Wow, thanks for all the info. Now to start digesting it....
If you're learning the openings it puts you at an advantage to start with and that's all you need , a slight advantage to continue the game. It's not bad to learn openings but what I can tell you is that playing people that don't know the openings can be very difficult that they're not following the expected response . When I play my gf or daughter who don't know how to play but know how the pieces move I play normal openings and then find myself in very difficult situations that I've never seen before ( I mean I'm still winning) but just like different questions being asked there's something to be said for playing noobs!! Openings help you to get to a middle game where you can play from / on your own wits . I looked at your profile ........play more games , just go for it .....play games ,anyway happy chessing and good luck with your chess endeavours xxx
@SimonBirch said in #12:
> playing people that don't know the openings can be very difficult that they're not following the expected response
It's a good training to take it as an opportunity to think why is this unexpected move worse than "book one(s)" (assuming it actually is) and why is the expected move played in this position. If nothing else, understanding the logic behind standard lines better makes them much easier to remember.
Seems to me that it can be helpful to encounter advice like this:
“... For young, inexperienced players, this attack [(1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 Ng5)] is ... not easy to defend. I've seen this position appear hundreds of times in junior games, and Black often goes astray immediately. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen the player with the black pieces losing a rook, or even worse! ... even after [the good move, 4...d5,] Black has to be very careful. ... for now I'm going to recommend [3...Bc5]. ..." - GM John Emms (in the 2018 book, First Steps: 1 e4 e5)
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7790.pdf
"... there will come a time, whether on move two or move twenty, when your knowledge of theory runs out and you have to decide what to do on your own. ... sometimes you will leave theory first, sometimes your opponent. Nothing will stop this happening. It happens in every well-contested GM game at some point, usually a very significant point. This is a part of the game: an important part, something you have to get better at. ..." - IM John Cox (2006)
Type of player learn opening(their purpose)...build it stronger...to break opponent preparation easily...can do both depend on situation...any openings r good for middle game but watch out your opponent trap early in the game
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