- Joined
- 12 Aug 06
- Moves
- 5380
Okay, I have no opening repertoire. In my level, openings start to become necessary to study. Openings are starting to be a major problem in my OTB games. So I decided to buy a few opening books. I am surprised by the amount of theory they contain. There is no way I can memorize all of these moves! And if my opponent makes a different move at move 14 it will all be a waste of time.
How do you higher rated guys study your opening systems? Also just out of curiosity, do any of you know how titled players study their openings?
I am guessing that they "do" memorize all those books since they make a living from this game, right?
At intermediate levels you need opening books that explain the tactical & strategic motifs behind the opening, not just stacks of variations with database dumps & scant notes.
Do some research on amazon or the various book review sites like chesscafe or Jeremy Silman's review site.
I wouldn't consider buying MCO or any other openings bible because of exactly these reasons.
In my opinion you need to discover which openings suit you best & then seek out specific books on these that are geared toward intermediate players.
For instance, if you always play 1.d4 & like building tension for a KS attack, why not look at the Colle system books?
If you are sick of closed 1.d4...d5 games as black why not get a book on the Modern Benoni or Dutch Defence?
Once you find out about which openings you prefer try something like the starting out series. I have the Dutch Defence & Sicilian ones & they are very useful.
Sick of playing the white side of the Sicilian Defence? Get a book of the Grand Prix Attack or Hannes Langrock's superb Modern Morra Gambit.
You may not have a repertoire yet, but you probably have strong preferences for open or closed games, steady development or accelerated development at the cost of a pawn etc.
Originally posted by anthiasJust alittle off subject but can you tell me what study plan you used to jump 300 points in under 2 months? I've been studying away and very slowly getting better and would appreciate if you can give me pointers.
Okay, I have no opening repertoire. In my level, openings start to become necessary to study. Openings are starting to be a major problem in my OTB games. So I decided to buy a few opening books. I am surprised by the amount of theory they contain. There is no way I can memorize all of these moves! And if my opponent makes a different move at move 14 it will ...[text shortened]... essing that they "do" memorize all those books since they make a living from this game, right?
Originally posted by anthiasI think Squelchbelch said it nicely. You are right, unless you have the time to memorize each line, don't. Remember the rationale behind the moves, not the move orders.
Okay, I have no opening repertoire. In my level, openings start to become necessary to study. Openings are starting to be a major problem in my OTB games. So I decided to buy a few opening books. I am surprised by the amount of theory they contain. There is no way I can memorize all of these moves! And if my opponent makes a different move at move 14 it will ...[text shortened]... essing that they "do" memorize all those books since they make a living from this game, right?
Go to RHP Bltiz and play a crap load of 5 min and under games. I've been playing alot of 1 minute games there using the King's gambit. If you play enough games, you will start to notice some trends in your play. If you reach a position time and again and don't know how best to proceed, then go to a database and look at through some lines. I've been beating 1600 on Fics with the kings gambit after I only been playing it for 3 weeks. Practice makes perfect.
- Joined
- 16 Feb 07
- Moves
- 27653
Originally posted by anthiasDon't worry about memorizing whole lines to begin with. Pick a couple of systems you think might fit your playing style and get books on these or pick from the books you have. Memorize some moves, but don't get hung up on memorizing whole lines at first. Also, try to get some of the basic positional and tactical themes from the books. Then go out and play games - blitz is great because folks will play all sorts of different stuff and you get a good idea of what sort of positions you'll get.
[b]Okay, I have no opening repertoire. In my level, openings start to become necessary to study. Openings are starting to be a major problem in my OTB games. So I decided to buy a few opening books. I am surprised by the amount of theory they contain. There is no way I can memorize all of these moves! And if my opponent makes a different move at move 14 it will all be a waste of time.
Most important, win or lose, go back to your book and see what they recommend after you got out of your prepared line. Play the same system for a while, and you'll find eventually you not only know some fairly long lines, but you'll also understand how to play them after you get "out of book".
Playing through games, ideally annotated games of GMs playing your opening system is helpful too.
I like the advice given by Bill Hartston. Find lots of games of the opening you want to learn and go through them quickly, without trying to understand them too deeply. An online games database like www.chesslab.com is excellent for this. I prefer to only look at games where the side I want to play won, after all I don't want to learn how to lose! You don't necessarily need to play them all through to the end.
Hopefully after several dozen games you will start to get a feel for the sort of maneuvers and ideas used, you may see the same little tricks crop up several times, a trivial example is the Black side of the French Defence, where White plays Bb5 and Black plays Bd7 and then wins a pawn with Nxe5.
Now might be the time to start playing the opening yourself. Blitz chess is good to a degree, though the games tend to be a bit shallow. Gambits are probably better suited to practice blitz games than more positional openings. I am currently trying to learn the Kings Indian and have played quite a lot of games on this site using it.
Originally posted by SquelchbelchMCO is a useful tool to help you in the more obscure openings that you do not play regularly. A good dedicated book with explanations of the tactical and strategic ideas is however essential for your favored lines of study.
At intermediate levels you need opening books that explain the tactical & strategic motifs behind the opening, not just stacks of variations with database dumps & scant notes.
Do some research on amazon or the various book review sites like chesscafe or Jeremy Silman's review site.
I wouldn't consider buying MCO or any other openings bible because o ...[text shortened]... pen or closed games, steady development or accelerated development at the cost of a pawn etc.
I have never used a DB except ocassionally gamesexplorer here to research my opponents ideas.
Originally posted by hammster21Strongly not recommended. In blitz you do not really get an opportunity to study an opening or the reasons behind certain lines. To do this you need to think and work out the ideas - for this you need time. Bullet is even less useful so avoid at all costs.In bullet he who moves quickest wins not he who plays best and it is absolutely no use in helping build up an opening repetoire.
Go to RHP Bltiz and play a crap load of 5 min and under games. I've been playing alot of 1 minute games there using the King's gambit. If you play enough games, you will start to notice some trends in your play. If you reach a position time and again and don't know how best to proceed, then go to a database and look at through some lines. I've been beatin ...[text shortened]... Fics with the kings gambit after I only been playing it for 3 weeks. Practice makes perfect.
In my opinion there is no substitute for slow careful study. Play the openings by all means, over and over again, but do it carefully and slowly with full length games here.
Originally posted by anthias
Okay, I have no opening repertoire. In my level, openings start to become necessary to study. Openings are starting to be a major problem in my OTB games. So I decided to buy a few opening books. I am surprised by the amount of theory they contain. There is no way I can memorize all of these moves! And if my opponent makes a different move at move 14 it will ...[text shortened]... essing that they "do" memorize all those books since they make a living from this game, right?
Originally posted by Dragon FireI strongly agree with Dragon Fire here!!!
Strongly [b]not recommended. In blitz you do not really get an opportunity to study an opening or the reasons behind certain lines. To do this you need to think and work out the ideas - for this you need time. Bullet is even less useful so avoid at all costs.In bullet he who moves quickest wins not he who plays best and it is absolutely no use in hel ...[text shortened]... s by all means, over and over again, but do it carefully and slowly with full length games here.[/b]
Originally posted by Dragon FireGrowing up, MCO was the bible. But now it is much less useful because of the internet databases. I use two: Chess Database and Chess Opening Exploration Utility.
MCO is a useful tool to help you in the more obscure openings that you do not play regularly. A good dedicated book with explanations of the tactical and strategic ideas is however essential for your favored lines of study.
I have never used a DB except ocassionally gamesexplorer here to research my opponents ideas.
I agree with everyone who say's that a book that explains the openings is better at first than an encyclopedia. Try "Understanding the Chess Openings" by Sam collins.
Originally posted by HeyDrezaI think blitz will cause more damage than good. At higher levels, it can be useful for analyzing certain opening variations. But, you have to blitz the same variation over and over for that to be useful. I used to play with some guys who spent 2 years blitzing the d5 variation of the Dragon. When I left, they had just started blitzing a variation where white played Be2 instead of Bc4.
Dragonfire and others- besides entertainment and fun, do you think 5 min blitz is useful for chess improvement? And if so, how, specifically? FWIW- Dan Heisman recommends blitz for for learning a new opening.
One thing I have recently read was to look at the possible endgames and pawn structure that accompanies an opening. This can be achieved by removing most of the pieces whilst keeping the pawns on the same squares. The rationale being that the pawns are more likely to remain in the same position and define the character of the position. Then analyse/play games from this position to see if you can identify the plans. It seems a sensible idea once you've developed an understanding of the opening.
For example from the French Winawer:
Remove most of the pieces (for example all except black's knights and white's bishops) and identify what you think you should do.
(PS Can we only have one FEN per post?)