Ideas matter more than variations
Players rated 1300–1700 often think the opening is what holds them back and that they should learn their lines deeper. The lines they memorize are rarely of any use to them.
At this level a game leaves theory early. Your opponents do not play by the book, and you will not remember what comes after move 12 yourself, even if you studied it yesterday. From there on you have to understand what to do in the position, and that is where ideas help.
An idea is a plan: “I develop my pieces, castle, put the bishop on f4, bring the knight to e5 and prepare an attack on the king.” A plan like that holds up against almost anything the opponent plays.
A variation is a chain of moves: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3. If the opponent plays …e5 on move 4 instead of …Nf6, the continuation you learned no longer fits.
Why three openings are enough
A minimal repertoire for the 1300–1700 range:
- One system as White that you can play against almost any Black reply.
- One defense against 1.e4.
- One defense against 1.d4.
These three openings cover most of your games.
What this repertoire gives you:
- Theory takes less time, and you can give that time to tactics and endgames.
- You know one system in depth, which is worth more than knowing three on the surface.
- You end up in unfamiliar positions less often: the pawn structures repeat from game to game.
What it does not give you:
- Surprise value. Grandmasters switch openings to be harder to prepare for, but at your level there is no need.
- A full knowledge of theory. That is worth taking up after 1700–1800.
Structure of the minimal repertoire
As White
Pick one first move, 1.d4 for example, and one setup that works against almost any Black reply. The best-known example is the London System.
Why 1.d4? After 1.e4 the positions are sharper and there is more theory: the Sicilian Defense alone needs preparation of its own. After 1.d4 in the London System the pawn structure hardly changes, and you can play to one plan.
If you already play 1.e4 and do not want to change, pick one system against each defense. Against the Sicilian that is the Closed Sicilian, the Smith-Morra Gambit or the Alapin Variation, and likewise one system each against the Caro-Kann, the French and the rest. That comes to four or five openings in place of the London System alone.
The setup and White’s plans are explained in the article on the London System.
As Black
For 1300–1700 we recommend the Caro-Kann Defense against 1.e4 and the Slav Defense against 1.d4. In both Black plays …c6 and …d5, so the pawn structures and the plans are alike, and there is not much theory.
Both are covered in the article on a minimal Black repertoire.
How to study an opening without memorization
What usually happens: someone opens a course called “The London System in 10 Hours”, watches three lessons, writes out the lines, plays two games and has already forgotten half of it. A month later the first four moves are all that is left.
A more reliable way:
- Learn the plan. In the London System White puts the bishop on f4, a knight on f3, pawns on e3 and c3, the other knight on d2 and the light-squared bishop on d3, and castles short. Two plans follow: an attack on the king with Ne5 and f4, or an advance of the c- and b-pawns on the queenside.
- Go through 3–5 model games by grandmasters. There is no need to memorize them; it is enough to see how the plan is carried out in a game. Carlsen and Kamsky play the London System, and their games are in the game library.
- Play the system every time you have White. An opening you studied in a course and never play is soon forgotten.
- Review every one of those games. In free analysis, look at the move where the evaluation dropped and at what Stockfish suggested.
An opening learned this way stays with you better than one learned from a course, because you play it and go over your own mistakes.
When to expand the repertoire
After 1700 the London System will stop being enough: more and more of your opponents know how to equalize against it. That is the time to expand the repertoire.
- As White, move on to the classical Queen’s Gambit. It is the subject of the article on the Carlsbad structure and the minority attack.
- As Black, take up the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian against 1.e4 if you want tactics, or the Nimzo-Indian Defense against 1.d4 if strategic play suits you better.
Up to 1700 the minimal repertoire is enough.
Related
- How to grow from 1300 to 1700: the overall study plan, with 10% of the time given to openings.
- The London System: a White repertoire with 1.d4.
- Minimal Black repertoire: the Caro-Kann Defense and the Slav Defense.
- The Carlsbad structure: what to play as White after the London System.
- Game analysis: for reviewing your own games in the opening you chose.