e3, Nf3, Bd3 and castles. A typical order is 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.Bd3. The nice thing for kids is that White can play nearly the same moves against almost anything Black does. The one habit to learn is to get the bishop out to f4 before playing e3, otherwise the e3 pawn blocks it in.

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A London System setup. Notice the White bishop on f4 sits outside the pawn chain. White is ready to castle next.

Best openings for Black

With Black, the simplest plan is to copy White's centre pawn. Against 1.e4, play 1...e5. Against 1.d4, play 1...d5. Both moves put a pawn in the middle straight away and open lines for your bishop and queen. After that, keep following the same three jobs: knights out, bishops out, castle.

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3, the natural reply is 2...Nc6, which develops a knight and protects the e5 pawn at the same time. After 1.d4 d5 2.c4, a calm and classical choice is 2...e6, then ...Nf6, ...Be7 and castling. Your child does not need to know the names of these lines yet. They only need to ask, "Is my centre safe, and which piece have I not moved yet?"

Try it: castle your king

Here is an Italian Game where both sides have developed several pieces. White's king is still in the middle. Castling kingside means moving the king two squares towards the rook, and the rook jumps over to the other side of the king.

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White to move. Castle kingside: move the king from e1 to g1 and watch the rook land on f1. Then reset and try other developing moves.

Your turn: move the pieces on the board.

Tap a piece, then tap where it should go, or drag it.

Watch out for early queen attacks

Young players often bring the queen out very early, hoping for a quick win. This usually backfires, because the queen is the most valuable piece and gets chased around by smaller pieces. It is also how Scholar's Mate is tried, so learn how to stop that too. In the puzzle below, Black brought the queen out too early. Can you punish it?

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White to move. Black's queen jumped to g5 too early. Find the move that wins it.

White to move. Make your move on the board.

Tap a piece, then tap where it should go, or drag it.

The knight on f3 simply takes the queen. A child who checks "what does my opponent's last move attack, and is anything left unprotected?" will spot this every time. For more practice in spotting free pieces, try today's free puzzle.

Questions parents and kids ask

What is the easiest chess opening for a beginner child?

The Italian Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4) is one of the easiest. Every move develops a piece or controls the centre, and the plan of castling quickly is easy to remember.

Should kids memorise chess openings?

No. Beginners should learn the ideas behind openings: control the centre, develop knights and bishops, and castle. Memorising long lines without understanding them does not help at this stage.

Is the London System good for kids?

Yes. It is a simple setup that works against most Black replies, so children can focus on playing good middlegame moves. Just remember to play Bf4 before e3.

What should Black play against 1.e4 as a beginner?

1...e5 is a great choice. It claims the centre right away and leads to open, natural positions where your pieces come out easily. Follow it with ...Nc6 and ...Nf6 or ...Bc5.