Struggling in the Opening in tournaments, any help?

I need help preparing the opening. Since I am almost 1900 right now, my higher rated opponents are outplaying me in the opening. Can anybody offer help?

What problem do you have in the opening?

"... 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 ... Read many annotated game collections ... By looking at entire games, the aspiring player learns about openings, middlegames, and endgames all at one fell swoop. Playing through annotated games spurs improvement as the reader learns how good players consistently handle common positions and problems. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627062646/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman81.pdf

'my higher rated opponents are outplaying me in the opening'
They are outplaying you in all phases of the games, you need to improve your level. Books. Videos. Engines. Trainers.

[Event "rated blitz game"] [Site "https://lichess.org/ospk0atX"] [Date "2026.09.27"] [White "wojtek0812"] [BlackElo "1986"] [Variant "Standard"] [TimeControl "180+0"]
3+0 does not seem like a very good time control for attempted improvement. You played your first 21 moves at an average rate of ~2 seconds per move. You were sort of okay up to move 20.

@tpr that game was against my coach, so she was not actually 1617, but nevertheless agreed, c6 was a bit passive. I am mainly struggling with dealing with the Nf6 line in the Scandinavian when they play Nf6 instead of capturing the pawn directly.

You have a coach that gives you personal tuition. Apparently, you trust our banal thread replies more than her advice.

"I am mainly struggling with dealing with the Nf6 line in the Scandinavian when they play Nf6"

• That is near unplayable for black, e.g. after 19 moves of theory black is lost
  https://lichess.org/broadcast/fide-world-senior-championship-2025-open-65/round-7/WqK5lCq5/8x2lQqc9

@MrPawnWoodward said in #6:

... I am mainly struggling with dealing with the Nf6 line in the Scandinavian when they play Nf6 instead of capturing the pawn directly.

Are you playing something other than 1+0 games?
[Event "rated bullet game"] [Site "https://lichess.org/QXlnP5C1"] [Date "2026.10.02"] [Black "DNAVI2901"] [WhiteElo "2079"] [TimeControl "60+0"] [ECO "B01"] 1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Qxd5 3 Nc3 Qe5+ 4 Be2 Bg4 5 Nf3 ...

Is 1900 your OTB rating?