Is there a way to learn chess without memorizing a bunch of stuff?

Hi there:

I'm enjoying learning more about chess, but am at the point where memorizing openings and specific tactics are being recommended.

Thing is, I'm rubbish at memorizing things, and I find it boring. When I was in grad school studying Biochemistry, I struggled memorizing mountains of facts, but excelled at anything that involved a TRUE understanding of principles, and applying them in different situations.

Are there resources that teach chess more in this fashion, or is this a game that requires memorizing millions of historical plays?

I can recommend a couple of courses that might help.  Silman's course drops you into a middle game and then you have to figure out a logical next move.  With 288 lessons, it's kind of a monster, but might be the kind of thing you are looking for.

https://www.chess.com/lessons/roots-of-positional-understanding

The other series of courses I'd recommend is GM Wolff's tactical motifs.  I think there are around 30 (maybe a few more) and have been recently upgraded by the chess.com team to remove any errors.  Learning to be a whiz at tactics will definitely help your chess and allow you to punish folks who just memorize stuff without understanding.  All of that said, there is probably only so high you can go rating wise without the dreaded memorization of openings.  That ceiling is pretty high though according to some masters I've read; maybe even as high as 2000.

https://www.chess.com/lessons/champion-tactics-with-gm-wolff-forks

It is absolutely unnecessary and even detrimental to memorize.
Just think carefully and you can get to GM level.
Beyond GM level you have to study openings.

Until about 1600 blitz on chess.com you don't need to memorize pretty much anything, just need to be strong enough positionally and tactically after that you need to start learning some things.

In general, opening systems are not designed to be memorized but actually understood in terms of ideas and principles. You can try analyzing a game between grandmasters and doing your best to grasp what was going through each players' minds when they were playing, but it will be difficult to gain anything substantive without already laying down the foundation of your chess knowledge upon which you should constantly be integrating and consolidating information from various sources. The main problem with approaching openings as something to be memorized is that if your opponent plays a move that is out of "book", you will probably have a hard time finding the most optimal way to proceed in most games (and often burn valuable time on your clock if it's a tournament game). This is because purely memorizing lines isn't at all an effective way of learning, and it is every bit as important to figure out why certain moves are 'bad' just as much as why other moves are 'good'. Think of being well versed in your chosen opening systems as being more prepared to pose questions to your opponent, while also being ready to answer whatever questions your opponent might try throwing at you. Openings are not merely limited to the first few moves but can often influence the 'flow' of the rest of the game, being involved in tactical motifs, positional superiority, better piece coordination, pawn structures, and more. Consider opening theory as the result of decades (even centuries) of super strong players working out the strongest ways to build and maintain an advantage in tems of developing a typical game through each stage (opening, middlegame, endgame) and those back-and-forth conversations both on and off the board were continually refined through expert study and practical tests in competitions and today has contributed to how every modern player plays, whether they're an amateur or master.

Rather than memorizing openings, it's more beneficial to go over a ton of different moves and perhaps go through master games with those openings to learn why certain pieces are better positioned on certain squares rather than others. What works for me is sticking to certain openings to get better at them. For example, as white I always play e4 on move one, and against my most common response, e5, I always play Nf6, trying to get into an Italian game perhaps. As black I play the kings indian against everything other than e4, to which I play e5. Playing like this makes it easier to get better at openings.

If you memorize openings, you might struggle with converting openings into successful middlegame attacks.

At lower levels, it's better to understand basic principles, to look for simple tactics, and to try to look ahead, to avoid making blunders.

I'd say the necessity for memorization doesn't really start until players reach the Expert/Master level.

It's very tricky

I didn't know tactics were supposed to be memorized, I thought it was more of a pattern recognition thing

Anyway, just don't learn openings and theoretical endgames and you won't have to memorize anything. 

     At your level you don't need to memorize a lot of opening lines. Choose which defences you like and learn the first 8 or 10 moves of the main variations you will face. As white, there are many more possibilities open to your opponent, so less specific, more general knowledge is needed. Analyze your games after you finish and see where you could have done better, and these realizations should stick with you.

     If you become a stronger player (2000 elo) then many of your opponents will be very well versed in their favorite lines and strong enough to punish your mistakes. Then you will need to memorize the latest opening theory.

You need the board sight that's all

I am curious and have to ask.

What have been doing the last two years with membership because you have only played 3 games?

Lessons, maybe.

Thanks for the suggestions! Lots to think about here. As for why I have an older account and have only played a few games... Well... all I can say is that I'm not used to being bad at things, so I give up. I'm accustomed to catching on quickly, and in the past when I've tried chess I felt overwhelmed by getting better... when it didn't happen fast I dropped it and when to something else. I've grown, and am hoping to have more fun with it this time around.

Ah. Just have fun. That’s all that matters. Good luck!