Most top players and top level coaches do not recommend that players below 1800 pay too much attention to studying the openings as a means to do better at chess. GM Noel Studer would advise spending at most 1/3 of the study time available to do this, spending the other 2/3ths on going through games and working on tactics. My take on this is that if one has to start playing 1 e4 early in your chess journey, then it makes sense to incorporate your chess learning with developing a sound repertoire along studying tactics. Why? With computers today having a significant say on how the game of chess develops from the opening, one can argue that the line where the opening ends and the middlegame begins is gradually blurred. I see the position coming out of the first 12 moves as a "opening-middlegame" position and the truth about this position should be established (ie where the pieces go, what pawn structure advantage can occur and the resulting endgames emerging). Hence to me, it i...
The topic " How to Study Chess Books" was skipped as I realise that many of the players I have spoken to do not read them. Most are spending time on chess either playing online or watching videos to learn about the game. Hence I've decided to revise the schedule for February as follows: Date TITLE Feb 11 Using online tools for chess improvement Feb 18 How to choose an opening that suits you playing White Feb 25 How to choose an opening that suits you playing Black Kindly email me at jfan2003@gmail.com to register for the dates. All classes start at 8pm going forward.