Chess · Stage 3: Opening principles
A map of the openings
There are hundreds of named openings, but only a few families. Knowing the family tells you what kind of game to expect before you know the name.
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Openings are grouped by their first moves, because the first pawn moves decide the structure, and the structure decides the kind of game. Open games start 1.e4 e5. Lines open early, pieces come out fast and tactics come soon. The Italian, the Ruy Lopez and the Scotch are open games.
More practice, free: the opening explorer: every opening, with its main lines, on Lichess.