Simplifying Chess Opening Study

When I was coming up through the class D and class C ranks, I started taking more and more time for my opening study, and I quickly found out that at least 75% of what I was studying was something I would never have a chance to use before I forgot it. People who are rated in class D and class C, and even up to class B and class A, generally don't have a vast knowledge of openings, and pretty much just play whatever looks good at the time. Now, obviously the higher the rating of the player, the more likely they are to know more about openings in general, but spending hours and hours studying variations of opening systems is still often going to be a waste of time.

My main problem when I was coming up was learning how to play against all of the black possibilities against my 1. e4, which I've always played and continue to play today. The solution that I discovered was to play variations that led to Isolated Queen's Pawn formations, and spend my time studying the middle game instead of memorizing opening variations.

For example, against the Caro-Kann, I played the Panov-Botvinnik Attack: 1. e4 c6, 2. d4 d5, 3. exd5 cxd5, 4. c4. Eventually the white c-pawn and black d-pawn will trade off, leaving an Isolated Queen's Pawn position. Again, against the French Defense, I played the French Exchange Variation with c4: 1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. exd5 exd5, 4. c4. Here we have a similar formation, except black has a c-pawn instead of an e-pawn, but most aspects of the game are similar.

Against the Sicilian Defense, I could play a line in the Alapin Sicilian that actually transposes in some lines to the Panov-Botvinnik Attack in the Caro-Kann: 1. e4 c5, 2. c3 d5, 3. exd5 Qxd5, 4. d4. While the immediate position is not of an Isolated Queen's Pawn structure, the game will turn that way sooner or later because of the tension between the black c-pawn and the white d-pawn.

The reason I chose these lines with the Isolated Queen's Pawn structure in common is that these positions have rich strategical possibilities, and the results are based on knowledge of the middle game and endgame instead of knowledge of memorized chess opening lines. This way, I was able to cut back a vast majority of my chess opening study and put that time to work in the real meat of chess.

This still left a bit of a problem, however. Even though I now had preparation for three of the most popular replies to white's 1. e4 (the French, the Sicilian, and the Caro-Kann), I still had to worry about openings like the Pirc, 1. ... e5, and the Alekhine's Defense. So how did I deal with these openings?

Well as it turns out, Alekhine's Defense isn't so hard to play against. For example, 1. e4 Nf6, 2. e5 Nd5, 3. d4 d6, 4. Nf3 Bg4, 5. Be2 and white is in no danger of losing because of opening knowledge. Unfortunately, against the Pirc the situation isn't so simple, so we actually do have to study a system a bit. I prefer the Austrian Attack, but you'll have to be your own judge.

Against 1. ... e5, there's so many possibilities that it's ridiculous. I prefer, at least at this level, to play something that defines the game right away, like the Vienna Game or Center Game, for example. This way you only have to study one opening line, and not a ton of variations depending on whether your opponent plays the Ruy Lopez or not.

The point is that opening study doesn't have to be a huge hassle. If you simplify things to the point where you have a minimal amount of opening knowledge to acquire, and you can spend your time studying the middle game and endgame instead, then you will build the foundation for a chess career instead of memorizing moves that you will probably forget before you get to use them.