Answers.Body: <p>I'll let Stockfish decide it. :-)</p>
  
  <pre><code>Analysis by Stockfish 6:
  
  1. +/=  (0.33): 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 a6 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nxe5 Nxe4 7.d3 Nf6 8.Re1 Be7 9.Bg5 0-0 10.Nc3 Bf5 11.h3 Bb4 
  2. =  (0.18): 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 e6 3.Bf4 Nf6 4.e3 Be7 5.Nbd2 0-0 6.Bd3 Nh5 7.c3 Nxf4 8.exf4 Nc6 9.0-0 Bd7 10.a3 h6 
  3. =  (0.17): 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.e3 Be7 5.Nc3 0-0 6.Bd3 c5 7.cxd5 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nxd5 9.0-0 Nc6 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bd2 
  4. =  (0.16): 1.e3 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 Be7 4.Nc3 0-0 5.Be2 d5 6.0-0 c5 7.d4 Nc6 8.Bd2 dxc4 9.dxc5 Qa5 10.Bxc4 Qxc5 
  5. =  (0.15): 1.Nc3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 e6 5.Bd3 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Bd2 a6 8.Re1 Bd7 9.a3 h6 10.e4 dxe4 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.Rxe4 
  6. =  (0.00): 1.a3 e5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 Nd4 7.0-0 0-0 8.d3 Bd7 9.Be3 Nxe2+ 10.Qxe2 Ng4 11.Nd5 f5 12.h3 Nxe3 13.Qxe3 
  7. =  (-0.01): 1.c3 d5 2.d4 Bf5 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 Bd6 5.Bxd6 cxd6 6.Nd2 Nf6 7.Ngf3 0-0 8.Be2 Nbd7 9.0-0 Qb6 10.Qb3 h6 11.Qxb6 
  8. =  (-0.03): 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Bb4 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.d4 Bf5 8.Bd2 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Ne4 10.Nd2 Nxc3 11.bxc3 h6 
  9. =  (-0.06): 1.h3 e5 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 0-0 5.Bc4 Nc6 6.0-0 Bxc3 7.dxc3 Nxe4 8.Bd5 Nf6 9.Bxc6 dxc6 10.Nxe5 Bf5 11.Be3 Qxd1 
  10. =  (-0.10): 1.d3 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Nc3 Bf5 6.Bd3 e6 7.Bd2 Bd6 8.Bxf5 exf5 9.0-0 0-0 10.a3 h6 11.h3 
  11. =  (-0.17): 1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Be2 Be7 5.d4 0-0 6.0-0 Bd7 7.c4 dxc4 8.Bxc4 c5 9.Nc3 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Nc6 
  12. =  (-0.12): 1.g3 e5 2.Nf3 e4 3.Nh4 d5 4.d3 exd3 5.cxd3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Bc5 7.Qc2 Be7 8.0-0 Nf6 9.Bf4 0-0 10.Nc3 d4 
  13. =  (-0.18): 1.b3 e5 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.Bd3 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 a6 7.Bb2 Nc6 8.Na4 Ba7 9.Nc3 Bd7 10.Nd5 b5 11.c3 
  14. =  (-0.19): 1.h4 d5 2.d4 c5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.a3 c4 7.Qe2 Be7 8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 0-0 10.Nxf6+ Bxf6 
  15. =  (-0.22): 1.a4 e5 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nxe4 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nxe5 Qe7 6.Qe2 d6 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Nc3 Bd7 9.Bf4 h6 10.h3 0-0-0 11.0-0-0 Kb8 
  16. =/+  (-0.32): 1.Nh3 e5 2.e3 d5 3.d4 Nc6 4.Bb5 exd4 5.Nf4 Bb4+ 6.c3 dxc3 7.Nxc3 Nge7 8.0-0 Bxc3 9.bxc3 0-0 10.Ba3 Bf5 11.Qa4 
  17. =/+  (-0.37): 1.Na3 e5 2.e4 Nf6 3.d3 d5 4.exd5 Nxd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Be2 Bc5 7.0-0 0-0 8.Bd2 Bf5 9.Nc4 f6 10.a3 b5 11.Ne3 Nxe3 12.fxe3 
  18. =/+  (-0.47): 1.b4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e5 3.Nxe5 Bxb4 4.c3 Be7 5.d4 d6 6.Nd3 0-0 7.Nd2 Nc6 8.e3 d5 9.Be2 Ne4 10.Qb3 
  19. =/+  (-0.42): 1.f3 e5 2.e4 Nc6 3.Ne2 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nbc3 Qd8 6.Ng3 a6 7.Bc4 Nf6 8.d3 b5 9.Bb3 Bb4 10.0-0 0-0 11.Nge4 Nxe4 12.Nxe4 Qd4+ 13.Kh1 
  20. =/+  (-0.69): 1.g4 d5 2.e3 e5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bg2 Be6 5.d4 e4 6.h4 Be7 7.g5 h6 8.f3 exf3 9.Qxf3 hxg5 10.hxg5 Rxh1 11.Bxh1 
  </code></pre>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-23T00:53:24.060Z
Answers.Text: The most objective answer. +1.
Answers.UserDisplayName: 11684
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-23T04:04:31.840Z
Answers.Text: @11684 Why was this +1? This doesn't answer anything about the question and deserves a -1.
Answers.UserDisplayName: SmallChess
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-23T14:42:36.260Z
Answers.Text: Do you know how to read the stockfish analysis? Stockfish is a very strong engine and concludes that `1. g4` would be the worst move for white, giving black a bigger advantage than white could have had. Anything else would be opinion-based or at least less objective than the kibitzing of a top engine. @StudentT
Answers.UserDisplayName: 11684
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-23T14:44:25.623Z
Answers.Text: @11684 I helped coding Stockfish... Please note that my comment was written before Brian Towers edited the question. Back then, the question was about something else and indeed this answer failed to answer it.
Answers.UserDisplayName: SmallChess
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-23T14:47:54.630Z
Answers.Text: That's not possible; the question was edited 18 hours ago while your comment is only 10 hours old. Also I remember seeing the question as it is now before upvoting and leaving my first comment. As an aside, my question about being able to read the analysis was profound (some people on this site can't even read algebraic notation); no offense intended. Kudos for your great work at Stockfish!
Answers.UserDisplayName: 11684
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-23T14:48:28.070Z
Answers.Text: The answer was written before the edit though; strange...
Answers.UserDisplayName: 11684
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-23T14:48:50.900Z
Answers.Text: Just a slight nitpick on the wording: Stockfish didn't "conclude" anything because the analysis never "stops" (in this lifetime). This snapshot was taken after Stockfish had reached about a 20-ply depth-of-search. In other words, take the values as useful approximations.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Jeff Y
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-25T00:20:39.217Z
Answers.Text: Are you serious? First move analysis with engine?
Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-25T04:48:02.673Z
Answers.Text: The answer is equally valid before and after the edit.
Answers.UserDisplayName: limits
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-27T08:06:18.337Z
Answers.Text: @Saibot I agree with you. I think it's absurd that dumping engine analysis like this proves anything. Computer engine is not designed for anything like this. I did a -1 but since then got outvoted : - (
Answers.UserDisplayName: SmallChess
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-28T04:09:37.447Z
Answers.Text: I think this answer is fine, indeed I'd find it hard to imagine a better one (if you don't include "this isn't a good question" as a good answer).
Answers.UserDisplayName: Clinton
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2017-10-09T12:00:46.127Z
Answers.Text: No serious player would believe that Black has the advantage after 1.g3, 1.b3 or 1.d3. If you need a proof that an engine analysis at move 1 cannot be relevant, notice that it gives 1.d3 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 as +0.10 for the player on move, and 1.Nc3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 as +0.15, although both position are plain identical.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Evargalo
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-22T17:42:47.213Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-12-22T17:42:47.213Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Jeff Y
Answers.Body: <p>Firstly, I find it quite silly to copy paste engine evaluation tree as an answer. Engines are not strategists, actually, engines are silly when it comes to strategy, comparing to humans. Therefore, it's wrong to use engine evaluation tree, and it is not a contribution, anybody can copy paste engine output.</p>
  
  <p>As it's a total-beginner question, I would recommend you to go 1.e4 for an open and tactically rich play to improve your game, instead of searching for best opening move(s), because it's not a simple question, actually extremely hard one. </p>
  
  <p>But if you really want an answer, all top-level playable first moves are secure enough to play(so you won't lose your first move advantage). If top level players(black side) can't refute them, your opponents can't refute them too. Including but not limited to these: 1.c4, 1.d4, 1.e4, Nf3, 1.Nc3, 1.g3 etc.</p>
  
  <p>There are two moves I'm quite certain that loses advantage, 1.a4 and 1.h4, which achieves nothing useful, and weakens pawn structure. </p>
  
  <p>Lastly, an opening is strong when the practitioner understands the underlying strategy. So, try to understand the opening(which opening you decide to play), memorizing variations is not enough. Even if you memorize all variations in 10 moves, if you don't get the idea of the opening, you can't put the resulting position to good use.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-25T23:54:55.737Z
Answers.Text: As the original question stated before the edit, I was actually more interested in the hypothetical question where you got to choose the opening move but then your opponent could then choose to take over white, what move you'd choose to minimise your disadvantage. I thought it would be an interesting variant to neutralise white's advantage.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Clinton
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-26T00:28:50.947Z
Answers.Text: So, do you mean, you actually ask for the move which is the closest to even, for black and white?
Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-26T05:57:57.750Z
Answers.Text: Basically that's what I was curious about.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Clinton
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-26T18:05:29.267Z
Answers.Text: Nobody can answer this question and prove it for today(this may change in future if we have enough computational power to beat chess), but I would say 1.e3 is closest to even. Because, white moves towards center, claiming some space, preparing for development but not too fast, letting black to catch up.
Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-27T07:59:04.537Z
Answers.Text: @Clinton I think Brian Towers had made a mistake of incorrectly edited your question. We are not supposed to modify your overall intention. But you're also not supposed to accept the answer if it doesn't answer your question. It was very confusing.
Answers.UserDisplayName: SmallChess
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-27T08:04:04.990Z
Answers.Text: @Clinton Next time, if someone modifies your question to something you aren't interested, edit back!
Answers.UserDisplayName: SmallChess
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-28T04:05:57.310Z
Answers.Text: The stockfish evaluation is a good guide. It shows that roughly speaking, banning central knight moves, d4 and e-pawn moves eliminates the advantage for white. I was also surprised that _most_ moves result in a disadvantage for white, I would have thought it would have been at least half breaking even, but on reflection this actually makes sense.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Clinton
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-28T13:39:02.170Z
Answers.Text: Engine in move 1 is no guide at all. It only sums predefined metrics by programmers and shows you. Speaking according to that evaluation tree is nonsense.
Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-28T13:40:50.370Z
Answers.Text: Also values are so close, difference is insignificant
Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-25T00:44:16.853Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-12-26T18:17:19.130Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2015-12-26T18:17:19.130Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: ferit
Body: <p>What White moves give away the first-move advantage?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2015-12-22T01:26:17.003Z
Comments.Text: The question in the title is not opinion-based, so I disagree with the closing.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Dag Oskar Madsen
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2015-12-22T12:15:41.347Z
Comments.Text: The help regarding relevance says this: "You should only ask practical, answerable questions based on actual problems that you face. Chatty, open-ended questions diminish the usefulness of our site and push other questions off the front page". This fits the question. My answer to the question would be opinion based, e.g. "x is a good e4 player and so am I. I would play white if he opened e4 but black otherwise" or "I want to practice my black repertoire against e4. I would play black against e4 but white otherwise"
Comments.UserDisplayName: Brian Towers
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2015-12-22T17:49:33.880Z
Comments.Text: I think this is a good question and I hope it is not closed. It could be rephrased as "What White moves give away the first-move advantage?" if that makes people more comfortable with it. Of course it is opinion-based, but so are all the questions here about strategy.
Comments.UserDisplayName: dfan
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2015-12-23T18:52:53.097Z
Comments.Text: It is also very similar to this question: http://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/5739/what-is-the-worst-possible-first-move-for-white-1-f3-or-1-g4
Comments.UserDisplayName: BlindKungFuMaster
Tags: <chess-variants>
Title: What first moves would be advantageous for black?
ThreadText: # What first moves would be advantageous for black?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2015-12-21)
  
  What White moves give away the first-move advantage?
  
  **Tags:** chess-variants
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: The question in the title is not opinion-based, so I disagree with the closing.  
  > **username_2**: The help regarding relevance says this: "You should only ask practical, answerable questions based on actual problems that you face. Chatty, open-ended questions diminish the usefulness of our site and push other questions off the front page". This fits the question. My answer to the question would be opinion based, e.g. "x is a good e4 player and so am I. I would play white if he opened e4 but black otherwise" or "I want to practice my black repertoire against e4. I would play black against e4 but white otherwise"  
  > **username_3**: I think this is a good question and I hope it is not closed. It could be rephrased as "What White moves give away the first-move advantage?" if that makes people more comfortable with it. Of course it is opinion-based, but so are all the questions here about strategy.  
  > **username_4**: It is also very similar to this question: http://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/5739/what-is-the-worst-possible-first-move-for-white-1-f3-or-1-g4  
  
  ---
  
  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_5 on 2015-12-22. Score: 2 | Accepted answer
  
  I'll let Stockfish decide it. :-)
  
  ```
  Analysis by Stockfish 6:
  
  1. +/=  (0.33): 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 a6 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nxe5 Nxe4 7.d3 Nf6 8.Re1 Be7 9.Bg5 0-0 10.Nc3 Bf5 11.h3 Bb4 
  2. =  (0.18): 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 e6 3.Bf4 Nf6 4.e3 Be7 5.Nbd2 0-0 6.Bd3 Nh5 7.c3 Nxf4 8.exf4 Nc6 9.0-0 Bd7 10.a3 h6 
  3. =  (0.17): 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.e3 Be7 5.Nc3 0-0 6.Bd3 c5 7.cxd5 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nxd5 9.0-0 Nc6 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bd2 
  4. =  (0.16): 1.e3 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 Be7 4.Nc3 0-0 5.Be2 d5 6.0-0 c5 7.d4 Nc6 8.Bd2 dxc4 9.dxc5 Qa5 10.Bxc4 Qxc5 
  5. =  (0.15): 1.Nc3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 e6 5.Bd3 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Bd2 a6 8.Re1 Bd7 9.a3 h6 10.e4 dxe4 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.Rxe4 
  6. =  (0.00): 1.a3 e5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 Nd4 7.0-0 0-0 8.d3 Bd7 9.Be3 Nxe2+ 10.Qxe2 Ng4 11.Nd5 f5 12.h3 Nxe3 13.Qxe3 
  7. =  (-0.01): 1.c3 d5 2.d4 Bf5 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 Bd6 5.Bxd6 cxd6 6.Nd2 Nf6 7.Ngf3 0-0 8.Be2 Nbd7 9.0-0 Qb6 10.Qb3 h6 11.Qxb6 
  8. =  (-0.03): 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Bb4 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.d4 Bf5 8.Bd2 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Ne4 10.Nd2 Nxc3 11.bxc3 h6 
  9. =  (-0.06): 1.h3 e5 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 0-0 5.Bc4 Nc6 6.0-0 Bxc3 7.dxc3 Nxe4 8.Bd5 Nf6 9.Bxc6 dxc6 10.Nxe5 Bf5 11.Be3 Qxd1 
  10. =  (-0.10): 1.d3 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Nc3 Bf5 6.Bd3 e6 7.Bd2 Bd6 8.Bxf5 exf5 9.0-0 0-0 10.a3 h6 11.h3 
  11. =  (-0.17): 1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Be2 Be7 5.d4 0-0 6.0-0 Bd7 7.c4 dxc4 8.Bxc4 c5 9.Nc3 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Nc6 
  12. =  (-0.12): 1.g3 e5 2.Nf3 e4 3.Nh4 d5 4.d3 exd3 5.cxd3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Bc5 7.Qc2 Be7 8.0-0 Nf6 9.Bf4 0-0 10.Nc3 d4 
  13. =  (-0.18): 1.b3 e5 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.Bd3 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 a6 7.Bb2 Nc6 8.Na4 Ba7 9.Nc3 Bd7 10.Nd5 b5 11.c3 
  14. =  (-0.19): 1.h4 d5 2.d4 c5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.a3 c4 7.Qe2 Be7 8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 0-0 10.Nxf6+ Bxf6 
  15. =  (-0.22): 1.a4 e5 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nxe4 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nxe5 Qe7 6.Qe2 d6 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Nc3 Bd7 9.Bf4 h6 10.h3 0-0-0 11.0-0-0 Kb8 
  16. =/+  (-0.32): 1.Nh3 e5 2.e3 d5 3.d4 Nc6 4.Bb5 exd4 5.Nf4 Bb4+ 6.c3 dxc3 7.Nxc3 Nge7 8.0-0 Bxc3 9.bxc3 0-0 10.Ba3 Bf5 11.Qa4 
  17. =/+  (-0.37): 1.Na3 e5 2.e4 Nf6 3.d3 d5 4.exd5 Nxd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Be2 Bc5 7.0-0 0-0 8.Bd2 Bf5 9.Nc4 f6 10.a3 b5 11.Ne3 Nxe3 12.fxe3 
  18. =/+  (-0.47): 1.b4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e5 3.Nxe5 Bxb4 4.c3 Be7 5.d4 d6 6.Nd3 0-0 7.Nd2 Nc6 8.e3 d5 9.Be2 Ne4 10.Qb3 
  19. =/+  (-0.42): 1.f3 e5 2.e4 Nc6 3.Ne2 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nbc3 Qd8 6.Ng3 a6 7.Bc4 Nf6 8.d3 b5 9.Bb3 Bb4 10.0-0 0-0 11.Nge4 Nxe4 12.Nxe4 Qd4+ 13.Kh1 
  20. =/+  (-0.69): 1.g4 d5 2.e3 e5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bg2 Be6 5.d4 e4 6.h4 Be7 7.g5 h6 8.f3 exf3 9.Qxf3 hxg5 10.hxg5 Rxh1 11.Bxh1 
  
  ```
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_6**: The most objective answer. +1.  
  > **username_7**: @username_6 Why was this +1? This doesn't answer anything about the question and deserves a -1.  
  > **username_6**: Do you know how to read the stockfish analysis? Stockfish is a very strong engine and concludes that `1. g4` would be the worst move for white, giving black a bigger advantage than white could have had. Anything else would be opinion-based or at least less objective than the kibitzing of a top engine. @StudentT  
  > **username_7**: @username_6 I helped coding Stockfish... Please note that my comment was written before username_2 username_2 edited the question. Back then, the question was about something else and indeed this answer failed to answer it.  
  > **username_6**: That's not possible; the question was edited 18 hours ago while your comment is only 10 hours old. Also I remember seeing the question as it is now before upvoting and leaving my first comment. As an aside, my question about being able to read the analysis was profound (some people on this site can't even read algebraic notation); no offense intended. Kudos for your great work at Stockfish!  
  > **username_6**: The answer was written before the edit though; strange...  
  > **username_5**: Just a slight nitpick on the wording: Stockfish didn't "conclude" anything because the analysis never "stops" (in this lifetime). This snapshot was taken after Stockfish had reached about a 20-ply depth-of-search. In other words, take the values as useful approximations.  
  > **username_8**: Are you serious? First move analysis with engine?  
  > **username_9**: The answer is equally valid before and after the edit.  
  > **username_7**: @Saibot I agree with you. I think it's absurd that dumping engine analysis like this proves anything. Computer engine is not designed for anything like this. I did a -1 but since then got outvoted : - (  
  > **username_0**: I think this answer is fine, indeed I'd find it hard to imagine a better one (if you don't include "this isn't a good question" as a good answer).  
  > **username_10**: No serious player would believe that Black has the advantage after 1.g3, 1.b3 or 1.d3. If you need a proof that an engine analysis at move 1 cannot be relevant, notice that it gives 1.d3 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 as +0.10 for the player on move, and 1.Nc3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 as +0.15, although both position are plain identical.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_8 on 2015-12-25. Score: 2
  
  Firstly, I find it quite silly to copy paste engine evaluation tree as an answer. Engines are not strategists, actually, engines are silly when it comes to strategy, comparing to humans. Therefore, it's wrong to use engine evaluation tree, and it is not a contribution, anybody can copy paste engine output.
  
  As it's a total-beginner question, I would recommend you to go 1.e4 for an open and tactically rich play to improve your game, instead of searching for best opening move(s), because it's not a simple question, actually extremely hard one.
  
  But if you really want an answer, all top-level playable first moves are secure enough to play(so you won't lose your first move advantage). If top level players(black side) can't refute them, your opponents can't refute them too. Including but not limited to these: 1.c4, 1.d4, 1.e4, Nf3, 1.Nc3, 1.g3 etc.
  
  There are two moves I'm quite certain that loses advantage, 1.a4 and 1.h4, which achieves nothing useful, and weakens pawn structure.
  
  Lastly, an opening is strong when the practitioner understands the underlying strategy. So, try to understand the opening(which opening you decide to play), memorizing variations is not enough. Even if you memorize all variations in 10 moves, if you don't get the idea of the opening, you can't put the resulting position to good use.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: As the original question stated before the edit, I was actually more interested in the hypothetical question where you got to choose the opening move but then your opponent could then choose to take over white, what move you'd choose to minimise your disadvantage. I thought it would be an interesting variant to neutralise white's advantage.  
  > **username_8**: So, do you mean, you actually ask for the move which is the closest to even, for black and white?  
  > **username_0**: Basically that's what I was curious about.  
  > **username_8**: Nobody can answer this question and prove it for today(this may change in future if we have enough computational power to beat chess), but I would say 1.e3 is closest to even. Because, white moves towards center, claiming some space, preparing for development but not too fast, letting black to catch up.  
  > **username_7**: @username_0 I think username_2 username_2 had made a mistake of incorrectly edited your question. We are not supposed to modify your overall intention. But you're also not supposed to accept the answer if it doesn't answer your question. It was very confusing.  
  > **username_7**: @username_0 Next time, if someone modifies your question to something you aren't interested, edit back!  
  > **username_0**: The stockfish evaluation is a good guide. It shows that roughly speaking, banning central knight moves, d4 and e-pawn moves eliminates the advantage for white. I was also surprised that _most_ moves result in a disadvantage for white, I would have thought it would have been at least half breaking even, but on reflection this actually makes sense.  
  > **username_8**: Engine in move 1 is no guide at all. It only sums predefined metrics by programmers and shows you. Speaking according to that evaluation tree is nonsense.  
  > **username_8**: Also values are so close, difference is insignificant  
  
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