Ten "System" Openings

IM Davorin Kuljasevic is an experienced coach. From his 381 page book How To Study Chess On Your Own (subtitle "Creating a Plan that Works... and Sticking to it!") published by New In Chess (2021), from Chapter 3: Identify Your Study Priorities, he writes:

"For players 1500 -1800 Elo:  Create a simple opening repertoire with both colors, nothing too deep. ... There is no urgency to study the main lines. Sidelines or 'systems', if learned properly, are completely acceptable. ... The primary focus should be on increasing tactical and endgame skills."

Later in the 1800 - 2100 Elo section he writes "The importance and complexity of opening work increases to a small degree. ... There is still no need for big opening work at this stage, like memorizing topical lines and searching for new ideas, because much greater learning potential lies in other study areas."

Moosemouse. Your original post on white systems and all your comments have been FANTASTICALLY helpful for my chess development. Ignore the pedants. I was totally new to chess one year ago and am now 1100+ on chess.com. I may never get above 1400 as I came to chess at 48, so CZ, English Botvinnik and BM gambit are terrific. And fun! Thanks once again for your excellent posts. 😀

I think the one major disadvantage is that whilst you are on 'auto pilot' to some extent, you may not process that your opponent is setting up a threat or advantageous position, and continuing with your 'system' might get you into trouble.

It's why I actually dont like recommending 'system' openings to beginners as I think it's critical they build the habit of processing and responding to each move as they see it. Too many beginners get caught off guard by an attack they didn't see, due to their 'auto pilot' system building replies. For intermediate players and above, I think system openings are fine.

I am in my 30s. Started playing chess 3 years ago - and bottomed out around 650 after a month of playing online. I'm now over 2000 - which isn't that high in the grand scheme of things, but not too bad considering where I started and how recent that was. Point is, I wouldn't put too much weight on age being a determining factor in your chess improvement! It's mostly the amount of serious time you can commit to, for adult learners.

If you can find the time to commit an hour or two to chess every day - an expert level is definitely within realistic reach within a few years. It's just about prioritising your study to make for the best use of your time.
For me, it was Tactics (I've did 20,000+ puzzles), Endgames, Game Analysis and middle game planning - largely in that order. Too many people waste valuable hours learning things that are abstract or not that common. Those areas should give you the best bang for buck.

I'd also highly recommend "John Bartholomews Climbing the Rating Ladder" series on youtube, as well as Daniel Naroditsky's chess speed run series. Both are very insightful and I improved from 1100-1200 over two days just by changing my 'thought process' to what I was seeing in those videos back when I was newer to the game.

Hi Kraig. Great to hear about your progress, and thanks for your encouragement. Your advice sounds excellent. I am definitely going to do more puzzles/tactics for sure. And I will check out the video recommendations. Thanks very much, Daniel

hi

not quite accurate but close enough the top 3 you can play absolutely no matter what black does are

Stonewall

Colle

Barcza

Since when this setup there is known as Barcza? Since Seirawan? It is just an intro to the well known openings, such as English, KIA, Reti, etc. No need for new opening names every weekend, and for every possible opening move.

SInce Barcza, in the 40's and 50's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcza_System . Whether or not there's a need, every opening does have a name. Often it's useful, sometimes not.

Just a comment on No 10, the Blackmar-Diemar. I like to play the super-aggressive 4. ...c6 and ambush white before he gets out of bed. That's the trouble, because what comes next makes 4. f3 look dodgy. All of these system openings can be attacked really viciously or positionally in the case of the Stonewall Attack and if white is playing a system opening, then white's the one who's more likely to be caught out. Against the barcza you can play 1. ...e6 and 2. ...b5, etc.

These aren't really system openings ... a system opening can be played irrespective of the opponents moves. What you have, in a number of cases, are just openings that can be transposed into from a few places. Blackmar-diemer for example is not a system opening, it requires that the opponent take your pawn.

Thanks for this post, good read. Question: Are you familiar with the Blackmar-Diemer Von Popiel Gambit line? If so, I'm curious to know what you might think is the best sixth move for the white player in this situation:

1. d4 d5 2. e4 dxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nc6 5.d5 Nb4

The engine says Bxf6 is the best 6th move for white. But, I thought I'd seek other opinions before committing to a course of action in this chapter of my study. Here's the visual if that helps...