How to learn an opening

One of my favorite students asked me about learning openings. He is working on improving (which makes me happy), and now that he has a strong grasp of endgame concepts, general principles, and is no longer giving away Free Candy, he wants to learn openings.

I highly recommend this order of learning, especially for beginners or those new to chess. Endgame concepts, principles to good chess (including the goals in each of the three phases of a game), and awareness of the position on the board so you are not giving away Free Candy and you recognize when your opponent is offering you Free Candy.

But now he's working on openings. He's watching YouTube videos and even paying for courses on the openings he's chosen to learn. And these videos are short on understanding the concepts in the opening and long on lines to memorize. Is that the right way to go?

No. I don't think so. Learning an opening will require memorization. You need to know the main lines, the tricks and traps available, for you and your opponent, in the lines you choose to play. But these are not the most important parts of learning an opening...they are more a necessary evil.

How should you learn an opening? Here are my suggested steps, in order for learning an opening.

1. Make Sure You're Ready

If you haven't played enough games to know your style, don't bother studying an opening. Play solid chess, testing out both e4 and d4 on move one and answering e4 with e5 or d4 with d5 as black. Once you have played enough to be sure you understand basic opening principles (development, king safety, center control, space) and you don't give away Free Candy, and you don't miss taking it when offered, you're ready to learn openings!

2. Review Master Games

Time to do some research. I want you to play through Classic Masterpieces. We're trying to find openings you will enjoy playing. Don't use modern games, look up the classics. Find ones that "speak" to you, games that make you smile. Once you've found some openings that you like, review 10 Classic Master Games in which that opening was played, preferably wins for your opening. See how the masters played. Enjoy the games.

3. Learn the concepts and ideas in the opening

Each opening has focal points and areas of concern. Each opening has a distinct transition to the middle game, one that you can learn about. This is at a more abstract level than memorizing moves. This is the WHY behind the moves and the move order. It is important that you understand what the opening is designed to do, where the game is expected to go.

4. Learn Theory

Yup, time for you to do memorization. But first, you need to play through different lines to choose which variation(s) you like. Every opening has many different branches it can take. Some decided by you, some by your opponent. When it's up to you which variation to play, you need to choose so wisely. You need to play the variations that you think you'll enjoy. It doesn't have to be the main line...you might choose a less popular line that you find fun.

5. Memorize

You knew it was eventually coming. Time to memorize the main lines. And along with that the tricks and traps available (for both sides) in the line(s) you chose. This step can be done through interactive studies in Lichess as well as other online tools (Chessable for example).

6. Play Fast

Now go out there and play chess! Play blitz and rapid to get as many chances to practice the lines you can. Rapid and Blitz will allow you to play a lot of games in a short span of time. See if you remember the lines. Don't worry about the end result as both of these time controls will result in blunders and poor play - time pressure does that. We're only focused on the first 10-12 moves. Did you get them right? In the right order? Did you respond correctly to your opponent's choices?

7. Play Slow

Now it's time to put it all together. Play slower games (Classical and correspondence). Make sure you are following the theory you've memorized. Go into the middle game with a predetermined idea of the targets to attack, the weaknesses to avoid, and the opportunities you should see. NOTE: A key here is when your opponent plays a move that you haven't studied (or don't remember), STOP and slow down. Think hard. Why wasn't this in the theory you studied? Is it a bad move? Will it transition to another line? Is it a mistake? The benefit of memorization is NOT so you don't have to think, it so you know WHEN to think. And this is why you need to know the concepts and ideas. What did your opponent's move miss? What opportunity do you now have? What was the expected move and why was it expected?

8. Revisit your Opening

Remember in step 4 when we picked the variation(s) we liked? And we memorized, studied, practiced, and then used them? Well, if you get bored of playing those lines, you don't have to dump all of that hard work and find a totally new opening. You can try other variations instead. This is when your opening choice becomes an opening "system." it will keep your play fresh and interesting. And remember, nothing is constant in life except change. Keep your eyes and ears open for new ideas in your opening (novelties). Review modern master games in your opening. Look for new tricks and traps. ENJOY!

Final Note: If you find that you don't have time to learn all of the lines in the variations you choose, you may want to work with forcing openings. Check out my next blog on "learning openings for those who don't have time to learn openings"