40 Good (Enough) Moves

Comments on https://lichess.org/@/datajunkie/blog/40-good-enough-moves/Sh6OQNRD

In my opinion there are no best, good, good enough, or bad moves, but only good and bad moves.
By definition a good move does not change the theoretical game state win/draw/loss, and a bad move worsens the theoretical game state from drawing to losing, or from winning to drawing, or even losing.
It suffices to avoid bad moves and play one of the good moves.

People often ask which is better 1 e4, 1 d4, 1 c4, 1 Nf3? They are all equally good.
Which is better: 1 e4 e5, 1 e4 c5, 1 e4 e6, or 1 e4 c6? They are all equally good.

As for playing against stronger or weaker players, I believe you should play every game as if the opponent were Carlsen.
'When you sit down to play a game you should think only about the position, but not about the opponent. ' - Capablanca

My Great Predeccessors Part II is my favorite book. Kasparov analyzing some of Tal's best games is like a dream.

@tpr said ^

In my opinion there are no best, good, good enough, or bad moves, but only good and bad moves.
By definition a good move does not change the theoretical game state win/draw/loss, and a bad move worsens the theoretical game state from drawing to losing, or from winning to drawing, or even losing.
It suffices to avoid bad moves and play one of the good moves.

People often ask which is better 1 e4, 1 d4, 1 c4, 1 Nf3? They are all equally good.
Which is better: 1 e4 e5, 1 e4 c5, 1 e4 e6, or 1 e4 c6? They are all equally good.

As for playing against stronger or weaker players, I believe you should play every game as if the opponent were Carlsen.
'When you sit down to play a game you should think only about the position, but not about the opponent. ' - Capablanca

Interesting. I agree with your takes on the opening moves, they are all good and a matter of taste. But at least for me, it helps to think about positions in terms of how important it is to find the strongest move vs. if it's one in which it's better to be practical and just pick one of the strong moves. And there are exceptions in practice, such as playing an objectively bad move in a complicated position but has a high chance of confusing the opponent/making them choose the wrong move even though it might turn the 'theoretical game state' from draw to loss.

@TheCaptain7777 said ^

My Great Predeccessors Part II is my favorite book. Kasparov analyzing some of Tal's best games is like a dream.

Hear, hear!

"Are you focused too much on increasing the rate of your good moves, when you should be working on increasing the rate of your good enough moves and decreasing the bad?" -