When I first joined lichess, I looked at and studied many of Lichess's popular opening studies and used them as my sole source of opening preparation. Now, as an 1800 I can definitively say that using the popular lichess studies to learn openings is a horrible way to learn for newer players.
1: Almost every single popular lichess study is extremely superficial and is not useful for practical play. The second most popular lichess study is on my favorite opening with black, the Caro Kann. The link is here: lichess.org/study/jtlLwUvh. The funny thing is, the first chapter after the introduction is on the advanced variation, where there is no mention of the mainline but only has the Botvinnik-Carls variation. Even so, there is only one line in the entire chapter with no nuances or alternative moves or move orders. This is practically useless for playing especially at lower elos where people play seemingly random moves, not a single line that isn't even the mainline. I have not yet encountered a popular opening study on lichess with more than about 20 chapters. When I made my own Catalan preparation study, the max of 64 was still too little. In order to really learn an opening you need to study upwards of 100 different variations and positions.
2: Why this move? With no explanation behind each move, it is impossible for people new to the opening to punish mistakes and blunders. These studies just spit out a single move without any reasons for them, usually just saying, "play *insert move*". Memorizing can only get you so far unless you are learning advanced theory.
3: Interactive studies are painful. Almost all of the popular opening studies are interactive. What is the point of an interactive study if you don't already know the opening? It ends up just being a lot of guessing and pressing show answer. In addition, interactive studies only have on line as previously stated. This is terrible for learning because if the study is interactive you cannot even analyze alternative moves or see engine analysis or the database while studying. Most people even turn off analysis and database for their studies all-together and disable copying which sort of hinders exploring and learning sidelines.
4: Almost all of the most popular studies just show a line of theory and then end it, without showing middle-game ideas and positional goals. Knowing the first 10 moves in the opening is no use if you don't know middle-game ideas and all that theory will be wasted and the advantage will be lost.
So how should you learn new openings?
Watch youtube videos, they are often created by much stronger players who not only know the theory but also the reasoning behind each move and also cover many different variations. However, don't use Gothamchess's 10 minute openings to study an opening seriously because they are too short, instead watch Hanging Pawns, Naroditsky, thechesswebsite, Saint Louis Chess Club, etc.
You should also create your own studies for your openings. Creating your own lichess study will help you understand and remember your preparation as well as letting you explore and learn sidelines. Be extensive, the more the better.
Study master games and watch videos explaining a particular game (agadmator). The more games you study the more strategies and themes you will learn in your opening. This themes are often more important in openings than outright memorization. Themes are broad, theory lines are not.
Find more extensive studies made by stronger players on lichess. They are often longer and if it is just personal preparation they will include many of the sidelines and less popular lines. You can often clone these and use them as a base for your own lichess study.
I have seen many newer players comment things like "I wish this showed more moves because your opponent doesn't have to play like this" on LeninPerez's lichess opening studies. this is just some advice for the players who are frustrated by these superficial studies and want to really learn an opening thoroughly.
1: Almost every single popular lichess study is extremely superficial and is not useful for practical play. The second most popular lichess study is on my favorite opening with black, the Caro Kann. The link is here: lichess.org/study/jtlLwUvh. The funny thing is, the first chapter after the introduction is on the advanced variation, where there is no mention of the mainline but only has the Botvinnik-Carls variation. Even so, there is only one line in the entire chapter with no nuances or alternative moves or move orders. This is practically useless for playing especially at lower elos where people play seemingly random moves, not a single line that isn't even the mainline. I have not yet encountered a popular opening study on lichess with more than about 20 chapters. When I made my own Catalan preparation study, the max of 64 was still too little. In order to really learn an opening you need to study upwards of 100 different variations and positions.
2: Why this move? With no explanation behind each move, it is impossible for people new to the opening to punish mistakes and blunders. These studies just spit out a single move without any reasons for them, usually just saying, "play *insert move*". Memorizing can only get you so far unless you are learning advanced theory.
3: Interactive studies are painful. Almost all of the popular opening studies are interactive. What is the point of an interactive study if you don't already know the opening? It ends up just being a lot of guessing and pressing show answer. In addition, interactive studies only have on line as previously stated. This is terrible for learning because if the study is interactive you cannot even analyze alternative moves or see engine analysis or the database while studying. Most people even turn off analysis and database for their studies all-together and disable copying which sort of hinders exploring and learning sidelines.
4: Almost all of the most popular studies just show a line of theory and then end it, without showing middle-game ideas and positional goals. Knowing the first 10 moves in the opening is no use if you don't know middle-game ideas and all that theory will be wasted and the advantage will be lost.
So how should you learn new openings?
Watch youtube videos, they are often created by much stronger players who not only know the theory but also the reasoning behind each move and also cover many different variations. However, don't use Gothamchess's 10 minute openings to study an opening seriously because they are too short, instead watch Hanging Pawns, Naroditsky, thechesswebsite, Saint Louis Chess Club, etc.
You should also create your own studies for your openings. Creating your own lichess study will help you understand and remember your preparation as well as letting you explore and learn sidelines. Be extensive, the more the better.
Study master games and watch videos explaining a particular game (agadmator). The more games you study the more strategies and themes you will learn in your opening. This themes are often more important in openings than outright memorization. Themes are broad, theory lines are not.
Find more extensive studies made by stronger players on lichess. They are often longer and if it is just personal preparation they will include many of the sidelines and less popular lines. You can often clone these and use them as a base for your own lichess study.
I have seen many newer players comment things like "I wish this showed more moves because your opponent doesn't have to play like this" on LeninPerez's lichess opening studies. this is just some advice for the players who are frustrated by these superficial studies and want to really learn an opening thoroughly.
