Don't be obsessed with Openings!!

For those like me who wonder about #6, the pawn is indeed lost because if 6.dxe4 then 6...Ng4.

1st this is chess.com and when somebody says they will not do something that means the opposite. 2nd i hustle you and you not hustle me. I name time and place. 3rd you want me to play you and send the challenge what do i look like ..... a fish. Something is definetely up and shame on me here. 4th i do not know you but you are friends with somebody that does not like me.Duh think i am stupid. He put a hit out on me. 5th your blitz is 2159 and Online is 2034 and Chess 960 is 1424.

That would be a big fat NO!

Wow, everyone falls for that King's Indian trap! I myself have gotten a few easy wins as black in that ...Bc5 line against the KIA setup in the french due to that trap. However, I don't play it anymore because of 5 e5 Nfd7 6 d4 Bb6?! (6...Be7 transposes into some tarrasch french although I don't like black in these lines) 7 b4! and the prevention of ...c5 is somewhat irritating for black. He is solid perhaps, but it is difficult for him to get play and he is cramped. I don't even think theory gives 7 b4 much attention, but houdini pointed it out to me. I gave it a lot of scrutiny (you have to, as they can be dead wrong), playing out lots of analysis and ultimately I don't think black has a great solution to the fundamental problem of not being able to play ...c5.

So there are occasions where you get an easy break and vice versa from knowing theory, so don't necessarily ignore it, but the opening is only a small fraction of the game and even if you do get an early advantage you, usually, need excellent technique to finish it off comfortably.

And after 6. Nxe4 Black has 6. ... Nxe4; 7. dxe4, Bxf2+ and White has to grit his teeth and wave the pawn goodbye, since 8. Kxf2??? drops the Queen.

Although it is worth noting I went on to lose a game as black after 7...Bxf2+ in a fairly long online game on ICC.

Oh well, I've lost games from being a Queen for a piece up... 

Never in a serious game though.

You should be obsessed with tactics from move one. You should be obsessed with development, controlling the center, protecting your king and keeping your opponent from doing the same. 

You shouldn't be obsessed with memorizing line after line of obscure theory. If you want to memorize something, try poetry. 

But the openings do reward close study, as long as you study them within the context of tactics, development, and planning. Just about every great introductory chess instruction book deals with the opening. Nimzovich's My System starts with the importance of tempi in the opening. There's nothing at all wrong with studying the opening, as long as you're studying chess, and not rote memorization.

Yeah, sure. But that's a common one, and it doesn't work in the dxe4 line.

This is a fair point.  It's actually only recently I've felt comfortable enough with my game that I'm willing to experiment in the opening with some confidence, and if my opponent is a class higher I probably woudln't have as much success :)  Two classes higher and even less I suppose.

For some perspective on the other side, I'm technically (have the number) 1800 FIDE (strength who knows, inactive) and I would constantly beat up on a C player at my club who would get bad positions out of the opening, and as you described I'd try very hard to never let them go :).  But it was never a special move order I'd memorized, it's just at some point he'd stop developing (?) or give up some center (?) or similar things.  Sure he'd bring some pieces out and castle, but then 1 or 2 moves short of completing development he'd start odd maneuvers and lose time, or open the center at an inappropriate time or whatever. 

Following the opening basics can be trickier than it seems IMO.  And maybe you're right, part of it just comes down to experience.  I also think you're right about your general improvement/positional understanding helping you... maybe more than you realize :)

One crazy line I thought was bad, but the computer didn't mind (maybe I should let it think longer) was:

Now-a-days if I saw a move I wasn't familiar with, I'd try to find a way to exploit it or do something novel myself.  During this game I was just heading for my set up with my brain turned off  : /

Yes, stuff like 7.b4.  Is it good?  Is it bad?  Well it has a good idea behind it, and it doesn't lose immediately, so lets have a chess game and find out!  (Is the sort of thinking I like today).  So thanks for showing me, if I try the KIA again I'll consider using this :).

Black's still just up a pawn in that line. 

7.b4?? is AWFUL! 7...Bxf2 Ke2 Nc3+ wins the Queen.

I don't think it is about memorizing opening lines but seeing how games from different openings tend to play out.  e.g. I read a bunch of Sicilian Dragon games.  Though I do not play that opening as Black, I know how the Yugoslav Attack would usually play out if I choose to use it as White.

It is also good to know common plans and strategies in particular openings.  (e.g. Queenside attack as Black in Sicilian, Battle for central squares in Ruy Lopez)

Just wondering, is there really a tactic if white plays dxe4 instead of Nxe4?

7...b4 was a different line Elubas gave, and it's not bad :p

I couldn't quite remember how the computer finished it (Bd7 or Qd7) but yes, white's still a pawn up, and OTB I though it was horrible and never considered it :)

@ shepi
If dxe4 then after Ng4 there's no way for white to defend f2 unfortunately :(

The problem is not that people study too much opening theory, it's that they just memorize lines without understanding the ideas behind.

If you want to get better at chess, do study opening theory, but try to understand the concepts rather than just learning the lines. I started playing sicilian dragon because I somehow liked it when I got into more serious chess, and I learnt enormously because the concepts behind the opening are very straightforward. Then when I started to play other sicilian variations, or facing sicilian defense with white, I was very accurate, because I knew the most important stuff.

I would say, don't go into memorization for the sake of it, but specialize in some openings and read good books about them. The starting out guides are very good.

Playing without any knowledge of the theory, different unsound stuff every game, as a lot of people do, is the best way to suck for ever.

I like books like Everyman chess, because they do not just include the opening lines, but they have complete games and explanations for those games.

Ninja'd!  By Everyman Chess, I was referring to the starting out series.

I'm proud of my ninja :)

I totally agree, if you just memorize openings, it will only help you for one side. For example, if I just memorize the French, I will only be able to play for black, that's obvious. However, if I learn the concepts, I will be able to counter whatever white throws against me. Also, if I'm playing white against the French, knowing the concepts will help me because I can anticipate what Black will want to do.

When "7 b4" looks that strange Smyslov, you may want to make sure you're not getting the lines mixed up