When the men are first arranged in battle order, it is seen that the only Pieces which have the power of moving are the Knights, and that to liberate the others it is indispensably necessary to move a Pawn. Now as the King's Pawn, on being moved, gives freedom both to the Queen and to the King's Bishop, it is more frequently played at the beginning of the game than any other. - The Chess-Player's HandbookWhen, 120 years later, U.S. Champion Robert J. (Bobby) Fischer wrote
Best by test. - My 60 Memorable Games
he was referring to the same move : 1.e4. No chessplayer can ignore it. Half of your opponents are going to open with this move as White.
In this article we'll look at the most popular responses to 1.e4, known as the King's Pawn Opening. Many of the moves we'll discuss link directly to the About Chess repertoire recommendations (under 'Essentials > Openings' on the left column of every page). By following the link, you can see the board as it looks after the move has been played, discover some good continuations, and learn the names that have been given to the various openings.
