How should I study the openings?

I am starting to ramp up my chess study.  I currently have a couple of books on middle game strategy, silman's how to reassess your chess, silman's end game book, and some tactic books.  I'm also looking into some slightly more advanced endgame/ technique books.

I just don't want to fall behind on the opening, and I really want to try and start building my repertoire and to learn which openings best suit me.  I really want to learn the benoni, french, sicilian and ruy lopez for example.  How would I learn these openings?  I can look up lines etc. all day, but they don't help with understanding the ideas behind each variation, and which variations would best suit me.  Do I just get a book or something?

Learning pawn structures, middlegame strategy, and endgames will make openings a lot easier. You'll be able to navigate openings you've never even seen before with that knowledge + opening principals.

But after that if you need to study openings, then you'd ideally find a GM who uses the opening frequently, and go over 50 to 100 games. A few games a day, make your own notes, that sort of thing. A database (like chessbase) a reference book (like MCO) and a site (like chessgames.com) is better than any opening book IMO. Plus you can use these to learn any opening while a book can only show you some things about 1 opening.

I don't have much patience for studying chess, but I do own some opening repertoire books. Compared to the books, however, some videos on youtube, blows the books away, for opening explanation. Mainly, its a lot easier to watch a video than to wade through a book, especially with a lot of variations. There's a 2 or 3 part series on you tube, offered by the St Louis Chess Club, on the Semi Slav Meran. Check it out, to see what I'm saying. They explain, in detail, the strategic reason, and tactical points of various move branching variations. For example, the reasons you, as white, would develop your kings bishop to e2, as opposed to d3, both valid moves. Also, for example, under what move order by white, you, playing black, would would play a6, before developing your bishop to b7. These are just examples of the practical nuances, that determine the ongoing plans flowing from the openings. Now, considering these are basically free, imagine the level of depth offered by various chessbase videos, produced by top grandmasters, like Kasparov, etc. Here at Chess.com, if you are a high level premium member, there are also many videos available, produced by some well known masters. To summarize, high quality videos, are like having a top level coach as your personal trainer. That's my suggestions, good luck.

0110001101101000 wrote:

"... a reference book (like MCO) ..."

It has been eight or nine years since the last MCO. Even the last "small" ECO was about six years ago. It has to be wondered if there will ever be another book like that. In any event, I don't think that such books provided much help with "understanding the ideas behind each variation".

redsocc wrote:

"... I really want to learn the benoni, french, sicilian and ruy lopez for example.  How would I learn these openings?  I can look up lines etc. all day, but they don't help with understanding the ideas behind each variation, and which variations would best suit me.  Do I just get a book or something?"

Maybe try:

Starting Out: Modern Benoni by Endre Vegh (2004)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627070316/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen72.pdf

First Steps: The French by Cyrus Lakdawala (2016)

https://www.newinchess.com/Shop/Images/Pdfs/7611.pdf

Starting Out: The Sicilian by GM John Emms (2009)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627122350/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen123.pdf

The Ruy Lopez Move by Move by Neil McDonald (2011)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627022042/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen153.pdf

I have an old MCO. I've used it before as a simple survey of what kinds of variations are out there. Of course I use the chessbase program more, but it doesn't give you any verbal explanations.

Eight years ago, FM Carsten Hansen warned us that the last MCO "isn't" "up-to-date".

https://web.archive.org/web/20140626165820/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen110.pdf

I would add that it also did not have much in the way of verbal explanations of variations.