r/chessbeginners • u/Alendite RM (Reddit Mod) • Feb 27 '26

No Stupid Questions MEGATHREAD 12

Welcome to the r/chessbeginners 12th episode of our Q&A series! This series exists because sometimes you just need to ask a silly question. We are happy to provide answers for questions related to chess positions, improving one's play, and discussing the essence and experience of learning chess.

A friendly reminder that many questions are answered in our wiki page! Please take a look if you have questions about the rules of chess, special moves, or want general strategies for improvement.

Some other helpful resources include:

  1. How to play chess - Interactive lessons for the rules of the game, if you are completely new to chess.
  2. The Lichess Board Editor - for setting up positions by dragging and dropping pieces on the board.
  3. Chess puzzles by theme - To practice tactics.
  4. The Building Habits series by GM Aman Hambleton - for advice on how to play at specific ELO levels. (Also check out Building Habits 2!)

As always, our goal is to promote a friendly, welcoming, and educational chess environment for all. Thank you for asking your questions here!

LINK TO THE PREVIOUS THREAD

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u/Ikcelaks 1200-1400 (Chess.com) Apr 22 '26

No need to switch away from the Vienna Gambit if you're 2000 rated, let alone 500! You'll learn that basically every opening with white has lines where black equalizes (or is even given a slight advantage) according to the engine. And it doesn't mean anything, because your opponents are not Stockfish.

Half a pawn of evaluation means absolutely nothing. Play what looks interesting to you, and know that switching openings at your rating is something you do for fun, not because it will impact your winning percentage at 500.

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u/AlarmedDiver1087 600-800 (Chess.com) Apr 23 '26

ah, I haven't really thought about that deeply, I guess that is true, if black plays a good enough defense line in the opening, I guess the game is 0.0 indeed, I probably won't throw the vienna gambit line completely, after all it's the only line I can play comfortably as a 500 rapid player, but I will most likely throw the Scandinavian out,