While I work on my repertoire again I like to share some thoughts and how I keep improving my chess.

First, a couple of guidlines and if you have read my blogs on a regular base you know I believe in “chunks” rather then memorize gazillion moves ahead. I never liked to memorize a poem but understand what was the message. You see?

As a reminder, check out my blog about chunks

What to consider to improve?

1. Choose openings that suit your style: As an example for my repertoire, the English and Reti openings are hypermodern and focus on controlling the center from a distance. They can often transpose into each other, offering flexibility. If you enjoy positional play and strategic maneuvering, these are excellent choices for white.

2. Study the ideas, not just the moves: Again, for me this is cruical to improve! Knowing the typical plans and pawn structures in your chosen openings is more important than memorizing long lines of theory. This is especially true for the King’s Indian Defense (KID) and the Pirc Defense, which are more about pawn structure and less about specific move orders.

3. Practice: Play games using these openings to get a feel for the positions that arise. Analyze your games afterwards to understand where you can improve. Play a lot of games again! If you own Fritz19 it’s fun to play against different oponents and learn.

4. Use resources: There are many books, websites, and videos that can help you understand these openings better. Recently I found a nice youtube channel (yeah, another one, but check it out) - The Bad Bishop delivers chess content and lessons by FIDE master Aleksandar Randjelovic. Simple, easy to understand and follow.

Remember, the best opening is the one you know and understand well. The rest comes! Happy studying! 📚🏁

Another importent feature I found very usefull is to compile a database with selected games/positions for tactics training with just a few clicks. Within a game list, mark the games that should serve as the basis for the training database to be created. You do not have to limit yourself to selected game entries, alternatively mark all games in the database.

Right-click on the marked game entries - Context menu - Harvest training material and with ChessBase 17, you can efficiently compile a database with selected games or positions for tactics training. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Mark the Games: Within a game list, select the games that should serve as the basis for your training database. You can either choose specific game entries or mark all games in the database.

2. Harvest Training Material: Right-click on the marked game entries and choose “Harvest training material” from the context menu. ChessBase will perform a quick check and save matching positions with training questions within the database.

3. Create a New Database: In the next step, you can save the results in a new database. This database will contain the positions suitable for your tactics training.

4. Activate Training Mode: When you load an entry from the database list, the party position along with the training question will be displayed. To make the most of this, activate training mode under Training.

5. Statistics and Navigation: The program keeps statistics about your results, and you can easily move to the next position.

You can save the results in a new database in the next step. The standard engine performs a quick check and saves matching positions with training questions within the database. When you load an entry from the database list, the game position incl. training question is displayed. Therefore activate under Training - Activate training.

You can “harvest” results and then train tactics with the woodpecker method.

Conclusion

Remember, the best opening is one you understand well. By embracing these principles—choosing openings that suit your style, studying the underlying ideas, practicing diligently, and utilizing resources effectively—you’ll embark on a rewarding journey of improvement. While opening is not everything, but it starts there. You don’t want to lose in the opening, you need to develop a position you know, you are comfortable with and able to start your middle game and attack.

Happy studying!

Amici Sumus

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