Borrowing a response pattern from many other disciplines (Best diet? The one you'll stick to. Best workout? Ditto. Best self-defense weapon? The one you'll have with you, etc.), the best opening is the one you know well.
The opening you know well will be the one that interests you the most.
It's true that if you're playing high-level correspondence chess you need to be rather careful with these opening choices, but otherwise I really do contend it's just a matter of finding one you enjoy playing and will put in the time to learn and understand.
These days I don't really have a main weapon, and just dabble in everything, but if I had to pick a couple to recommend, I'd probably go with 1...e5 against 1.e4 and the Nimzo/Bogo complex against d4.
Rich positions with a lot to learn in both cases, but as I indicated initially, it's really just a matter of what you enjoy and will spend time with.
If the idea of 1...e5 bores you immensely, but you find the Scandinavian quirky and interesting, then by all means learn all you can about the Scandinavian.
You'll do better with a "suboptimal" opening that you know well than with an excellent one that you can't convince yourself to study.
Cheers!
The opening you know well will be the one that interests you the most.
It's true that if you're playing high-level correspondence chess you need to be rather careful with these opening choices, but otherwise I really do contend it's just a matter of finding one you enjoy playing and will put in the time to learn and understand.
These days I don't really have a main weapon, and just dabble in everything, but if I had to pick a couple to recommend, I'd probably go with 1...e5 against 1.e4 and the Nimzo/Bogo complex against d4.
Rich positions with a lot to learn in both cases, but as I indicated initially, it's really just a matter of what you enjoy and will spend time with.
If the idea of 1...e5 bores you immensely, but you find the Scandinavian quirky and interesting, then by all means learn all you can about the Scandinavian.
You'll do better with a "suboptimal" opening that you know well than with an excellent one that you can't convince yourself to study.
Cheers!