Tournament opening preparation.

So my big tournament (not really big big for me cause it's my first one off chess.com) is coming up fast (ok just over two months but still!) and i need to prepare. I have already read through silmans endgame course, and have a good chess book i'm reading, but my problem is my openings. So as black i am fine, against d4 i play the slav, against nf3 i know my stuff with d5, against e4 i know lots about the French and petroff and am learning the Nanjdorf (however you spell it lol). So my big problem is white. from what i understand it is 5 rounds, and i should breeze through three of them, but then i may face an 1800 or 1900, and those will be tough, So i want to be in top "form" or at least be able to give them a tough game. the time control is 90 30, but saving time in the opening is definately wise. So my problem is what do i do with my white games? well to start with, i almost always play e4. sometimes c4 but almost always e4. the problem with this is that i run into c5! and imedietly don't know what is going to happen. i will probably play inacurately and "lose the opening". So here's the deal, i know e4, i know some c4, but e4 get c5. should i a study the very broad openings of the scilian, or should i learn c4. i think the former is going to be more work, but i don't know if this is a good or bad thing. What do you gues think?

You can try d4. Less theory. For surprise you can preparation a b3. Nimzo Larsen very interesting.

Have you tried the Grand Prix or Bb5 lines against c5?

d4 is solid, but in these games it could result in draws, i need open games with lots of lines to calculate, b3, i have never tried it, but i don't really like the feel of that move. crazylasker, no, what are they?

Play 1.a3 or 1.h3 and play a black opening as white.

The Grand Prix has worked out splendidly for me...1.e4 c5 is my best scoring opening as white. Gawain Jones has a good book about it "Starting out: the Grand Prix Attack" if you want a book, or you could look through explorers. Feel free to check my games that begin with 1.e4 c5 2. Nc3 for some practical examples of non-master play, or message me for more discussion.

I'd say just play the tournament with what you know right now; let your opponents show you what to work on your openings.

Im good as Black too and bad at being white. Bc.All my openings are "Defence".That really helped. tnx

maybe not, but they are usually boring for me. saying at my level doesn't seem relevent as i have almost a 2000 rating...to me that means you need to have some opening preparation.

When is the tournament ?

actually i completed it a few weeks ago....

to the OP,

keep studying tactics, those 1800 to 1900 guys your fear are beatable. They too have tactical errors in their games although not as much as the lower rated ones. Just keep practicing what you have started studying. The sicilian has alot of theory in it, but from my experience as white... try to eliminate the queens bishop or better yet both bishops and you get a chance for advantage. I have beaten 2000s on and off chess.com and although they are really tough, they still have those little tactical quirks in their games. Study what you have started (openings) and focus on your weaknesses.goodluck. But the best tip of em all is stay fit (exercise and eat healthy.)

Ah ok - hopefully it helped you having a clearer idea about your opening choices. Nothing beats tournament testing, because how you feel during a long OTB game is a good indicator.

Concentrate more on the scheme rather than the lines. The Middlegame, Book 1 (Euwe) is a good book against almost all opening formations you may encounter in tournament play. The problem lies not within the lines memorized but more of your own positional understanding and level of tactical eye. A lot of times players may forget a move or have the lines mixed up or reach a position at the end of the line and then fail on how to proceed from there. You should go through 100 games of the opening of your choice and just run the moves fast. You will get a sense of the shape and direction the entire game should go from move one. That way you will get a general idea of how the game should go. Below master a lot of games are won/lost by some tactical error committed on one side that has nothing to do with the opening but when the real chess begins - deep in the middlegame.

here is one of my games from the tournament, I played very well until move 17, getting an excellent, even possibly winning position, but then made a bad positional move. the game went downhill from there. see for yourself.

yeah, that was round 1 too!

Goes to show technique is more important than memorizing lines.

Yup cornbeef is right the game is still  playable after 26...Qc4. With plans of exchanging queens on d3 if white decides to catch the queen by Rc1. With a strong pawn on b4 and a bishop that can support its promotoin at b1, black can go for the a-pawn with both rooks. Or If white ignores blacks threats then blacks queen heads to c2 and soon rooks at a8 and c8 and bishop at c4.

are you talking about the game i posted?! If so Qxc4 was the engine move, however it is still lost....simply Rc1 easily wins...