Studying your openings

The openings are a strange topic for chess improvement because of the extraordinary number of mixed messages the student receives. Many chess teachers and authors advise that one focus, first of all, on tactics and endgames and give lip service to the idea that one should almost completely ignore openings until the player has already become quite strong.

On the other hand, many trainers focus almost exclusively on openings. The top players focus almost exclusively on openings, players around you are constantly talking about openings, and the chess section of any bookstore will be likely to have 3 to 4 times as many openings books as any other. In addition to that, there is also the sinking feeling of starting the game out against a well-prepared opponent who quickly traps you and the fear which this generates.

The truth is that establishing a strong opening repertoire is an important for many reasons. You can:

• Avoid well-known traps
• Develop experience with certain types of positions – and use this experience to your advantage
• Enhance your understanding of chess (if you study properly)

I have always advised my students to take on solid openings that lead to diverse strategic situations. A typical strategy is to choose off-beat lines hoping to con the opponent or “learn to play tactical positions” – but such a strategy is superficial for a number of reasons. Instead, I suggest finding truly solid openings to play as both sides – ones which are still frequented at the top levels – and to slowly begin to learn the strategy/tactics behind them. You can do this by buying manuals for the opening (the “Starting Out” series is one of my favorites because of its deep discussion on strategic matters). Learn the main lines and tactical lines by heart so as not to be caught in a dangerous territory by a knowledgeable opponent.

After you have studied a few books, and learned a few lines – play the openings as much as possible (online blitz is great for this) and after the game review the opening phase (as well as every other phase!) with an instructor or database/analysis software. Over time you will develop experience, knowledge, and deep understanding of your systems.

Finally, know when the point of “diminishing returns” is reached. Don’t spend a lot of time trying to keep up with every little wrinkle, or learn tons of theoretical evaluations and deep lines. They’ll almost never occur in your games – period. I’ve found this to be true even when facing 2300s.

If you follow these basic suggestions over a decent period of time, you’ll have all the knowledge you need to get out of the opening with a comfortable game that you understand.

Best of luck!