Online chess & Opeings

Hi all,

how much time and effort do you spent in the opening in "online chess" (CC) ?

And what's your way of doing it? Do you only consult the game explorer here on chess.com?

I don't play a lot of online chess, but when I do I do use the Game Explorer. Rarely do I use anything else.

This depends on your playing level and how much you want to win/learn. Judging by your blitz rating I would suggest your time is better spent on practising tactics (either here or at chesstempo.com) rather than studying the openings in any depth.

The problem with using Game Explorer is it justs show the moves the experts make without explaining why the moves are made. Hence, it is probably not very good for a lot of lower rated players who will fail to understand why the moves are made.

Thanks for the reply guys.

If you would want to make serious progress and do the best you can in the opening would the game Explorer be enough to work with?

Here is a blog I wrote about how I study openings. It has been quite effective for me.

I suppose I might be going overboard a little, but here are the resources I consult when playing correspondence games: the Explorer, the database over at 365 since it also includes amateur games, Chess King's Guide to opening Ideas, FCO, Chess Opening Essentials, Wiki, YouTube, and any videos on the opening in question on chess.com.  Oh and I usually boot up HIARCS with the biggest database I can find and watch a few dozen master games if it's an opening I haven't seen before.  Eventually of course I actually have to play the game, but by that time I've got a pretty good idea of the typical themes.  Of course if someone goes outrageously out of book by move 3 or 4, then I'm on my own, but usually with some weakness that I can eventually exploit.  And yes, sigh, I do usually use almost all those resources every game.

I forgot ChessMentor.  Not a resource I use every game, but some lessons on the opening can come in mighty handy.  A couple of years ago another patzer and I were banging out the book moves to the poisoned pawn variation of the Najdorf.  Neither of us had even a clue as to what we were doing of course.  We got to around move 16 and my opponent had run out of book and made a dubious move.  How did I know it was a dubious move? Because a ChessMentor lesson said something about "Yes, black prevents ??? but at terrible cost.  White has almost a forced win here"  Where, where, how, don't leave me hanging!  Eventually I figured it out and won the game.

thanks all for the golden replies!

other than using game explorer and other opening resources what do you rely on during game? what is your thought process?

Win win win! Doh!! Gonna lose!!!

I play a lot of Tactics Trainers here on chess.com. That will help you. I also read Jeremy Silman's book "The Amateur's Mind". That, plus the Chess.com University course Chess 012, taught me to evaluate the position from both white and black's standpoint. Look for imbalances and weaknesses. Analyze forcing moves. Don't mess up! 

1. Take your time. You have days to make your move. 

2. Use Online Chess to develop good habits. Habits such as evaluating the position, checking for hanging pieces, the items mentioned by JustADude.You will see people refer to Online Chess as 'chess with training wheels'. This means it protects you from some dangers while you work to develop specific sets of skills.

3. Don't just look for a good move, look for a better one. At your level there is quite often going to be a better move than the first move, perhaps several moves, you think of.

4. When you first look at a position, don't immediately think about responses even if they are forced or you have previously decided on a line and they made the move you expected. When you first look at the position, don't think too much about candidate moves. Instead, think about the position. Give your mind a few hours or a day to process this information. Then start thinking about candidate moves. 

5. VERY VERY IMPORTANT!!! Take time to do all the steps above looking at the position from your oppentents side. By this, I don't mean to flip the board(which, of course, is not a bad idea). But go through the same thinking process as if you are the opponent.

Also, don't stop playing live games. There are other important skills such as exercising your visualization and handling time pressure that cannot be done in Online Chess. Personally, I like to play a little 5/0 blitz and 30/0 Live Chess games.

This should get you started. As you play more, some of this will become automatic and you can add to the list of things to do to improve.