Nf6 or d5?

why then not just play the QGD?

Is there any use to playing an opening just to transpose?

If it means your opponent can't enter certain lines.

is there a defence against d4 that has lots of open lines and counterplay for black(I really struggle against d4)

I have given the slav some thought...but im not sure...tried it when i was around 1100-1200 otb and didnt have any success...maybe it will be different now?

It will be different now if you understand the positions better now.

Like I told Mr Achja,Im not sure where to place my pieces when the opening goes out of book suddenly...I have some difficulties in opening play because I dont know the idea of the opening...sets me up for middlegames that is much more difficult than it is supposed to be

Study pawn structures then not moves. Then it doesn't matter if you leave book, your pieces belong in the same place.

Mr. Scott, all your comments are fit and appropiated.

Learning specific opening sequences won't help you with that... there are way too many possible deviations.

Learn opening principles and typical pawn structures instead.

Will my system-Nimzovich help with that?its the only book ive got hehe

It should help with opening principles yes.

Honestly, I think Wikipedia is pretty useful for pawn structures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pawn_structure

but how do you play for a certain pawn structure?on your own side?

My System and Chess Praxis (also by Nimzovich) are pretty good, but dense. Pawn Power in Chess (by Kmoch) and Pawn Structure Chess (by Soltis?) are also very good for learning typical Pawn structures.

It's not so much "playing for a particular Pawn structure"... it's more just being aware that (for example) exchanging Pawns in a certain position will create a Jump formation, so I should first deploy my Rook here and my Knight there in preparation... or that a chain of Pawns implies that you should be playing for Pawn-levers on certain squares.

Eg: White Pawns b2, c3, d4, e5 vs Black Pawns f7, e6, d5 (a typical closed French position) implies that White should play for the f2-f4-f5 break and Black should play for the c7-c5 break; so each side can start arranging their pieces with those goals in mind.

It can also be as simple as knowing that you might not want to play your knight to c6 in Queens pawn openings because c5 is a typical break. Just thinking about the structure gives you experience in where your pieces belong.

is learning these various pawn structures together with tactics the main way to improve my otb rating?(currently at 1468)

Tactics, model mates (basic mating patterns), typical pawn structures and what they imply, and endgames. You could add basic opening theory to that list... time and development, center control and space, weak squares and color complexes... but don't bother studying specific opening variations until you feel that you know WHY a good move is good and WHY a bad move is bad.

thanx Achja!isnt my system a little above my level though?

No. My System is simple. Being able to fully understand and apply it isn't so simple though.

haha ive heard that before...which brings up the next question...how to learn to apply what you learn in books...blitz?

Practice and thought? Who knows.