Isolated Queen's Pawn and active piece play.
I am a bit more tolerant than Markovich in this respect - the Benkö as Black is not a bad choice either for a beginner - but emphasis must be on simple strategy: find decent squares for all your pieces.
That's much harder in the NID/QID and many variations of the QGD. Take for instance the Cambridge Springs. So nice, that early pressure against c3. And there are some funny tricks. But how is Black ever going to active that Bc8 ? Beneath a certain level (including mine) players should avoid problems like that.
Plus there is the Catalan, which requires subtle understanding.

Fromper wrote on 01/25/11 at 02:32:35:


Anyone would think you were new to the forum, since this question has been very often asked and answered, and also very often answered without even having been asked, in these pages.

To repeat for the 2,427th time the Markovich Doctrine, or Dogma as many would have it: new and improving players must play 1...e5 against 1.e4, particularly the black side of the Two Knights Defense, and must play the Tarrasch Defense against the closed systems.  On the White side there's a wider range of options, but the repertoire should emphasize sharp, open positions.  After they get up to 2100 or so, I don't care what they do; I'm not strong enough to coach people much higher than that; and that seems like a good time to start branching out.  Also if you don't care about improving your game, I don't care what you do.

There's a whole theory behind this that has been fully enunciated by me and my acolytes in old threads that I can't be bothered to find right now, as well as a set poorly reasoned counterarguments made by some well-meaning persons with, unfortunately, only a dim understanding of this game.

I will also add the attack and defence of a "fianchetto" on "g3" or "g6" to the types of openings that mention MNb.

Because the themes on the attack and defence changes with the "fianchetted" bishop and the pawn chain.

Fromper wrote on 01/25/11 at 02:32:35:


In order to become a GM, it's almost a prerequisite to understand 1.e4 e5 as either White or Black, the Carlsbad pawn formation, the Hedgehog setup and IQP positions.

I know you aren't aiming to become a GM, but it provides some direction regarding what openings are the most essential to understand. A possible 'starting' repertoire for a player wishing to understand these structures is 1.e4 (Alapin Sicilian, Ruy Lopez, Tarrasch French, Panov-Botvinnik Caro-Kann) as White, and 1.e4 e5, the Queen's Gambit Declined, and the Hedgehog (vs. 1.Nf3/c4) as Black. Note that this is not my personal recommendation, just a suggestion.

If I had a new player who needed a basic repertoire to get them up and running I might teach them the Open Games and QGD (Tarrasch or Classical depending on their style) as Black, and 1.e4 (Open Sicilian, Scotch Game, Exchange French, Exchange Caro-Kann) as White.

Are there any openings that you think everyone should play, before moving on to more complex stuff? For instance, do you think everyone should put in some time answering 1. e4 with e5 to get a feel for open games before trying the Sicilian as black? Or is the QGD (as black) a necessary precursor to trying hypermodern responses to 1. d4? What openings do you think are prerequisites to know before trying what other openings?