29 Nov '05 03:39>1 edit
Originally posted by exigentskyOh, hogwash, you always have someone saying that about every opening. The fact is you should start with the Guioco Piano as a beginner, because it teaches you rapid develop of your pieces and many other Morphian principles. Paul Morphy games are the best games to study for beginners, because they are straight forward and are based in solid principles. But, if a beginner plays the KIA and learns development of the center - and the many other beginning principles ( i.e. don't develop your Queen early, fight for control of the center four squares, castle early) - then I don't see anything wrong with it. But, wouldn't a player who has never played chess and is just learning fair better beginning with the Guioco Piano? Yes!
"KIA is definitely not for the layman. "
Oh really, the reason I even selected it was because I thought it was meant to be a good opening for beginners. That's what I read on Exeter Chess, here: http://chessb.demonweb.co.uk/chessweb/Openings/sic10.html
What do you guys, think is KIA too much for a novice?
BTW: What's the purpose of a2-a4 in the KIA?