Hello lichess community. I am trying to develop my openings so that I know them to a greater depth. Do any of you know of any good studies or books that go in depth on openings?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Such a big topic... I started out with a book called "Discovering Chess Openings" by John Emms. Covers opening ideas rather than specific move orders and is a great place to start.
Other than that, I'd suggest picking a couple of openings for white and a couple of responses for black and concentrate on learning the various lines in those openings. You could spend months just studying one thing so might be a good idea to narrow the scope a little and learn what you can!
K.
Other than that, I'd suggest picking a couple of openings for white and a couple of responses for black and concentrate on learning the various lines in those openings. You could spend months just studying one thing so might be a good idea to narrow the scope a little and learn what you can!
K.
"Fundamental Chess Openings" by Paul Van Der Sterren is a great book which covers basically every (reasonable) opening. It mostly focuses on common ideas and plans but shares some important variations and theory.
I ain't a scholar of chess.
I play for fun and analysis my games sometimes.
So I don't know what the books will tell you.
But to use an analogy from when I was training Shaolin Fung Fu.
I once went to China to learn Traditional Kung Fu, and after a few months, I was bored of the same routines and same movements, and I ask my master if he could teach me a good self-defence move.
And he showed me a kick, and explained why it was a good.
I was happy, I practice it for a while, but after some time, I got bored with this kick.so I asked him again. Hey can you teach me something new?
Okay, he said, but why?
I answered, because I wanna learn more!
He asked me, isn't it better to learn one kick, and become a master in that move, than to learn 10 kicks and be mediocre in all?
...I decided to continue to practice the first kick...
In chess, find one or 2 openings (or black counters) and focus on them.
The game is won in the endgame, not the opening.
Pick 1-2 openings and the focus on defending/advancing them. And focus your learning on endgame scenarios.
Edited: grammer
I play for fun and analysis my games sometimes.
So I don't know what the books will tell you.
But to use an analogy from when I was training Shaolin Fung Fu.
I once went to China to learn Traditional Kung Fu, and after a few months, I was bored of the same routines and same movements, and I ask my master if he could teach me a good self-defence move.
And he showed me a kick, and explained why it was a good.
I was happy, I practice it for a while, but after some time, I got bored with this kick.so I asked him again. Hey can you teach me something new?
Okay, he said, but why?
I answered, because I wanna learn more!
He asked me, isn't it better to learn one kick, and become a master in that move, than to learn 10 kicks and be mediocre in all?
...I decided to continue to practice the first kick...
In chess, find one or 2 openings (or black counters) and focus on them.
The game is won in the endgame, not the opening.
Pick 1-2 openings and the focus on defending/advancing them. And focus your learning on endgame scenarios.
Edited: grammer
@grownupboy , @NaturalBornTraveller , yes, I am especially interested in learning the ins and outs of the kings pawn game and the sicilian.
@NaturalBornTraveller
"The game is won in the endgame, not the opening."
I would even say that many games are already totally winning in the middlegame at amateur level. The endgame that arises from these middlegames is trivial most of the time because one side has such a huge advantage so that it doesn't matter anymore whether your endgame technique is crap, you'll win anyway.
That's why amateurs focus a lot on tactics, combinations, calculation skill, middlegame strategy, pawn structures, attacking technique etc.
Having good calculation skills also helps in the endgame, that's why shirov, known as an attacking player, is such a strong endgame player because attacking play and endgame play both require a huge amount of technique and calcualation.
"The game is won in the endgame, not the opening."
I would even say that many games are already totally winning in the middlegame at amateur level. The endgame that arises from these middlegames is trivial most of the time because one side has such a huge advantage so that it doesn't matter anymore whether your endgame technique is crap, you'll win anyway.
That's why amateurs focus a lot on tactics, combinations, calculation skill, middlegame strategy, pawn structures, attacking technique etc.
Having good calculation skills also helps in the endgame, that's why shirov, known as an attacking player, is such a strong endgame player because attacking play and endgame play both require a huge amount of technique and calcualation.
@ChessMathNerd I would recommend to you that after you chose 1-2 openings you like, you should study the pawn structure of your chosen openings. The reason for that is that the pawn structure determines the available plans and middlegame strategy for you. This way you will always be able to find decent moves even if you get out of theory, because you will always make moves that match the requirements of the given pawn structure.
It will help you to make good decisions in the middle game that might have consequences far into the endgame.
I recommend GM Yasser Seirawans Video about Pawn Structures:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2YN73eCfhc
There are also books like "Chess Structures" by Mauricio Flores, Quality Chess which covers different pawn formations from a wide range of openings.
This should help you to deepen your knowledge about the openings you play.
It will help you to make good decisions in the middle game that might have consequences far into the endgame.
I recommend GM Yasser Seirawans Video about Pawn Structures:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2YN73eCfhc
There are also books like "Chess Structures" by Mauricio Flores, Quality Chess which covers different pawn formations from a wide range of openings.
This should help you to deepen your knowledge about the openings you play.
@TacTicIsTicTac , thank you.
@TacTicIsTicTac I agree. Often the game is won in the midgame.
But also that's where (I suspect, don't know the statistics) that most mistakes are made?
But to study a midgame, with all those different possibilities.
That seems like a waist of effort, because of all those positions. Often a move is relative to the current board.
Also, endgame studies, shows you how to reach those endgame positions, that you can learn how to win.
If you learn an opening well, you will be well prepared for the midgame, and if you don't blunder, you have a decent position in the end game.
But also that's where (I suspect, don't know the statistics) that most mistakes are made?
But to study a midgame, with all those different possibilities.
That seems like a waist of effort, because of all those positions. Often a move is relative to the current board.
Also, endgame studies, shows you how to reach those endgame positions, that you can learn how to win.
If you learn an opening well, you will be well prepared for the midgame, and if you don't blunder, you have a decent position in the end game.
You're welcome. Pawn structures are not an easy topic so you have to take some time to study them and watch the video. If you're in a chess club or you have friends on lichess you can ask them to play a specific opening so that you can practice the desired pawn structure over and over again.
At the same time you should make sure that you are strong tactically and practice combinations a lot. Depending on your pawn structure you might have to attack the opponents king.
TLDR; If you want to learn an opening, you should study the pawn structure first. You should learn to understand the impact a pawn structure has on the opening, middle and endgame.
One example is: If you have a pawn on e5 as White (e.g. in the French Advance, or the Alapin etc.) you have to attack on the kingside. So the pawn structure with a pawn on e5 requires you to attack the king. But in order to execute this plan you need a strong foundation in tactics, mating patterns and knowledge about how to attack the kingside (e.g. how to attack the king side when the pawns around the king are on f7, h7 and g6 like in the Sicilian Dragon-> in this case you would push the h-pawn to h5 and open the h-file for your rook and mate the black king)
There is so much to learn and I have to learn a lot, too but we don't play chess for a living so we can basically learn and do whatever we like.
At the same time you should make sure that you are strong tactically and practice combinations a lot. Depending on your pawn structure you might have to attack the opponents king.
TLDR; If you want to learn an opening, you should study the pawn structure first. You should learn to understand the impact a pawn structure has on the opening, middle and endgame.
One example is: If you have a pawn on e5 as White (e.g. in the French Advance, or the Alapin etc.) you have to attack on the kingside. So the pawn structure with a pawn on e5 requires you to attack the king. But in order to execute this plan you need a strong foundation in tactics, mating patterns and knowledge about how to attack the kingside (e.g. how to attack the king side when the pawns around the king are on f7, h7 and g6 like in the Sicilian Dragon-> in this case you would push the h-pawn to h5 and open the h-file for your rook and mate the black king)
There is so much to learn and I have to learn a lot, too but we don't play chess for a living so we can basically learn and do whatever we like.
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