from avoiding openings to building a repertoire

Lately I’ve been thinking about openings.

When I first started researching how to improve at chess, one thing I kept hearing over and over was: don’t study openings. Focus on tactics. Play games. Maybe look at some basic endgames. But don’t waste time memorizing openings. So I listened to that advice and put openings off for a long time.

Then I started watching a Grandmaster on YouTube whose videos I really like. He explains things in simple 10–15 minute breakdowns, and one thing he said stuck with me: if you don’t understand the openings, you’re not going to get out of the opening with a decent position. And if you can’t navigate the opening, how are you going to reach a good middlegame?

That honestly rang true for me.

I still agree that as a beginner you don’t need to memorize 20-move deep lines. But I think some of the advice out there is a little misleading. Since I’ve started learning a few openings, my game has felt more structured. I’m recognizing patterns in the first 4–8 moves instead of just guessing. I understand what I’m trying to look for. And because of that, I’m getting into middlegames that make more sense to me.

Right now, since I’m under 1000 (closer to 700), I’ve decided to keep it simple: one main opening as White, and one response to 1.e4 and 1.d4 as Black. I’ve been playing the Italian Game as White. For black, against 1.e4 I have been learning the Caro-Kann Defense. And against 1.d4, I just started learning the Queen’s Gambit Declined. I’m basically building a small opening repertoire now.

Another thing I’ve realized is that once you pick an opening, you should just keep playing it. Over and over. That’s something I see talked about a lot, and I think it’s true. Switching constantly doesn’t really let anything sink in. Repetition helps me actually understand what’s going on instead of starting from scratch every game.

So yeah, I’ve kind of changed my mind about openings. I don’t think beginners need to ignore them. I think learning a couple and sticking with them has actually helped me a lot.