Preparation to a game

How do you usually prepare for a game against a strong player (if you know whether you play whites or blacks)?
On Tue I'm playing a opponent rated 1700s in a league game, while my rating is 1500s. I know I'll play whites and I'm thinking of King's Indian Attack.
Please, give your suggestions for efficient preparation. Possible tips for type of play against a stronger opponent are also welcome.
Regards,
Guych.
Edit: It'll be OTB in a league season among the local clubs.

Play your game. Don't change it if he is a tactically better player.

It would really help if you knew HIS openings.
What does he play against 1.e4?
What does he play against 1.d4?

This way you can prepare a specific variation for him to walk right into.

If you don't know these things it is harder to prepare.

Against a young player, it is best to play closed less main line openings.

A. They are more likely to be well versed in opening theory.
B. They are likely very good at tactics and attacking games.

Against an older player, I think you should go for more open positions (if you are a fairly good tactician).
Play more aggressively.

These are just general guidelines.

THERE IS ALWAYS AN EXCEPTION.

I hope this helps.

Let me give an example of how knowing what he plays helps.

Let's say you never open with 1.e4 but you find out your opponent likes the Sicilian Najdorf.

Even though, you really don't know much about 1.e4, you can still play it because you only have to learn a single line.

Now lets go a step further.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 would be an interesting way to prepare for this particular player.
You could just go over a few lines and see how the play turns out.
I guarantee you he won't have seen this lately, if ever.

I'm not saying this would be a great variation but that is how you generally prepare for a certain opponent.

Originally posted by paulbuchmanfromfics
It would really help if you knew HIS openings.
What does he play against 1.e4?
What does he play against 1.d4?

This way you can prepare a specific variation for him to walk right into.

If you don't know these things it is harder to prepare.

Against a young player, it is best to play closed less main line openings.

A. They are more ...[text shortened]... y.

These are just general guidelines.

THERE IS ALWAYS AN EXCEPTION.

I hope this helps.

Thank you for the advice. I'll keep them for Tue 🙂
Unfortunately, I don't know what opennings he uses. I think he's just several years older than me (I'm in my late 20s).
Since I don't know his opennings I thought KIA could be a good option, which could work against a variety of opennings by blacks. I havent really considered d4 too much, because I've mostly played e4 (approx in 85% of my games).