The Most Common Opening Mistakes at 1600-1800
Every opening page on this site computes “common mistakes” the same honest way: a move that’s played often enough to matter, but that scores badly for the side playing it, according to real games at that rating band. No engine evaluation, no “this loses a piece” claims — just a move’s actual result rate compared to how often it gets played. This page pulls those results together across all 10 openings this site tracks, worst-scoring first.
Ranked worst-scoring first
- In the Scotch Game, d6 is played in 6.3% of games at 1600-1800 but scores only 42.4% for black. The most common answer, dxe5, scores 59.0% for the side punishing it.
- In the Queen's Gambit, dxc4 is played in 23.9% of games at 1600-1800 but scores only 42.4% for black. The most common answer, Nc3, scores 57.5% for the side punishing it.
- In the Scotch Game, Nf6 is played in 2.6% of games at 1600-1800 but scores only 42.6% for black.
- In the Italian Game, h6 is played in 14.5% of games at 1600-1800 but scores only 44.5% for black. The most common answer, d4, scores 58.0% for the side punishing it.
- In the Queen's Gambit, Nf6 is played in 15.4% of games at 1600-1800 but scores only 44.5% for black.
- In the London System, Nc6 is played in 21.1% of games at 1600-1800 but scores only 44.7% for black. The most common answer, e3, scores 55.4% for the side punishing it.
- In the Caro-Kann Defense, Bc4 is played in 7.8% of games at 1600-1800 but scores only 45.1% for white. The most common answer, d5, scores 55.4% for the side punishing it.
- In the Ruy Lopez, d6 is played in 27.6% of games at 1600-1800 but scores only 45.4% for black. The most common answer, d4, scores 56.5% for the side punishing it.
- In the Ruy Lopez, Nf6 is played in 15.8% of games at 1600-1800 but scores only 45.4% for black.
- In the French Defense, e5 is played in 2.3% of games at 1600-1800 but scores only 45.9% for white. The most common answer, d5, scores 55.8% for the side punishing it.
How to read this
“Scores only X%” uses standard chess scoring (a win counts 1, a draw counts 0.5) as a percentage. A move sitting at 40% isn’t losing by force — it’s simply performing below break-even in practice at this rating band, in this exact position, in the sample of games this site’s build actually saw. That’s a statement about a rating band’s habits, not a claim about the objective evaluation of the move.
Go deeper
Each opening's own page has the full breakdown by rating band, top replies, and real recent club games. See the full openings comparison →.