Predictability in Chess

Hi Everyone,

In the past I used to play 1.c4 and 1.d4 with good initial results. However I found that my opponents were preparing quite extensively for my opening and therefore my positive results started dwindling as I barely escaped getting out of the opening!I then changed to 1.e4 which I found to be quite a liberating experience (never having played it before) and again initially got quite good results. But the same thing happened. My problem is that I like both 1.d4 and 1.e4 openings but don't have the time to keep up to date with both. Keeping both repertoires is also decreasing my 'quality' of chess in that I don't have the time to master both and am finding difficulty in keeping up with my opponents' opening knowledge.

What to do??

 Your main concern is for OTB play I presume ?

I noticed you were hailing from Malta.

Maltese Chess Championship, est. 1928-1934.

@ Reb - yes of course, sorry for not mentioning this.

@ Fiveofswords: yes I agree that playing 1.e4 has been an illuminating experience and I feel that my understanding of chess has grown as a result. 

I should add that I much prefer to spend my time studying middlegame concepts and endgames rather than opening theory, but as someone said ( Tarrasch, I think), the gods have put the opening before the middlegame and the endgame...

The problem is that if you do not know the opening enough, it is not enough to try and play solid lines, expecially if the oppoenent is bent on whole sale destruction... I have tried to wing it several times, with the result that I am in time trouble due to 'wasting' time working out moves at  the opening

nowadays, dress is more casual!!

When I had limited study time for chess I decided to stick with 1 e4 . The fact that I also chose the sicilian as black against 1 e4 and the popularity of the sicilian defense itself meant much of my opening study time was spent on looking at various sicilians. The time spent in this area was well spent for me. Your opponents ( serious players anyway ) will always prepare for you and the openings you play. I think its better to meet them head on and try to outprepare them and stick to your favored openings. If you try to change openings to avoid their preparations then you are going to be playing openings you dont know/understand as well and they will simply start preparing for those too and you will have to change again..... Play 1 e4 or 1 d4 as white and stick to it I say. As black the same. Have a good defense ( one you understand and enjoy playing ) against 1e4 and 1 d4 .  I used to play only KID against anything other than 1 e4 and this made my work easier. Against 1 e4 I played Alekhine's defense when I first started and was rated 1300 something. This served me well until I reached 1800 and then I switched to the french and only added the sicilians after I was over 2000. Now I play french and sicilians both against 1 e4 making my opponents task a bit more difficult when preparing for me.... I have also added the slav to my repertoire against 1 d4 ....... If you have limited time for study then your repertoire needs to be smaller, by necessity.

Can you tell me the process of learning an opening and defense? I don't know the names of these openings and defenses.

 i AGREE WITH MOST, if not all, with what you wrote. Thanks a lot!

Re Photo:   I believe the chap without a tie is Carmelo Frisk who was my maths teacher in the mid 40s.  An probably the one on his right is Erin Serracino Inglott a Champion of Malta.

Thanks for info on the photo. Researching this would have been hard; sometimes you just have to talk to the veterans.

 Yes that one does look like Erin. I have a photo of him playing Alekhine and it's the same chap for sure