learning is easy

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NNNourdin> I think I'm at a rating 1350 and I just see that the standard openings are so strong they almost always decide the match...

Standard openings almost never decide the match at your level, because games go out-of-book very quickly. A knowledge of tactics and knowing a bit about the opening and ending (K+Q vs K, K+R vs K, K+P vs K) however are quite useful.

NNNourdin> where I ( and many other beginners ) can read or learn how openings 'work' in an easy text

First, be sure to study and follow basic opening principles. This is probably all one really needs to know about openings at your level.

If you want more, I like "Improve Your Opening Play" because it's short and up-to-date. You can buy the book or download it in a computer format if that's easier for you. Classic and very good but less up-to-date is "The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings." These both focus on why moves are made and cover a wide range of openings.

NNNourdin> I find learning a easy task.

Every 100 ELO requires progressively more and more knowledge. If it's an easy task now, it won't be an easy take 400 ELO from now.

These are GM Ruben Fine's ten rules for the opening I found them very helpful.

TEN OPENING RULES

1. Open with a center pawn.

2. Develop with threats.

3. Knights before Bishops.

4. Don’t move the same piece twice.

5. Make as few pawn moves as possible in the opening.

6. Don’t bring your Queen out too early.

7. Castle as soon as possible, preferably on the Kingside.

8. Always play to gain control, of the center.

9. Try to maintain at least one pawn in the center.

10. Don’t sacrifice without a clear and adequate reason. For a sacrificed pawn you must:

I think what you're looking for are early middle-game principles and typical plans according to each opening. Actually, it's one of the hardest part of chess ! It's about making a plan !

What could help you is to go through some games with comments stemming from the opening you're interested in. Those games you can find in a specialized book on the opening, or is some game collections.  But to give more specific  references, I would need to know which openings you're interested in.

If you're looking for some overall review of ideas in most openings with selected middle-game samples and ideas, I think the very best text available is John Watson's "Mastering the chess openings". A great great read, but make sure to master the basic opening principles first.

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