In the previous article I discussed two important principles in building your opening repertoire. I suggest that you operate from your strengths (which I defined not as your personality or chess-related preferences, but as structures/systems you’ve developed a personal history with) – and secondly I recommended expanding towards main lines as much as you can stomach.
Here is an example of a very reliable opening repertoire –I’ve limited the number of replies I’ve considered for the opponent to the most common options.
Keep in mind that I’m not explicitly recommending you adopt these openings. I’m simply demonstrating what a repertoire based on a principled approach looks like.
Sample Repertoire
White: 1.e4 with the Ruy Lopez against 1…e5, Open Sicilian against 1…c5
Black: Sicilian Dragon, Semi-Slav
Discussion
All of these openings have a long history as being sound. The Open Sicilian is a bit tricky for White to play/learn because Black has many diverse setups against it – but in the end the amount of setups for White to choose from in these systems is not very huge, and the plans are actually very closely related and limited no matter what system Black chooses.
Such a system of play allows you to constantly develop in new directions and develop a rich understanding of attacking chess.
Similarly, the Ruy Lopez tends to be more position but still has an aggressive basis with kingside attacks still being intrinsically tied into its basis. Again, Black has a large choice of systems but White’s plans are often quite similar no matter how Black plays, and it is learnable.
The combination of Open Sicilian and Ruy Lopez will have a high potential of success no matter what level you are or aspire to. Whether you’re 1000, 1700, or 2800 – these are time-tested systems.
Of course I haven’t mentioned how to play against the Caro, French, or other systems – they occur on a less frequent basis and White has a number of principled options against them. They are very good systems in their own right, but again White can react by following the principles we’ve discussed.
As Black this repertoire includes the very sharp Sicilian Dragon. This is a good time for me to talk about many of the fears related to opening study. Many players have heard that an opening like the Sicilian Dragon requires a lot of theoretical study. But this neglects the reality of your opponents who, just like you, don’t know everything about every system – in fact, they may know very little – including masters. Furthermore, even a more knowledgeable opponent (which is rarer than you might think) still has to be very skillful in converting the fruits of his labor if he should trap you.
The best way to learn a sharp system like the Sicilian Dragon is simply to start playing it. Play it in blitz games, play it against friends, and yes play it I tournaments. By brooding over the problems of the positions and having a couple of good and bad experiences – you’ll have something to study. Figure out what you could have done better by using books, databases, software…whatever you might have. After just a couple months of this process, you’ll very likely realize that no one is simply rattling off 20 moves of theory, and that you’ve acquired more knowledge than 80% of players have about your particular systems.
For a crash course in your openings I recommended looking at the “Starting Out” series which provides excellent content and explains the ideas of a great many positions.
I think we’ve demonstrated during this article what a principled approach to the openings might look like. If you feel intimidated, don’t despair. First of all, operate from positions you feel comfortable and experienced with. And gradually expand towards more main-line handlings of those systems.
If you are totally new to the game and all this sounds like Greek to you, then of course you may not benefit too much from worrying about the opening – but even in that case these suggestions can be very helpful.
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