Learning openings for those who don't have time to learn openings

Last post I gave a process for learning openings. And I promised a "shortcut" if you didn't have enough time to devote to learning openings. This is that shortcut.

Learn & Memorize
Well, it's not really a shortcut. You will still have to choose the main lines you like, you'll have to learn and memorize those lines. And you'll have to ensure you know any tricks or traps inherent in those lines. Then you will need to practice, practice, and practice some more.

But there is a way to minimize your study time. If you play e4 (or d4) you are choosing the "family" of openings (king or queen pawn openings). Black can then push you into a forced opening of her choice OR she can reply in kind (e4 - e5 or d4 - d5) and offer to let you pick the opening. But if the game goes 1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3... Black can still push into a choice of opening. This dance can go on for multiple moves before you get to "an opening" that you could have learned and memorized. That's a lot of choices to learn. Too many for some of us.

NOTE: When I say "learn and memorize" - I see these as two distinctly different, albeit related activities. When we learn an opening line - we delve into the "why" for each move and make sure we have a full understanding of the purpose of both sides "best moves." You will also need to memorize the moves. And memorize the order for those moves. BUT if you only learn the purpose, you may not remember all of the right moves and waste an inordinate amount of time trying to remember them. If you only memorize the moves, when your opponent makes a move "out of your book," you'll be totally lost.

Forcing Openings
So what's the short cut? Find openings that are "forcing" openings. You can decrease your study time down to three (and in some cases just two) openings! Examples of forced openings for White are pretty much any first move other than e4 or e5. If you play the English (c4), Birds (f4), Grob (g4), King's Indian Attack (Nf3), or Larsen's (b3) opening, no matter the response you get from Black, you are playing the opening listed. This means you only have to study one opening as White.

If instead you play e4, you'll have to prepare many possible choices: The Sicilian, French, Caro-Kann, Scandanavian, and any non-e5 choice by Black. The same holds true for d4: Pirc, King's Indian, Queen's Indian, and many more. And that's not even counting transitioning into another opening (1. d4 e6, 2. e4 d5 = the French).

I'm not saying it's bad to play e4 or d4 on your first move. Quite the contrary. I highly recommend my students play many games with e4 and then switch and play d4 games. You need to understand how to play the types of games you get with these opening systems. BUT...if you need a short cut when it comes time to study openings, a Forced Opening gives you the opportunity to study less.

As Black I recommend you pick a forced defense against e4. Don't play e5. If you do, then you are inviting White to pick the opening of her choice (Italian, Guicco Piano, Ruy Lopez, King's Gambit, Ponziani, etc.). Again, this is only if you are trying to get really serious, and want to study openings, AND you don't have a lot of time to do so. You know, you have a family, a job, hobbies, and you also want to get better at chess.

So now you are learning and memorizing only two openings - one as white, and one against e4. The last opening is again as Black and it should be a forced opening you can play against any first move other than e4, including d4. The Dutch, Pirc, King's Indian, Queen's Indian, etc. can all work for you.

Worried about being bored?
Are you worried that if you only play three openings (one for White and two for Black) that you may become bored? I can't guarantee that your personality won't lead you to boredom, but I can assure you that any openings you pick will have a robust and rich amount of variations (lines) that you can play. You opponent gets to also keep it fresh because guess what? Your opponent won't play your favorite (pet) line, they are just as likely to play something you've never seen and didn't study. So if you get tired of playing the same lines, branch into different variations. If you are still bored, try a different forcing opening. There is nothing wrong with learning more. But if you truly want to save time and still improve - I highly recommend forcing openings.