My favorite way is just to play it a couple hundred times in a blitz game. By that time I know all the traps, and basics of it, having fallen for all of them. I also tend to have a feel for which squares are best.
What is the best way to learn a new opening?
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Finding an annotated game in the variation you are studying often helps me get a better grasp of the goals and plans.
Well, if you know an opening you'd like to learn start off with getting a beginners book on it and put the lines into chess position trainer (freeware). You'll learn and understand the moves in no time compared to trial and error methods.
Jun 3, 2010
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#5
Conzipe wrote:
Simplified:
1. Check the main lines and see if you like the positions arising.
2. Learn the basic ideas and some key variations (commentated games etc.).
3. Play some blitz games to grasp the new ideas.
4. Go in deeper or just keep playing and check the mistakes you make with the book.
I like this.
Once I've decided that I want to try out an opening, and I have a grasp of the basic principles, I like to just jump into the blitz waters and see what happens.
I will quickly see how well prepared my opponents are and if there are any major holes in my handling of the opening moves.
Once I've put it through a couple hundred blitz games, I will have gained a feel of what types of games the opening leads me to.
And if I like those types of games, then I'm ready to move forward with it.
At that time, I will buy specialized books on the opening and study it thoroughly.
--CM
I am wondering how you all go about it. Some time ago I entered an Italian or Guico Piano tourney and that really helped me to get familiar with that system and now I am not reluctant to play it in other games. I am now in a Sicilian defense tourney and I hope that will ease my fear later as I play white. I still do not know the best way to study as black or white. Next I want to tackle d4. I hate that opening when opponents play it against me when I am black. I shudder to think how as white I would open with d4. I am comfortable opening with e4 (even now as I am learning the Sicilian.) But D4????? Horrors. How do you get comfortable with new openings? Books? Web sites devoted to openings? Do you write down all possible moves for both sides? I know I need to focus on tactics as I am still about a 1350 player.But it is exciting to me to learn something new. I'd to know how you go about learning new openings and responses. Stwils