Entering my first tournament (OTB) Need some opening tips

Hey everyone,

I'll be playing in my very first tourney in a couple of weeks and was hoping for some opening advice, particularly as white, I've started learning the Sicilian as black against 1" e4 and am enjoying it so far. I'm vaguely familiar with some basics of the Ryu Lopez and queens gambit declined as white but I mean JUST THE VERY BASICS.

What would be a good white opening to focus on the next two weeks in prep for this tourney, realizing full well that's not much time to devote to an opening?

Also it's a very small tourney (4 games maybe?) 1400 - 1800 rating club level

I would go d4, and brush up on the basics.  Where whites pieces are best placed in the majority of d4 openings (The king's bishop for example often goes to either, d3, c2, or even b1, but in the opening it hardly ever goes to b5).  if you plan to play d4, that should be good enough for your first OTB tournament.  hope this helps!  :)

Obviously 1.e4 and 1.d4 are both good choices. You should just choose one that you like, nobody here knows your strengths better than you.

You have a diamond membership so I'd highly recommend Lilov's videos titled "Openings For Beginners: Queen's Gambit" and "Openings For Beginners: Ruy Lopez" to help you decide.

And before someone else says it, study tactics more than openings!

Thanks for the feedback, definitely some good advice. I recently began playing chess with a desire to become much better and play more seriously, so this is actually our local tournament at the club in my city. So I figure it's a good way for me to get my feet wet with tournament play.

So far my miniscule and BASIC repertoire consists of:

White:
Ruy Lopez (Not the exchange version)

Queens Gambit Declined

Kings Indian Attack

Black

Dragondorf!

Kings indian Defense

Again - stupidly simple on all of these, maybe through move 10 on a couple but probably know through move 8 on most, and then of course if a variation is thrown in I just revert to my principles (Develop, Develop, Develop, Control the center, try not to move a piece twice in the opening....watch your tactics)

And for the record, GM Simon Williams' videos are epic and a ton of fun to watch and learn from, and I'm loving the Dragondorf in response to 1. e4

My advice is to pick something classical and stick with it. 2 weeks, ok, but also 1 or 2 years.

Classical lets the opening principals be more relevant. Like center control, speedy development, and castling.

And remember nearly all damaging blows are exchanged in the middlegame. It's common to feel uncomfortable in the opening phase, but 9 times out of 10 you'll reach a reasonable position on your own, and the result of the game will depend on your middlegame ability.

Sounds good to me :)

The KIA

A good opening for white to learn first and (mostly) prevent getting a piece snapped off early. At least it gives you a chance to have an equality into middlegame.

The KIA is a very solid (but a bit stodgy) opening for white that is for those that want to get developed and safe. Still, it has a few tactical shots against black: if the centre pawns get cleared out, try to watch for the best moment to move the N at f3, uncorking the B at g2, I've snagged a R or two at a8 now and again and even snapped off a full piece if the black Q is lollygagging on the h1-a8 diagonal. I've trapped a B or three outside black's pawn chain at c5 with the ol' c3-a4-b4-a5, if black isn't paying enough attention. 

For developing, the KIA is often good for doing the battering ram of the pawns in the centre to open things up, but you have to overprotect a bit so you can go the distance. To attack, White has to evaluate where black's weakness or underdevelopment is. If the K side is protected too well and the centre is plugged, well, the Q side is where you want to push. Pushing c3 to keep black's N from d4 at the right time is good, then later d4 at the right time to begin a battering ram in the centre, when ready.

As with any opening, one has to play, play, play it to really get a feel for the themes, pawn structure, move order issues, attack possiblities, etc.

The opening will not decide your games. Play whatever of the openings mentioned here.

Blundercheck. Predict your opponents' moves and plans. Look for tactics, for both players. Avoid risky lines that are difficult to calculate - rather make a concession. Passive moves are better than risky moves (unless you are already losing). Play a reasonable move somewhat quickly rather than ponder which one of the reasonable moves is the best. Time trouble is a blunderfest. Don't play quickly even when opponent is in time trouble.

And most importantly: have fun. 

No, and definetely not on 1400-1800 club level. :-) 

You might get an easier middle game, and you can get an advantage on the clock by knowing a few moves, but still blunders decide most games.

Tactics and tactical blunders decide most games on this level.

@christianLoew try following repetoir as black "French defence" for playing against e4. See chess com lectures. Play "delayed Dutchdefence" against d4. As white study "torre". "london" and "colle" . Above openings need less preparation. Theory less. Do "300 positions" it covers both tactics and endgame. Play for fun. All the best.

Great advice all, really appreciate it!

Depends on what you like... I would recommend you not to play and learn heavy main lines but rather play some solid and decent less played lines.

What you could play as a e4 repertoire:

1.e4 e5

1.e4 e5 alternative :

1.e4 c6

1.e4 e6

1. e4 c5

1. e4 c5 alternative

d4 repertoire: (this is what I play, you can ask me for more if you like)

1.d4 d5:

Alternatives:

1d4 Nf6

Alternative

Hope this could help you. Ask me for details and so on if you like. Its important that for each line you decide to play you look at some games or analyse the lines yourself so you get a understanding of whats going on and what your typical plans and ideas are. Ciao!

you can also look at these patterns, they are basic and key:

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/more-puzzles/basic-mating-patterns

when you get to the  middle game (or  late opening) don"t leave any piece ungarded, that is when opponents look for Combinations / Sacs

@ChristianLoew if you are going to play 1.e4 then you need to be familiar with the white side of the Sicilian because that is what the majority of the replies to 1.e4 are going to be at that level.

@dglidewell032 

This brings up an important question I've come across when trying to decipher openings, terminology and what color to play as.

For example when it says "Sicilian Defense" "King's Indian Defense" or "French Defense" I ASSUME (Incorrectly or Correctly?) these are all played as black...because it is a DEFENSE? Right?

Where as something that says "King's Indian Attack" would be a White opening?

OR is it that you can play ANY of these openings from both perspectives? Kind of confusing
Also @Till_98 

Thanks for those breakdowns, definitely gives me a lot to look through and think through! I'll definitely hit you up if I have some questions etc.

You can play most openings as White and Black. You can start with 1.c4 and would be able to get at least some type of sicilian structure. But the french defense is a black opening, not because of the word defence. You could also say I play the French. The sicilian is also a black opening as black decides to go for c5 after e4. The kings Indian attack is a white opening, dont focus on the name and the word attack there, that white opening is just named like this. Cheers

You´re welcome. Ah and what can also help you is to prepare on each opponent before the games, so you know what openings they play. Normally you can find opponents games in databases like chessbase .

link: http://database.chessbase.com/js/apps/database/ 

just search for the name of your opponent. I guess you can find out who you will be playing or at least who is competing in the tournament.