How to keep track of variations in my opening?

Let me explain.  I´m fairly new to chess, so I´m fairly new to the opening I play for White, The Scotch.  I pretty much have the book moves down up to move 10, but how many opponents play by the book, lol.  This weekend for example, while playing the Scotch, I saw d5, d6, and f6 on move 3 for Black. None of them main line.  After these games I compare the pgn file to a data base to see what were the best possible moves I could have made as White.  Now my question to you more experienced members here is the following, what is a good way to keep track of these variations so that I know how to play them when they come up again?  I have a good memory, but not good enough that going through the lines once with the data base I can remember them.  I could write them down in a note book, but I am much better learning something visually then just looking at the games notation.  Whenever I follow someone´s notated game, I need to set up a board or use the PC to be able to follow along.  I can´t follow the whole game in my head yet. A lot of people here post their games in a thread where you can click on the buttons and scroll through the game in a kind of viewer.  Something like that would be great for me, but I don´t know if it´s a program specific to this site, or one can create these files on their own computer and play through them whenever they want.  I´d really appreciate any suggestions on how I can organize these non-main line variations so that I can have them ready for review when ever I want, which should be often, lol. Thanks in advance, H.G.

If someone plays a strange move in the opening do the following:

1. Think! Don't blindly carry on with a "book" move - it might not work now that they have deviated from the line you are familiar with.

2. Look at what they might be trying to do with their move. Make sure that you are not going to overlook a threat.

3. Look at what they have weakened (if anything) by playing such a move. Depending on the move it may require that you change your strategy or just carry on as normal.

4. Remember basic opening principals. If you are in doubt developing quickly is usually a good option.

5. Don't necessarily try to "punish" their move. If you see a good tactical response then go ahead but remember that sometimes their move isn't book because it simply isn't the best move available. For example if white starts with 1. a3 then there is no way of punishing that move. However other moves such as e4 and d4 are preferred because they are considered better. Black should just continue as normal and look forward to a good game.

Basically, don't remember variations, remember principals :)

Hope this helps!

You can simply try googling the line by searching the moves. Or for instance use the opening explorer here.

The program your looking for is called something like winboard. Where you can insert pgn files and you can play through the whole game. When you post a messsage you see the little buttons above it. The left one of the chess diagram, let's you post games, puzzles and diagrams.

There's no real board viewer function here I believe but you can post your games in blogs in the manner described above, You can also use an analysis board, but this won't let you insert pgn files. You'll have to make the moves manually

You need to download a interface ( I suggest Scid, others will say Arena, or winboard or whatever). Its free.

Get yourself a database of games,(also free) and load it into your inteface, and spend a day learning how it works.

Thank you all for your replys so far.  I think that I am going to try Arena and use my own games in the database for review.  To binblaster, thank you for such practical advice on the opening.  And I certainly understand your point about not trying to learn every strange move in the opening!! But wouldn´t it be advantageous to at least be familiar with the second and third most chosen variation of the opening I´m playing?

Chess Position Trainer is exactly what you're looking for

You can keep track of the variations in opening with a chess program
such as Fritz12 or 13 or Chessbase. You can go into the different
variations in the opening by going thru a different variation and
making notes in the database. The other option is to collect a
number of games of an opening in one database and highlight
all the games and hit enter. This will combine all the games into
one and then you can save it. However the root game will be the
first game listed in this database.

With these programs you can visualize the different positions of
an opening on your computer screen. You can later go back and
add more variations and make more notes so that you do not
forget what you had created.

Best Regards
DarthMusashi

In Fritz 12 you can click the T symbol on the top left of your computer screen. You have options like creating a new chessbase database or
opening an existing chess database. If you key in your game in the
opening screen you can save the game by clicking this T symbol on
the top left corner of your screen,  You should however first create
a new chessbase database in chessbase format and give it a name.
After you have keyed in your game click on the top left symbol and
do a "save as" and specify the database your created. After you have
done that you can key other games in and save it to the same database.

When you are done keying all the games that are key to the database
you can open the database again going thru the T symbol. Highlight
the games you want to combine into one database and click enter
and this combines all the games into one but you should do a save
as and specify what this file is about.

As a reminder. The Fritz 12 program is not a true database. It does
not have functions such as checking the integrity of the games, sorting
the games by date and also finding and deleting the duplicate games.
You would need a true chess database program such as Chessbase.

Best Regards
DarthMusashi 

Thanks a lot, you explained it better than the booklet that came with the program, lol.

Hey bro, check this...

DO NOT TRY TO MAKE A CHESSBASE.

Literally every single username is already made. Every. Single. One. Random letters and any of the few random special characters they let you use.