How to Improve: Advanced Players (Part 1)

Hello everyone! Today I'll be talking about how to improve at chess if you are rated 1800+ USCF. If you are reading this, you are obviously already a very strong player, but you might not know where to go next. Because there are many more things to know as an advanced player, I will be splitting this guide into 2-4 parts, and each part will only focus on one topic at a time. To start off, I will be explaining how to prep your opening repertoire as an advanced player. 

How to Prepare Your Openings

1. Have a solid repertoire

If you're 1800+ USCF, you should already be consistently playing some openings after studying them. If not, please figure out some openings that you would like to play, study them, and play them often. It's very hard to know how to play all openings well, and knowing the ins and outs of an opening only comes from experience. You can check out my article for intermediate players if you don't have an opening repertoire yet. If you have a coach, ask him to evaluate your playing style, which could be a crucial factor when deciding what openings you'd like to play. For instance, the Kings Indian Attack for black is generally more sharp and aggressive than the Queens Gambit Declined. Knowing your playing style is important for choosing your opening repertoire.

2. Review Your Lines

It is very important as a chess player to not only have an opening repertoire, but to KNOW it. Sometimes there are very sharp lines where if you do not know exactly how to play according to theory or previous games, you might just wind up losing. Here is an example of a line in the Najdorf (very sharp Sicilian) where both sides must literally know how to play each move correctly, or else they will be worse. 

(I would never play something like this, it's so crazy! )

Generally it's a good idea to review your lines on a consistent basis rather than cramming it in before a tournament game. Personally I spend 15-30 min a day just reviewing a couple files, and I'm done!

3. Understand, Don't Memorize

Well, this sounds a bit contradictory to what I just said, doesn't it? Of course, there are crazy variations where you just gotta memorize the moves and play them right. However, in other positions, there isn't necessarily a "best" move. You have to understand the position that arises from the opening, and be able to apply your knowledge into new positions that aren't in your preparation. For instance, what if you are planning to play that same crazy Najdorf line, but your opponent does this (as black):

First of all, this variation is playable. But let's just say you're white and have never seen this before. Maybe when you were learning the variation you just knew that black shouldn't take on e4, but now that they've taken e4 you have no clue what to do. If you frantically searched in your brain for the right move, you probably wouldn't find it, and would waste a lot of time on your clock. Instead, you would understand the point of playing Bh3, which is to allow g5. The following moves come very easily after understanding that point:

White has a good position because they followed the plan in the position, not the lines that they memorized. So yes, it's important to know the moves, and the general sequence in which they come in. However, understanding the position is very important, especially if your opponent deviates from theory at an early point in the line. 

4. Study Games In Your Openings

It's very important to study games of strong players in your opening, to understand how they approach similar positions. Studying games with existing annotations is perfect, because someone puts the thought process of the players in words for you to understand. Doing this is a great way to understand your openings, and not just memorize theory. For instance, if you're a Najdorf player, study MVL's games. He's renowned for his sharp Najdorf play. 

That's all I've got for you today, folks! I hope you enjoyed Part 1 of this guide for Advanced Players, and maybe you can sharpen your openings with these tips that I gave you today! Be sure to comment down below if I missed something, or if there's a better way to study openings! Below is the link to another article that briefly explains the importance of understanding your openings as well, enjoy!

Understand, Don't Memorize!