A few weeks ago I posted my take on scientific research that argued for the importance of learning chess openings, see 8 Reasons for Learning Openings Now! Some comments I received showed that some people did not like the article too much. They argued that “memorising” opening lines is a waste of time. Really?! Let’s take a look at one of my recent online games:
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Nf6 6. a4 e6
So far, all these moves stem from my very basic opening preparation on Chessable, all memorised and played very quickly. Why should have I stopped at any point before now? I shouldn’t have; memorisation is working perfectly up to this point! However, now we are getting to a point where more complex decisions have to be taken. What’s the plan?
People who argue against “just memorising” openings keep saying that “just memorising” doesn’t help you understand the plans in the structures, where the pieces should go, etc. In my opinion, they must be memorising things completely the wrong way because memorising these lines is exactly what helped me figure out a plan in this position… b3 and then Bb2, Nbd2 and Nc4 were all in my head immediately, saving me time and giving me a concrete plan.
Granted we are at a point where if the position should change drastically, White should re-assess. For instance, if Black started playing out of the ordinary, e.g., h5, I’d have to stop and consider whether I still wanted to pursue the moves I’ve just described. However, when you are playing confidently, it’s easy for your opponent to go wrong:
7. b3 Qc7 8. Bb2 Bd6??
I’ve played 8 logical moves from a plan I picked up while studying on Chessable. My opponent was probably trying to keep up with me on the clock, not knowing that I am very very familiar with the structure he has driven the game to with 3…a6 and therefore, quickly blunders a whole piece. Can you see the tactic?
Of course, as is often the case, when you make one mistake, quickly others follow:
9. e5 Nd5 10. exd6 Qxd6 11. Nbd2 b6? 12. Nc4?!
Okay. Inaccuracy. Best move was Bxg7. However, I saw it but did not play it because I did not want to give my opponent counterplay with an open file against the side I was about to castle on.
12... Qc7? 13. Be5?!
Another inaccuracy. At this point, it doesn’t even matter, though, again the best move was Bxg7, but I prefer to harass his Queen a bit as is done in certain positions in the Rossolimo. I picked this up by studying these lines more in depth, on Chessable, by importing lines from a book on the Rossolimo that I own. A move like Be5 is not a move I’d normally consider, it looks odd. Had it not been for opening lines memorisation this sexy move may not have happened. Of course, it leads to the final blunder.
13... Qb7??
Find the last move to finish the game:
I have many more games that follow the same pattern. These games usually I end up with very low centipawn losses and great play. Sometimes my opponents get angry and accuse me of using a bot or cheating because my play ends up being so perfect. It’s not cheating; it’s learning openings in an efficient way.
Obviously, my rating is only around FIDE 1800, so I am by no means an expert at chess openings yet. In certain other games, I quickly sink. I won’t go over those until I get a chance to study them a bit more ;-) To improve in those openings, I need to take my Chessable depth level from 5–7 to 12–16 as I’ve done for certain parts of the Rossolimo.
So how do I go about studying openings? What I’ve done is I’ve learned some openings very superficially which is NOT enough for high-level play but good enough to get a decent position out of the opening. This means if I have time, for example, in an over the board game, I can sit down and find the good moves after these first few solid moves.
However, now that I’ve got those basic repertoires as a base, I delve deeper into some openings I like. 12–16 moves deep. By memorising lines this long, it helps me understand concrete ideas and middle game plans. I identify weak squares, outposts, typical tactics, good piece placement and a lot more by studying lines more in depth. Slowly, as I do this for every single part of my opening repertoire, my game should become solid in all areas, and I will improve.
This approach has its scientific foundation in the seminal work of Simon & Chase decades ago. It works for me, and it should work for you. Moreover, Chessable offers discussion tools that help you clarify and understand any position in your repertoire by getting the help from our active community. Do give it a try, it’s great to bounce ideas off other players and develop that deep understanding we all seek.
Lastly, today I am happy to post a case study of a Chessable power user who has used opening study on Chessable to achieve his lifelong ambition of being a chess master. It’s a great interview, well worth reading. Do check it out.
