OPENING REPERTOIRE
404. What is the importance of a good opening repertoire?
The opening repertoire is essential for your success in chess. It does no less than deciding about:
- who starts with a positional advantage in the middlegame
- who catches whom empty-handed
- who has the psychological initiative
- who has more time on the clock
- who starts with a subjective advantage by aligning the position with his style, skills and knowledge
405. What is the connection between the opening and the middlegame?
Actually, you should consider the opening and the middlegame as one unit. Learning opening theory by heart without understanding the middlegame logic can lead you into trouble, if you are confronting an expert on the other side of the board.
406. Is there a link between the opening and the endgame?
It can even be useful to study opening-related endgames. Many openings have closed or otherwise fixed pawn structures, which last until the late middle game or early endgame. One example is the French Defense, where you can find the pawns d5 and e6 late in the game. Shereshevsky provides such material in his two volumes “Mastering the Endgame “.
407. What is the connection between your repertoire and your development as a chess player?
Sometimes it happens that a young talent is turning into an eternal talent. One reason could be a stagnation in the opening repertoire. As your playing standard increases, the same should happen with the complexity of your positions. That way, you create room for further growth and also apply more pressure on your opponents. This is necessary, as you play stronger opponents when your playing strength rises.
408. How do I create a complex position?
The more value dimensions are relevant in a position, the greater the potential for imbalances and, consequently, for winning ideas. Examples of value dimensions include pawn structure (pawn weaknesses, square weaknesses, pawn majorities, potential for pawn breaks), piece activity and initiative or king safety. I find the complexity of the pawn structure particularly significant, as challenging structures provide a good basis for outmanoeuvring the opponent with relatively little risk. This refers to positions in which the pawns are reasonably mobile, either in terms of majorities or potential for levers. The latter forms the basis for the emergence of substructures. The greater the potential for substructures, the more complex the position and the greater the potential for winning.
409. Do I play quality openings?
Playing high quality openings is rather high maintenance, but important for the ambitious player. Here are the guidelines:
- Try to equalize with Black.
- Try to get += with White.
- Only play lines which are made to last. If you learn bad openings which you will have to abandon at some point, you might waste Elo-points and energy in the long run.
- Stay on the solid foundation of the classical chess principles. Only play modern openings of the highest category and don’t abandon space without a very good reason.
- Put your opponent under pressure from the very first move. This can happen by active play or by establishing demanding pawn structures. Such complex structures help you to grow as a chess player. Hence the adage: “Learning the Ruy Lopez is learning chess.” The same applies for the Nimzoindian, the Sicilian or other challenging openings, of course.
410. Is my repertoire efficient enough?
This topic is more important for amateurs, but also professionals don’t want to waste their time. If you don’t have much time to study you won’t be able to play the most demanding openings and must make compromises. As an example, you might go for a queen’s pawn opening such as the London System with White and for a solid defense as the Queen’s Gambit Declined with Black. It is better to play a moderate opening than a complex one with a lot of theoretical gaps and a lack of understanding. Here are some guidelines:
- Play openings which rely on the understanding of principles and logic rather than on memorizing long variations.
- When having the choice between two equivalent mainlines, choose the one with the lesser game frequency.
- Pick openings where it is you who decides which way to go at mayor branches, not your opponent.
- Choose openings which include the knowledge of only a couple of pawn structures.
- Try to find underrated sidelines.
- Have in mind that 1.d4 is far easier to learn than 1.e4.
411. Does my repertoire fit my memory skills?
There are two arche types of openings: memory openings and pattern openings. Memory openings are loaded with long and forced variations, whereas pattern openings rely more on the understanding of positional patterns. Most openings are located between these poles, with varying degrees of sharpness. While the Najdorf Poisened Pawn might consist of 90% memory and 10% patterns, some lines of the symmetrical English might have reciprocal characteristics. If your memory isn’t that good, maybe because you are on the wrong side of 40, you should mostly stick to pattern openings.
412. Are my openings in line with my tactical skills?
Of course there is quite some overlapping with the previous point. Memory openings are rather sharp, which means tactical. If your tactical or calculation skills are rather poor, stick to calm pattern openings.
413. Is my repertoire appropriate for my style?
Your style consist of several factors. Are you more of a classical or a modern player or do you cover both aspects (universal style)? A classical player appreciates space very much and wants to occupy the center with pawns. He likes active and straight-forward piece play. The more aggressive type of the classical player likes to attack. The modern player generally likes pawn play. Some of them like to counter attack with Black. Playing modern openings is tricky, as there are many where Black doesn’t get enough compensation for his spatial disadvantage. As White, it is difficult to claim an advantage playing in modern style. Of course, being universal (versatile) is best, as you can play classically with White and only pick the high-quality modern openings with Black (e.g. some Sicilians, Grunfeld Defense, Nimzoindian). Then there is the distinction between grinders and punchers. The first style is characterized by patience and a focus on pawn play, the second one by piece play and aggression.
414. Is my repertoire flexible enough?
It was never easier to learn openings as it is today. Many sources offer turnkey repertoire solutions. From a different perspective, however, things have become more difficult. Your average opponent is much better informed than 20 years ago. If you don’t adjust to the rising standards, you will fall behind. As a result, your repertoire has to be much broader than in the past.
- Don’t be a sitting duck for your opponent’s game preparation. Be the one that surprises your opponent, not vice versa. Of course, this demands some kind of broader repertoire.
- Have different openings prepared, with which you can either play for a win or a draw. Let’s say you play the Petroff Defense as well as the Berlin Defense against 1.e4. That gives you only quantitative flexibility, but no qualitative one. With both openings it will be hard to beat inferior opposition. A combination of the Petroff with some kind of Sicilian would make much more sense.
- It is okay to play sharp variations, if you have time to prepare for the game. But also have robust alternatives available, which you can play as a default solution in case you meet your opponent unprepared. As an example, you might play the Caro-Kann as your default opening and the Sicilian Najdorf when having time for preparation.
415. Do I hold back information as long as possible?
I already mentioned the easy way to keep your opponent guessing with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6, although your intention to play 3…d5 is already settled. You know it, but your opponent might refrain from 3.Nc3 for fear of the Nimzoindian Defense. With 3.Nf3, however, he will forfeit the possibility to play the Queen’s Gambit Exchange Variation in a meaningful way. Another example is the London System. Many players choose the move order 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4. In my opinion, this is slightly flawed, as it gives away your intention too early. Now Black can use the ambitious variations 2…c5 or 2…g6, whereas after 2.Nf3 (and only 3.Bf4), Black has to fear 2…c5 3.d5 += or the strong white main lines, should he opt for the King’s Indian Defense with 2…g6. You might argue that you are not prepared to deviate from the London System. Well, you know it, but does your opponent?
416. Do I provide my opponent with bad options?
One of the reasons for the success of the Sicilian Defense is the theoretical pressure it exerts on the white player. He will have to study the whole variety of Black’s options. Or…, or he chickens out with one of the many sidelines, thus abandoning all serious hopes for and opening advantage. If you look at the statistics, you will see that these sidelines often perform considerably below 50%. White has many options for feeble play, indeed. Now consider the French Defense by contrast. The moves 3.Nc3, 3.Nd2 and 3.e5 are all decent and allow White to play for an opening advantage. Even 3.exd5 is no argument for the French Defense, as it is an annoying drawing weapon for White. Even though the Fench Defense is a good opening, it is clearly inferior to the Sicilian on the level of the metagame.
417. Do I know the typical pawn structures of my pet openings?
One adage I created is that chess is “the game of 1000 games”. There might be up to 1000 different pawn structures (if it is only 643, the message is still being delivered by my catchy phrase). The point is that every pawn structure can be considered a different game. While the laws of chess are effective everywhere and all the time, every single structure comes with different requirements, special rules and specific evaluations for the pieces. The pawns are very dominant in so far as they define the texture of the chess space. Think of landscapes, which can either be filled with mountains, hills, a jungle, a flat plain or water. In each of these environments a specific animal would either thrive or be completely out of place. Every environment comes with its own rules of survival. With this picture in mind, it becomes clear that a player equipped with “insider knowledge” of a specific pawn structure has a significant advantage over his ignorant opponent.
418. Do I know the winning ideas for both sides in my openings?
It is very important to know how an opening can possibly be won or lost. As a chess player you are a manager (managing recourses in a competitive environment) and hence have to use management techniques such as the SWOT-analysis. S = strength, W = weakness, O = opportunities and T = threats. Your winning ideas (O) should be the motivation for you to play a variation in the first place. As mentioned before, I found 17 winning ideas for Black in the Classical Caro-Kann and 25 in the Scheveningen structure of the Open Sicilian after only a moderate search. By playing through master games with a curious mindset you can do the same with your openings as well.
419. Do I have underrated sidelines in my repertoire?
Sidelines are normally sidelines for a reason. However, some of them are getting unjustly neglected. Finding such hidden gems would provide you with high quality lines, which are less complex than main lines and will surprise your opponent.
420. Do my Black openings contain enough winning potential?
Trying to win with White and to draw with Black isn’t enough for the ambitious amateur or the pro, who depends on earning price money in open tournaments. Against inferior opposition, your openings should enable you to play for win with the black pieces as well. Sharp openings do the job, but often you pay with lack of solidity. If you are a grinder, a solid positional approach as provided by the Nimzoindian Defense, for example, is a good solution. All you need are imbalances, the more the better. If you have some kind of advantage(s), you won’t be short of a winning plan.
421. Does my repertoire contain anti-variations?
It is advisable to play variations, which destroy the spirit of your opponent’s opening idea. Above I already mentioned refraining from playing d2-d4 when your opponent is likely to play a Stonewall setup, as we can break up his structure with d3 and e4. Now, let’s imagine we play against the Panov-Attack in the Caro-Kann. The Panov-player normally is aggressive and likes to attack. What about playing the line 5…g6? After 6.Qb3 Bg7 7.cxd5 White is a pawn up, but it is doubled. He has no attacking chances whatsoever and will now be occupied with more or less passively defending his extra pawn, while we as Black can display some kind of activity. Roles are reversed and we might have won the psychological battle. Or let’s take the example above I gave of the London System. The London player wants solidity. So we play 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 c5 with Black and after 3.e3 continue our agression with 3…Qb6.
422. Does my repertoire contain camouflage variations?
It is especially rewarding if you play variations where your advantage or winning idea is well concealed. For instance, in the Classical Caro-Kann White’s position sometimes is overextended with weak pawns on h5 and c4, added by potential weaknesses on g2 and f2. I know many positions, where after a first glimpse one could falsely assume that White is doing fine, while in reality Black is slightly or even clearly better.
423. Do I play too many sharp variations?
If you are a tactically skilled player, playing sharp variations is not a bad idea. However, if your whole repertoire is composed only of sharp memory openings, you might find yourself overpowered by the sheer quantity. Treat yourself to a bit peace and quiet in some of your openings at least.
424. Do I have enough practical experience?
Having no practical experience with your lines can be a big problem. It is advisable to play rapid or blitz tournaments, online or offline, and analyze the critical variations afterwards.
