Lazyman's Opening Preparation: How to prepare without memorizing
Chess is a game of endless possibility. Millions of games have been played over a couple of centuries and still, most of the games reach a unique position. In fact, There are 71,852 distinct chess positions after four moves (two moves for White and two moves for Black). Despite knowing that, most people try a false attempt to memorize and find themselves getting lost in the endless possibility. However, in this blog, I am going to show you a very useful method that you can follow step by step to prepare for an opening without memorizing too much.
Eligibility Criteria:
To use this method successfully in your game, you must meet these criteria:
1. You want to avoid memorization as much as possible at any cost.
2. You have the time to play a lot of long time-control games. (at least a 5-minute blitz game)
3. You are not rated above 2000. (I still use it despite being rated over 2000)
4. The opening you are trying to prepare is not too complex and some simple move-order changes will not lose the game in most cases. For example, Traxler Counter Gambit is not eligible, but Sicilian defense is eligible because some move-order twist will not lose your game in the Sicilian in most cases.
5. You have the patience to read the entire blog
Disclaimer:
I thought up this system myself in the quarantine time of covid-19. I may have reinvented the wheel, but I did not copy it from anywhere. It was an independent invention in my unorthodox journey to 2000.
Overview:
In the traditional way, you would prepare for an opening by memorizing both your moves and your opponents' move. However, soon you would find that your opponent did not play that move and your entire labor would go in vain because you had no backup plan. However, I would suggest you prepare for an opening by noticing where your pieces should end up after several moves and possible ways to do that. In another word, when I do preparation, I only memorize my moves, not my opponents' moves.
Now, this may seem foolish, but I will guide you on how to do that step by step in this blog. I will use French Defense as an example and guide you how to play against it.
Step 1: Choosing the right square for the pieces:
Now, this is the most important and hardest step to do correctly. You need to know where your pieces should go in that particular opening. Once you know, just move those pieces there logically with calculations. In another words, you are learning the moves without move-order. You will determine the move-order in your match. Now, You need to choose the right squares for your pieces that are universal to that particular opening. Otherwise, you will realize you would not be able to use your planned setup. For example, against the French defense, no one can stop you from reaching this position:
You may wonder how I reached this position. Here is a sample variation:
You can just see, I played 8 moves of theory by just placing the pieces where I wanted them to be. However, finding a setup that is universal to an opening is very very hard because there is few books or videos about those. However, I will write a few blogs in the future where I will show you some setups against particular openings. Write in the comment which opening you want to see in the next blog.
Step 2: Understanding your plans:
After you have figured out where your pieces should go, you should have a really really good understanding of what your plans are. What do you want to achieve or do after placing the pieces there? Why did the pieces end up there? What important roles do the pieces have? Once you found a definitive, good answer to those, you will understand the plans. And remember, plans will be your guide in the dark forest of the middle game.
From the step 1 position, for example, the typical plans of white are to trade the dark square bishop and then develop his queenside by Na3, Nc2. Put the kingside knight to f4. Bring the rooks to the open file. Let's test those plans in a sample variation from the position above in step 1.
Things you can do to understand plans:
1. Analyze master games where a similar system was also played
2. You can watch opening videos, not for memorizing the line, but for understanding the typical plans.
3. Read my future blogs if I write any.
Step 3: Playing lots of games and analyzing them afterward
In the first 2 steps, you only learned about your moves and plans. Now you need to play lots of games. Time control must be at least 3/2. Then, you will realize what your opponent's plan against your system is. One very important thing here is that engines might show some moves as little inaccurate if you follow this system. As long as it is not a big blunder, you do not need to worry about those little things. These will not determine your game. Also, playing lots of games online will teach you which move to play after which move. Ultimately, this will work as a glue for your success.
Final Words:
In the entire blog, I tried to show you that to play an opening well, all you need to know is what the plan is or where the pieces should go, Then you are ready to go. If you can master this system, I can guarantee your rating will skyrocket. If you have any questions, you can ask in the comment or dm me. I am happy to help you. Good luck with your amazing chess journey.
