THE GREAT OPENING STUDY DEBATE : LEARNING OPENINGS NECESSARY FOR IMPROVEMENT??

 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 is not just how the pieces are developed but what resultant positions can emerge and the relevant plans developed to execute the plan to victory ( assuming reasonable resistance from the opponent).

Understandably this approach is extremely time consuming and it is no wonder that one should limit the options available to Black as a start. Trimming the lines and focussing on the tabiya (the layout of the pieces after 12-15 moves) is all that it takes to get a decent repertoire. In my opinion, it is futile to try to emulate the repertoires of the top GMs today as their opening choices branch all the way into 25-30 moves in terms of preparation. In Singapore, non chess-professionals have such luxury.

I strongly recommend this approach to players aged from 9-18 and those adults from their late 30s who are picking up the game. Both groups suffer from the lack of time available to spend on the game. Hence it is more productive to base their study time on identifying "Opening-early middlegame"  positions and tactics that arise from these positions.  If 1 e4 is still too many to crunch (owing to the many responses one has to prepare for), try deviating from move 2-4 (a White  to trim your options. 

If you are not an ambitious player trying to reach the ranks of the FIDE titles (CM,FM and beyond), one can still play reasonable good positions without investing tons of time on opening study. Try it.