Compared to tactics, the study of openings depends less on pattern recognition and intuition, and more on raw memorization. This is not to say that you shouldn't understand the ideas behind the chess openings you are studying. In fact, an understanding of the main themes and ideas of an opening will enhance your learning experience, and allow for a more rapid integration into your chess arsenal. The main challenge for the study of openings is the sheer number of them. Because of this, you will need to focus on a subset of all of the available chess openings to make the most of your time.
To narrow down which openings to study, we need to figure out what we want to accomplish and how to go about it. Here are my thoughts on the principles of opening study.
Because opening study depends on memorization, and there is only so much capacity for memorization within a limited amount of time, you can either learn a few moves in a great many openings (breadth of knowledge), or a great many moves in a few openings (depth of knowledge). Given the choice, a depth of knowledge will provide you with more benefit in your games. Therefore it is to your advantage to create a repertoire of openings, and attempt to steer your opponents into specific openings that you know extremely well.
You will need a repertoire of openings for play as both white and black so that you can play and study the same openings consistently. For example, as black, you will definitely need a prefered opening to deal with both 1.e4 and 1.d4, white's two most popular opening moves. Against 1.e4, you may choose the French 1.e4 e6. By playing e6, you no longer need to study openings associated with 1.e4 e5, such as the Ruy Lopez, the King's Gambit, or the Italian Game. An alternate choice to 1.e4 could be 1.e4 c5, firmly putting you into the Sicilian. Likewise the decision to play 1.e4 e5 exclusively precludes the French or Sicilian from your study. The main point is to choose a set of openings that you will use consistently - openings that you have studied and know in depth. These should be openings that give you the kind of game that you like to play and feel comfortable in.
Note that your study of Openings is only beneficial for the first part of any chess game. Once the game moves into the middlegame phase, the use of the openings you've memorized will no longer come to bear. Compare this to the skillset provided by tactics, which can be used in ANY phase of the game. As a result, it has been suggested that the percentage of your study time that you should devote to openings should be only 20%. I tend to agree with that statement, UNLESS you have not already established an opening repertoire for both colours. If you are still undecided about which openings to use, or do not at least know the rudimentary moves and themes of your chosen openings, I think you should devote much more time to openings until you have at least the basics of your repertoire memorized.
In fact, I am at this very point in my journey of learning chess. I have a limited breadth of knowledge of the openings, but I need to acquire a great deal of depth. I need to choose an openings repertoire - and once devoted to one, STUDY!
Playing as black, I typically respond to 1.e4 with the French (1….e6), and to 1.d4 with the Nimzo-Indian. However, playing as White, I found myself wanting to play a King's Gambit, but frequently found myself down unfamiliar paths instead, depending on Black's response. A friend recommended a book for me to read - Chess Openings for White, Explained
. As I found this at my local public library(!) I decided to give it a try. Thus far, I have read and integrated the first 6 chapters, which cover the Scotch Gambit, the Giuoco Piano and the Two Knight's Defense. I like that the repertoire so far allows for fairly similar games with common themes going into the middlegame. The repertoire is focused on open games, which I vastly prefer over closed or semi-closed game. All in all, so far I like this book. The only problem is that I've hit my renewal limit and will have to return it to the library shortly! I may end up buying this book in the end. As time goes on, if I adopt the opening repertoire in Chess Openings for White, Explained, I may purchase books specific to each of the openings presented in the book as I become more proficient in them.For my openings as black, my books are a bit all over the place. I have a book devoted to the Nimzo-Indian - Play the Nimzo-Indian
, but have not devoted much time to reading it. For the French, I do not have a book devoted to the french, but instead of been using the general opening treatise Mastering the Chess Openings: Volume 1
. As such, my knowledge of the french is more "breadth" than "depth" at this point. I intend to purchase a book such as Play the French
, as I'm sure it will provide a more dedicated treatment. I will provide reviews of any book that I purchase or use once I've completed that book. If you've read and benefited (or not benefited!) from any book I mention, please feel free to comment on it.
In this post, I covered the study of openings. In my next post on Chess Improvement, I will get into what some consider the bread and butter of chess - Strategy.
