How to memorize chess openings and traps • page 2/2 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

what i do already is compile a list of some of my favorite games (can be GM or even your own) along with my analysis of interesting variations and save them in the cloud so i can go back and look at them to refresh my memory when i want. it`s very convenient and organized that way. chess is 99% pattern recognition and the more disciplined you become in your thinking the better your skills will increase

kindaspongey edited

#12

@LouisXXIV said in #1:

I am always falling into the same sets of traps and make same sets of blunders in my 5+3 games. ...
In
https://lichess.org/0QUvTm2K

you probably should not think of 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bc4 Bc5 5 O-O d6 6 d3 Nd4 7 Ng5 as a trap to be memorized. Are you aware of the standard reaction (...O-O) to situations like this? Were you afraid of 7 Ng5 O-O 8 Nxf7 Rxf7 9 Bxf7+ Kxf7 ? That actually would have been bad for joshua3504. The machine says that that would have been ~1.6 in your favor. It turns out that, in the particular position after 7 Ng5, the machine thinks that 7...Bg4 would have been better than 7...O-O, but castling would apparently have been good enough for an approximately level position. 7...Qe7 (played after ~9 seconds) did not exactly save your f7-pawn, did it?
By the way, after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bc4, the usual recommendation is that Black go for 4...Nxe4 5 Nxe4 d5, but it is not a big deal that you went for 4...Bc5 instead.
Issues like this are discussed in First Steps: 1 e4 e5.
"... As it's a First Steps book, I’ve tried to avoid encyclopaedic coverage. In any case, you certainly don’t need to remember every single variation and all the notes before playing the opening. Take in the first few moves and the key ideas, and then try it out in your games! ..." - GM John Emms (2018)
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7790.pdf
"... I am not a big fan of weaker players memorizing lots of opening lines they will never play. However, it is quite a different issue to spend a small amount of time learning how to play your openings a little better each time they occur. A long journey begins with a single step. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2005)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627023809/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman50.pdf
As near as I can tell, in
https://lichess.org/HbwnfSQN

you were doing fine until 13...Qd4+ (played after ~14 seconds).
“... Most internet players think that 30 5 [(30 minutes with a five second increment added every move)] is slow, but that is unlikely slow enough to play 'real' chess. You need a game slow enough so that for most of the game you have time to consider all your candidate moves as well as your opponent’s possible replies that at least include his checks, captures, and serious threats, to make sure you can meet all of them. For the average OTB player G/90 is about the fastest, which might be roughly 60 10 online, where there is some delay. But there is no absolute; some people think faster than others and others can play real chess faster because of experience. Many internet players are reluctant to play slower than 30 5 so you might have to settle for that as a 'slow' game." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627010008/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman12.pdf

@LouisXXIV said in #1: > I am always falling into the same sets of traps and make same sets of blunders in my 5+3 games. ... In https://lichess.org/0QUvTm2K you probably should not think of 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bc4 Bc5 5 O-O d6 6 d3 Nd4 7 Ng5 as a trap to be memorized. Are you aware of the standard reaction (...O-O) to situations like this? Were you afraid of 7 Ng5 O-O 8 Nxf7 Rxf7 9 Bxf7+ Kxf7 ? That actually would have been bad for joshua3504. The machine says that that would have been ~1.6 in your favor. It turns out that, in the particular position after 7 Ng5, the machine thinks that 7...Bg4 would have been better than 7...O-O, but castling would apparently have been good enough for an approximately level position. 7...Qe7 (played after ~9 seconds) did not exactly save your f7-pawn, did it? By the way, after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bc4, the usual recommendation is that Black go for 4...Nxe4 5 Nxe4 d5, but it is not a big deal that you went for 4...Bc5 instead. Issues like this are discussed in First Steps: 1 e4 e5. "... As it's a First Steps book, I’ve tried to avoid encyclopaedic coverage. In any case, you certainly don’t need to remember every single variation and all the notes before playing the opening. Take in the first few moves and the key ideas, and then try it out in your games! ..." - GM John Emms (2018) https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7790.pdf "... I am not a big fan of weaker players memorizing lots of opening lines they will never play. However, it is quite a different issue to spend a small amount of time learning how to play your openings a little better each time they occur. A long journey begins with a single step. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2005) https://web.archive.org/web/20140627023809/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman50.pdf As near as I can tell, in https://lichess.org/HbwnfSQN you were doing fine until 13...Qd4+ (played after ~14 seconds). “... Most internet players think that 30 5 [(30 minutes with a five second increment added every move)] is slow, but that is unlikely slow enough to play 'real' chess. You need a game slow enough so that for most of the game you have time to consider all your candidate moves as well as your opponent’s possible replies that at least include his checks, captures, and serious threats, to make sure you can meet all of them. For the average OTB player G/90 is about the fastest, which might be roughly 60 10 online, where there is some delay. But there is no absolute; some people think faster than others and others can play real chess faster because of experience. Many internet players are reluctant to play slower than 30 5 so you might have to settle for that as a 'slow' game." - NM Dan Heisman (2002) https://web.archive.org/web/20140627010008/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman12.pdf