"Do you think openings really matter that much? ♟️"

Sometimes I feel like people just memorize lines 📖 and don't really play chess. But then I see some games where just 1 bad move in opening ruin everything 😅.

So what you guys think? Is knowing opening theory really that important or just overhyped? 🤔

What about your rating.

Tell me about your rating.

At my rating, theory gets more important, since on this part of mine, it transfers to positional chess.

same

OP's question is too vague.

I think ou hsjsjs

When it comes to most questions in life, it helps to think of it in golf terms. Think of a game of chess like you would a game of golf. Is position and setup important? Is the grip and stance important?

Are all the things you do before you swing important? In other words, is the "opening" important. It depends. You can play really good chess (or golf) if your beginning position is bad. But it helps (alot) if your beginning position is good. There is a reason all the really good golfers try to perfect their opening position. It makes the rest of the swing much easier and much better.

For me opening always provided me a framework on what to play for and how chess really works opening teaches the essence of the game. It is always nice to know what you are doing and knowing opening just gives you that.

And that doesnt mean you have to spend countless hours learning theory not at all. You would barely face the most critical continuations ever. I consider myself well prepared in the opening against opponents of my rating range. I used to play Sicilian a lot but I have never looked at the complications of bg5 najdorf. The line i have studied the most is bc4 bowdler attack because i face it the most. You need to take similar approach study variations that ur opponents plays the most that way u master and feel confident in playing the opening.

on high level. On low levels just intuition

Opening theory becomes more important when you expect your opponents to play accurately. At your level, opening theory isn't going to net you many points. Rather, it's more important for beginners to familiarize themselves with a variety of pawn structures so as to develop pattern recognition. That means playing a bunch of different opening moves and trying new things.

I always advise weaker players to change their opening once a week and try new ideas.

YEAH IT DOES! Love openings!

One of my favorite sayings:

A mistake in the opening you can recover from.

A mistake in the middle game will hurt you.

A mistake in the end game will kill you.

The most common mistake people make with openings is this: "I know the <insert opening here> "X" moves deep." But all they have done is memorize moves and have no idea why those moves are played.

If your opponent does not play the 'right' moves, then your memorization becomes rather useless.

Tactics puzzles are way more useful than opening. If time is an issue learn a system like King's Indian or Colle, then do tactics and end game study.

Yes it is important because playing good moves in the opening will give you a better position and will make the game much easier to play. You don't need to learn specific moves at your rating range just know general principles like placing pieces in the center, controlling the center, castling, developing as many pieces as possible

"Until you reach FM 2300. Opening study should be no more than 10% of your study time."