lichess.org
Donate

You’re studying chess openings the wrong way (do this instead)

'In order to improve your game you must study the endgame before everything else; for, whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and the opening must be studied in relation to the endgame.' - Capablanca

'In order to improve your game you must study the endgame before everything else; for, whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and the opening must be studied in relation to the endgame.' - Capablanca

I see last couple of months a lot of new tools being developed with a big focus on openings.
Some examples:
https://adjva4.dpdns.org/@/xander333/blog/this-is-how-much-elo-you-are-losing-in-the-opening/kVDaBcg0
https://chessboardmagic.com/
https://siderite.dev/LiChessTools/
https://chesspertise.app/opening-training
....

However what confuses me is that the developers themselves are all very low rated or unrated. Maybe some expect to make money out of it but that sounds rather optimistic to me. I also think it is very hard to understand what is needed for openingstudy if you are not a master.

I see last couple of months a lot of new tools being developed with a big focus on openings. Some examples: https://adjva4.dpdns.org/@/xander333/blog/this-is-how-much-elo-you-are-losing-in-the-opening/kVDaBcg0 https://chessboardmagic.com/ https://siderite.dev/LiChessTools/ https://chesspertise.app/opening-training .... However what confuses me is that the developers themselves are all very low rated or unrated. Maybe some expect to make money out of it but that sounds rather optimistic to me. I also think it is very hard to understand what is needed for openingstudy if you are not a master.

Thanks for your effort in writing this exceptionally good and easily understandable article.

Thanks for your effort in writing this exceptionally good and easily understandable article.

@tpr said ^

'In order to improve your game you must study the endgame before everything else; for, whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and the opening must be studied in relation to the endgame.' - Capablanca

I love endgames myself but the % of people who actually take that approach must be very very small!

@tpr said [^](/forum/redirect/post/6iOCKSg8) > 'In order to improve your game you must study the endgame before everything else; for, whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and the opening must be studied in relation to the endgame.' - Capablanca I love endgames myself but the % of people who actually take that approach must be very very small!

@mvhk said ^

I see last couple of months a lot of new tools being developed with a big focus on openings.
Some examples:
https://adjva4.dpdns.org/@/xander333/blog/this-is-how-much-elo-you-are-losing-in-the-opening/kVDaBcg0
https://chessboardmagic.com/
https://siderite.dev/LiChessTools/
https://chesspertise.app/opening-training
....

However what confuses me is that the developers themselves are all very low rated or unrated. Maybe some expect to make money out of it but that sounds rather optimistic to me. I also think it is very hard to understand what is needed for openingstudy if you are not a master.

Interesting! Yep, now that anyone can 'build', there'll be more and more tools and websites - probably some can be useful but in the end, the importance of openings won't stop being overestimated. Probably healthy approach for most players is to not worry about too much theory, play what you like, learn from each game you play and follow curiosity while keeping it a small part of your time on chess.

@mvhk said [^](/forum/redirect/post/OU3QMi2l) > I see last couple of months a lot of new tools being developed with a big focus on openings. > Some examples: > https://adjva4.dpdns.org/@/xander333/blog/this-is-how-much-elo-you-are-losing-in-the-opening/kVDaBcg0 > https://chessboardmagic.com/ > https://siderite.dev/LiChessTools/ > https://chesspertise.app/opening-training > .... > > However what confuses me is that the developers themselves are all very low rated or unrated. Maybe some expect to make money out of it but that sounds rather optimistic to me. I also think it is very hard to understand what is needed for openingstudy if you are not a master. Interesting! Yep, now that anyone can 'build', there'll be more and more tools and websites - probably some can be useful but in the end, the importance of openings won't stop being overestimated. Probably healthy approach for most players is to not worry about too much theory, play what you like, learn from each game you play and follow curiosity while keeping it a small part of your time on chess.

@Tenakel said ^

Thanks for your effort in writing this exceptionally good and easily understandable article.

Thank you, I'm glad you found it useful.

@Tenakel said [^](/forum/redirect/post/G4Le2KYG) > Thanks for your effort in writing this exceptionally good and easily understandable article. Thank you, I'm glad you found it useful.

A really refreshing take on this issue.
The reality I face (1500 player online) is that my opponents are definitely booked up 10 moves or more into the openings I like to play, in all the lines. They are all using databases and engines to get to this. How else in this day ? Up to lately I haven't been doing that myself. I get crushed. I'm forced to do the same or stay in the basement. If I can get into a middle game without major losses I'm often finding better moves than people who are rated 300-400 points higher. So really it's like going into a battle with outdated equipment if I don't do some opening memorization. I like that you say it should only be 20% of my study time budget.

A really refreshing take on this issue. The reality I face (1500 player online) is that my opponents are definitely booked up 10 moves or more into the openings I like to play, in all the lines. They are all using databases and engines to get to this. How else in this day ? Up to lately I haven't been doing that myself. I get crushed. I'm forced to do the same or stay in the basement. If I can get into a middle game without major losses I'm often finding better moves than people who are rated 300-400 points higher. So really it's like going into a battle with outdated equipment if I don't do some opening memorization. I like that you say it should only be 20% of my study time budget.

@datajunkie said ^

'In order to improve your game you must study the endgame before everything else; for, whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and the opening must be studied in relation to the endgame.' - Capablanca

I love endgames myself but the % of people who actually take that approach must be very very small!

It's the best way to learn, but it takes years and years. So inreality you'll find a compromise.

@datajunkie said [^](/forum/redirect/post/Zmz62hvJ) > > 'In order to improve your game you must study the endgame before everything else; for, whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and the opening must be studied in relation to the endgame.' - Capablanca > > I love endgames myself but the % of people who actually take that approach must be very very small! It's the best way to learn, but it takes years and years. So inreality you'll find a compromise.

@AnDreW_B_CoOpeR said ^

A really refreshing take on this issue.
The reality I face (1500 player online) is that my opponents are definitely booked up 10 moves or more into the openings I like to play, in all the lines. They are all using databases and engines to get to this. How else in this day ? Up to lately I haven't been doing that myself. I get crushed. I'm forced to do the same or stay in the basement. If I can get into a middle game without major losses I'm often finding better moves than people who are rated 300-400 points higher. So really it's like going into a battle with outdated equipment if I don't do some opening memorization. I like that you say it should only be 20% of my study time budget.

If you are getting crushed, then after each of those games it might be useful to have a look at the database in analysis mode (Masters and Lichess Database, set to slightly higher than your rating and rapid and above) and look at how your side does with different moves or where you could improve next time, create a Lichess study noting that down. And in looking at the moves, try and connect them to principles like development, control of the centre, king safety - in most cases the moves that hold up are doing good things conceptually. Once you keep doing that you at least shouldn't be crushed in the opening as much.

@AnDreW_B_CoOpeR said [^](/forum/redirect/post/P56fT0Ei) > A really refreshing take on this issue. > The reality I face (1500 player online) is that my opponents are definitely booked up 10 moves or more into the openings I like to play, in all the lines. They are all using databases and engines to get to this. How else in this day ? Up to lately I haven't been doing that myself. I get crushed. I'm forced to do the same or stay in the basement. If I can get into a middle game without major losses I'm often finding better moves than people who are rated 300-400 points higher. So really it's like going into a battle with outdated equipment if I don't do some opening memorization. I like that you say it should only be 20% of my study time budget. If you are getting crushed, then after each of those games it might be useful to have a look at the database in analysis mode (Masters and Lichess Database, set to slightly higher than your rating and rapid and above) and look at how your side does with different moves or where you could improve next time, create a Lichess study noting that down. And in looking at the moves, try and connect them to principles like development, control of the centre, king safety - in most cases the moves that hold up are doing good things conceptually. Once you keep doing that you at least shouldn't be crushed in the opening as much.