opening is important even at 1700
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I read allot that players below 2000 should not study opening variations but I disagree because
1: To avoid traps.
2: To save time to invest in middle and end game.
3:when your opponent will make a move out of opening book you have the idea to see if you can take advantage.
4: when you see opening videos it also tell you concepts weaknesses and strength of certain structures that will help you in middle game as well.
5: if you don't know the opening you mostly come out of opening with cramped position and it is psychologically very tough to play and concentrate when your position is slightly bad even.
Jul 15, 2018
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#2
Well yea obviously. It’s just that people under 2000 shouldn’t spend all their time studying opening like some people over 2000 do
Jul 15, 2018
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#3
under 2000, what you need to have an understanding of is: pawn structure, piece placement.
Was it you who told us about using Fundamental Chess Openings and chess opening wizard software?
Jul 15, 2018
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#5
Opening theory is not as important at your level- if you do study openings, don't study moves- study plans and ideas. You can study some concrete traps, but otherwise when your opponent gets out of theory, the player who studied plans instead of moves will have the advantage in the upcoming struggle.
https://www.chess.com/article/view/learning-an-opening-to-memorize-or-understand
https://www.chess.com/article/view/3-ways-to-learn-new-openings
https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-understand-openings
"... Overall, I would advise most players to stick to a fairly limited range of openings, and not to worry about learning too much by heart. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
"... I feel that the main reasons to buy an opening book are to give a good overview of the opening, and to explain general plans and ideas. ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... If the book contains illustrative games, it is worth playing these over first ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... the average player only needs to know a limited amount about the openings he plays. Providing he understands the main aims of the opening, a few typical plans and a handful of basic variations, that is enough. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
"... Everyman Chess has started a new series aimed at those who want to understand the basics of an opening, i.e., the not-yet-so-strong players. ... I imagine [there] will be a long series based on the premise of bringing the basic ideas of an opening to the reader through plenty of introductory text, game annotations, hints, plans and much more. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627055734/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen38.pdf
"The way I suggest you study this book is to play through the main games once, relatively quickly, and then start playing the variation in actual games. Playing an opening in real games is of vital importance - without this kind of live practice it is impossible to get a 'feel' for the kind of game it leads to. There is time enough later for involvement with the details, after playing your games it is good to look up the line." - GM Nigel Davies (2005)
"... Review each of your games, identifying opening (and other) mistakes with the goal of not repeatedly making the same mistake. ... It is especially critical not to continually fall into opening traps – or even lines that result in difficult positions ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627062646/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman81.pdf
Jul 15, 2018
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#7
Those over 2000 players tell us mortals that we shouldn’t study specific moves and lines, like they do, what ur saying is understanding ideas and plans, which is recommended at our level, the only thing they don’t recommend is looking at specific moves in variations before we develop our understanding and positional understanding depending on the specific position.
Jul 15, 2018
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#8
MitSud wrote:
Those over 2000 players tell us mortals that we shouldn’t study specific moves and lines, like they do, what ur saying is understanding ideas and plans, which is recommended at our level, the only thing they don’t recommend is looking at specific moves in variations before we develop our understanding and positional understanding depending on the specific position.
I remember an interview with Bent Larsen when he was in the top 5 in the world. They asked him about preparing openings, and what he looked for when reviewing the games of his competitors. He said he looked for the ideas, and that memorizing moves without understanding ideas was a waste anyway, because you'd never be able to remember them (I'm paraphrasing of course).
All this to say: "understanding ideas and plans" isn't just recommended "at our level" it's recommended at every level. It's the whole point.
Maybe you already know this, but I'm just saying for OP's sake, or for someone else reading this. It's not as if GM sit around memorizing tons of moves... sure they do that too, but the main point is understanding.
