I think it makes sense to switch openings afer a while in order to learn new structures.
Is it OK to play the same openings over and over again?
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Jenium wrote:
I think it makes sense to switch openings afer a while in order to learn new structures.
It makes more sense to switch openings constantly otherwise your opponent could easily outmaneuver and transpose you into a new opening in their prep and not in yours and then knowing only one opening is always gonna come back and bite you everywhere.
And don't just stay in opening theory, look for lines that have never been played before and stuff like the Grob or the St George are actually unexpectedly good openings for this as once you look your opponent in it's like locking them in a cage they cannot get out of.
Chess is a race as to who can outmaneuver who faster and who is the person locked in the cage with a lion as per referred to above.
You don't want to be stuck in their prep, you want them to be stuck in yours!
Dec 5, 2021
0
#24
Jenium wrote:
I think it makes sense to switch openings afer a while in order to learn new structures.
There is no need to learn a new opening to learn new structures. Take the French:
After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3:
3...Bb4 will often lead to a blocked center after 4...e5. There are anti-Winawer lines that will often lead to positions where White has an IQP, or the symmetrical center if White plays 4.exd5.
3...Nf6 can lead to a blocked center if you play the McCutchen or Steinitz, but in the Classical, you have f4-e5 vs e6-d5.
In the Tarrasch, the 3...Nf6 line leads to an isolated d-pawn for White vs a backwards e6-pawn for Black. The 3...c5 4.exd5 exd5 lines lead to an IQP for Black. The 4.exd5 Qxd5 lines lead to a similar center to the 2...Qxd5 Scandinavian
In the Exchange, you get the symmetrical, Open center with the totally open e-file
In the Advance, you can get a blocked center in some lines, like 5...Qb6 and 6...c4, and others you can get an amorphous type center, like in the 6...Nh6 lines.
The same can be said for other openings. Playing different variations of the same opening will lead to different pawn structures. If you are a Sicilian player, the Kalashnikov and the Dragon lead to different structures. The Berlin and the Zaitsev lead to different structures. Etc.
"It makes more sense to switch openings constantly otherwise your opponent could easily outmaneuver and transpose you into a new opening in their prep "
Prep? What prep? Where are you finding these opening ninjas who use there wiles to transpose you into their vast opening prep. Not and the 1400-level! That's for sure. And not at the 2000-level either. Below master level, most people are out of their prep by move 10.
Dec 5, 2021
0
#26
It depends how deep you want to go.
If you just want to learn the first 5 moves or so, and glean the general gist of things, you can hop around to different openings without much trouble at all.
But if you want to learn your openings at an expert level or higher, it can take quite a long time. The ideas can get very nuanced and challenging. And the amount of time needed to study each opening tends to increase, substantially.
At that level of immersion, it can become too difficult to jump around from opening to opening. This is why you'll often see experts and masters who use a limited repertoire.
Laskersnephew wrote:
"It makes more sense to switch openings constantly otherwise your opponent could easily outmaneuver and transpose you into a new opening in their prep "
Prep? What prep? Where are you finding these opening ninjas who use there wiles to transpose you into their vast opening prep. Not and the 1400-level! That's for sure. And not at the 2000-level either. Below master level, most people are out of their prep by move 10.
Just cause you don't find someone like that @Laskersnephew doesn't mean it cannot possibly happen , that there are no transpositions possible
e.g. e4 can transpose to Modern , KIA , Kings Indian , Queens Indian , Alekhine etc..
I am a beginner since a couple of months back. And I realize that restricting your opening repertoire in the beginning and focusing your efforts will yield better results and allow you to focus on other things like middle game and end game. But for me, I just can't stand the idea of not knowing what kind of openings are around. So, I study one opening per week or so now to build an overall understanding of the different concepts out there and to get an idea of what kind of plans the different openings bring. Also, it gets boring to play the same thing over and over again.
Absolutelly, specially if you like to study openings, sure, go ahead and do it! Experiment and try all you wish, thats what I can say 3 years after this post, Im glad I have tried everything, it has made my chess improve a lot.