Time to study openings ?


Before you run out and get a bunch of opening books, why not take advantage of your diamond membership and check out the ChessMentor lessons? There are thousands of them and you've only done 94. There is a very gentle and gradual introduction to openings in the Study Plan so that's where I suggest you start. If you have to buy a book, van der Sterrens Fundamental Chess Openings (FCO) is pretty much the gold standard for one volume tomes because of the extensive explanations given. Have fun!

Thanks for your advice, baddogno. I decided to do the ChessMentor lessons. I didn't know it was for diamond members. Also, I ordered FCO on the net. I felt I had to. It will come to me within 2 weeks.

This will help you navigate the openings, and really help you out in every phase of the game. In his climbing the ladder video for 1200-1400 he does recommend some studying of the opening. Some, not a lot. He qualifies it with just getting to understand the basic idea behind the opening not exhaustively memorizing lines. FCO was also his recommendation.
For someone seeking help with openings, I usually bring up Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014).
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
I believe that it is possible to see a fair portion of the beginning of Tamburro's book by going to the Mongoose Press site.
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Perhaps solomonko would also want to look at Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006).
"... For beginning players, [Discovering Chess Openings] will offer an opportunity to start out on the right foot and really get a feel for what is happening on the board. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
"... [Fundamental Chess Openings by Paul van der Sterren] is not particularly suited for players who are just starting out. I would imagine players rated at least 1400-1500 would get the most benefit from this volume. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2009)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626173432/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen128.pdf
Sample available at:
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/FCO_Fundamental_Chess_Openings.pdf
Seirawan's Winning Chess Openings is not as comprehensive as FCO, but it is probably a lot more readable. If I remember correctly, it was written around 1999. Here is a review:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
Why do you need 6 chess sets? Just making sure you are not using a different set for each opening? If that's the case, we have a bigger problem.

You are playing just blitz and bullet games here.
Studying openings will certainly not boost your success rate in short time controls.

I highly recommend Fundamental Chess Openings by Paul van der Sterren. It is well-written and is a great introduction to openings.

thank you all #4 TDF, I watched the video you recommended, and subscribed the channel. I like his voice. #5 kindaspongy, I ordered the 3 books you recommended. Together with FCO, I will read them, I wonder when I can finish them, hahaha. #6 bong 711, I just downloaded Droidfish. I like the logo.

I thanked each one of #4 to #6, but the sentences are continued, I mean, not broken, not new lines, thus hard to read, sorry. #7 fishyvishy, hahaha, not a different set for each opening. I love the beauty of chess sets, that's one of the reasons I started to learn chess. I want to get various sizes and types of sets. Also, I want to be able to handle pieces beautifully, or dexterously, like exprienced players, whichever size is used.

What DeirdreSkye wrote about long time controls is important. We have a club here on chess.com for that: The 90-minute games club. You are more than welcome to join. Best of luck!
"..., you have to make a decision: have tons of fun playing blitz (without learning much), or be serious and play with longer time controls so you can actually think.
One isn't better than another. Having fun playing bullet is great stuff, while 3-0 and 5-0 are also
ways to get your pulse pounding and blood pressure leaping off the charts. But will you become a good player? Most likely not.
Of course, you can do both (long and fast games), ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (June 9, 2016)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/longer-time-controls-are-more-instructive

Knowing opening names will not make you a better player.
Memorizing opening moves will not make you a better player.
Learn, and follow Opening Principles.
Study tactics...tactics...tactics...
Analyze your games, and post them for others to review.
Double check your moves.
Ask yourself, before each move: "Are my pieces safe?"
After your opponents moves, ask yourself: "What is my opponent trying to do?"
After youre comfortable with all of the above, learn the pawn structure, and piece placement for the openings you want to learn.

#8 IM pfren, thank you, as an IM says so, it must be so. I thought otherwise though. I'll try longer time control. #9 cigoLogic, yes, FCO, I will study this book as soon as it arrives. #10 DeidreSky, thank you for your advice. Out of some 450 games I played here, only 106 games were blitz and bullet. On the net I play only here. Timewise, most of my chess time was used for daily correspondence chess. I do use analyze function after a game always. When it comes to openings, quite often I don't know the names, let alone main lines or variations. I think it slows down my understanding. I have played only 6 OTB games, all without clock.
Knowing opening names will not make you a better player.
Memorizing opening moves will not make you a better player. ...
"... I understand your 'schtick' is to be confrontational/rude, its been done to death, but i guess everytime its done, the person likes to think they are being original. Welcome to the interwebz!" - FishEyedFools (February 8, 2018)
Did solomonko refer to becoming a better player by knowing opening names or memorizing opening lines? By the way:
"... I ordered FCO on the net. ..." - solomonko (~12 hours ago)
"... #5 kindaspongy, I ordered the 3 books you recommended. ..." - solomonko (~1 hour ago)
... When it comes to openings, quite often I don't know the names, let alone main lines or variations. ...
"... Overall, I would advise most players to stick to a fairly limited range of openings, and not to worry about learning too much by heart. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
"... Once you identify an opening you really like and wish to learn in more depth, then should you pick up a book on a particular opening or variation. Start with ones that explain the opening variations and are not just meant for advanced players. ..." - Dan Heisman (2001)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626180930/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman06.pdf
"... I feel that the main reasons to buy an opening book are to give a good overview of the opening, and to explain general plans and ideas. ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... If the book contains illustrative games, it is worth playing these over first ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... the average player only needs to know a limited amount about the openings he plays. Providing he understands the main aims of the opening, a few typical plans and a handful of basic variations, that is enough. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
"... For inexperienced players, I think the model that bases opening discussions on more or less complete games that are fully annotated, though with a main focus on the opening and early middlegame, is the ideal. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2010)
"... Everyman Chess has started a new series aimed at those who want to understand the basics of an opening, i.e., the not-yet-so-strong players. ... I imagine [there] will be a long series based on the premise of bringing the basic ideas of an opening to the reader through plenty of introductory text, game annotations, hints, plans and much more. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627055734/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen38.pdf
"The way I suggest you study this book is to play through the main games once, relatively quickly, and then start playing the variation in actual games. Playing an opening in real games is of vital importance - without this kind of live practice it is impossible to get a 'feel' for the kind of game it leads to. There is time enough later for involvement with the details, after playing your games it is good to look up the line." - GM Nigel Davies (2005)
... I have played only 6 OTB games, all without clock.
"... How often should you play? If you are trying to improve that means as often as you can, but playing lots of slow games can be tiring and time consuming, so most people are not able to play an OTB tournament every weekend even if one was available down the block. A minimum of 8 OTB tournaments and about 100 slow games a year is a reasonable foundation for ongoing improvement. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627052239/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman16.pdf

#13 cigoLogic, thank you for the invitation, I joined your club. #14 kindaspongy, thank you for the quote. It looks like bulitz is not good if one wants to be good. #15 Senior Patzer, no, there are not many. I am not a member of Japan Chess Association, but I have read its website. For your information, JCA was led by Ms. Miyoko Watai, widow and heir of Bobby Fischer.