Hi there
I think one of the great beauties and advantages of correspondence chess is being able to consult Opening books int he opening phase. In this respect it has certainly helped my over the board chess. With a recent near win against Bob Eames (BCF 202, FIDE 2312) in the Barnet vs Hackney match last week. I was not worried at all about the opening which I had looked up on the excellent Chessbase online database. The game started with:-
T.Gavriel (187,2177) vs B. Eames (202,2312)
Barnet vs Hackney
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 Nf6 6.N1c3 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd5 f5 11.Bxb5 axb5 12.Nxb5 Ra4 Line
I had looked this position up due to a correspondence game. There is a nice recent win by Kasparov against Shirov in this.
Best wishes
Tryfon