in lichess, u have a database with 6.8 billions of games + Stockfish to analyze , u don´t need anything else
Where do you study openings?
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minjae405 wrote:
I'm having trouble finding free sources to study openings. I used to study by watching YouTube videos or practicing using short n sweet chessable courses, but I think there is a limit. Any advices on where to study openings?
There's your problem. Nothing in life is free. You get what you pay for.
I don't succeed with openings from anything that's free. You have to pay the money and put in the hard work.
You think free resources made me good at openings like the French, Petroff, and Trompowsky?
Try again!
Try I have invested in about two dozen French books, Palliser's book on the Trompowsky that came out March 2025, 3 or 4 books on the Petroff, etc.
And you need to do your studying with a board and pieces, not a computer. Clicking moves and making them yourself is vastly different.
By playing the opening
ThrillerFan wrote:
minjae405 wrote:
I'm having trouble finding free sources to study openings. I used to study by watching YouTube videos or practicing using short n sweet chessable courses, but I think there is a limit. Any advices on where to study openings?
There's your problem. Nothing in life is free. You get what you pay for.
I don't succeed with openings from anything that's free. You have to pay the money and put in the hard work.
You think free resources made me good at openings like the French, Petroff, and Trompowsky?
Try again!
Try I have invested in about two dozen French books, Palliser's book on the Trompowsky that came out March 2025, 3 or 4 books on the Petroff, etc.
And you need to do your studying with a board and pieces, not a computer. Clicking moves and making them yourself is vastly different.
Well said! Books are still worth getting. Joining a local club will help, too.
The answer depends somewhat on your level.
international level players already know so much about openings that they need to keep up with the innovations played in tournaments. There are online sources that highlight the newest discoveries.
Newcomers through club level players need explanations of the concepts behind the openings more than they need specific move sequences to memorize. These are available in books, courses, and videos. Some of these materials do not provide much explanation, and so those that emphasize memorization of specific sequences are better for advanced tournament players than for newcomers. In my view, books are the most helpful because they allow players to go at their own pace and allow players to go back and forth to review material more easily than video presentations.
In my case (OTB 2300), I use blitz to practice openings. I then go back and analyze positions where I did not find the correct plan. I also use databases to find games by super GMs in the opening variations I play.
Chessly. Try to get a chessly subscription.. Definitely worth it. You also get a 7 day free trial on a course of your choice..
Hello
Mainly videos and books, chessreps website is decent for learning some lines but most are behind a paywall
Books or courses, but I prefer books because A) I can get them for free from my library system, B) less screentime, and C) it helps to go through the variations on a real chess board, not on the computer.
I find collections of annotated full games in an opening useful. After 500 or so my hands seem to drop the pieces on the right squares. I also record & go over later thematic tactics I see in them.
I also like playing over games from databases quickly. I've tried a few courses from modern chess. They are OK but it takes an extra effort to organize the considerable material hierarchically.
I learn a lot by giving extensive notes to my own games.
In summary: books, study, games, some online content I rearrange & work.
- Bill
Jan 3, 2026
0
#16
free? lichess database plus an engine like stockfish 17 with the cloud
IF you want really deep repertoires though, chessable and modern-chess are the way to go (the latter has the shady practice of having an outrageous upfront price but have like a 60-75% discount easily findable on the site). a good course can be anywhere from 20-40 dollars in either.
You can also go the book route, esp if you need more conceptual explanation instead of strong master level precision. A lot of books, even those only 20 years old are already "outdated" but depending on the opening lines studied , this could be a small deal or a huge deal.
I prefer to study openings based on books (for my liking, I prefered the Grandmaster Repertoire series when building my files to an elite level and lately compare my growing files with modern releases. That saves a lot of time 
However, basically everything depends on my opening repertoire. If I have a small and narrow repertoire, it's easier to learn it once and then update it every now and then. That's the crux having to pick between a narrow and wide/broad repertoire.
I'm currently writing a blog post series on how to build an opening repertoire. There, I'm also discussing how to study the opening and where to draw information from.
You might find it interesting.
I'd appreciate it if you'd check it out!
https://www.chess.com/blog/PostMortemChess-Official/building-an-opening-repertoire-in-chess-part-1
Cheers,
PostMortemChess
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I'm having trouble finding free sources to study openings. I used to study by watching YouTube videos or practicing using short n sweet chessable courses, but I think there is a limit. Any advices on where to study openings?