Building an Opening Repertoire
Define Aims of Study
You can't go wrong to start off with some excellent advice given by GM Matthew Sadler in his book, The Slav:
- Knowing the main aim of our opening.
- Knowing the value of move-orders.
- Understanding typical positions.
Sadler elaborates on these points quite well in his book, and FM Steve Giddins explores the topics further in his book, How To Build Your Own Opening Repertoire.
For the purpose of assembling a repertoire, I have added the aims of making sure the various openings fit together well within a repertoire, and achieving a way to regularly review and expand the basic knowledge of all the openings.
Categorize, Prioritize, & Schedule
The amount of theory involved in an entire repertoire is staggering, so it is necessary to divide the various openings and variations into manageable chunks. Existing theory has already done much of this, by naming openings and major variations, but we may have to do more. Feel free to invent your own names to make categorizing easier. Each chunk should be something that can more or less be studied on its own. There's no way you can study everything in detail before your next tournament, so it's a good idea to prioritize these categories. I typically assign heavier weight to those lines that are most popular (based on a large database), and also those that are very sharp, where general principles won't get you far and you in many cases you just have to know the right moves. Finally, you can schedule the learning of each category, based on priority. Scheduling can really help out if you frequently never seem to get very far in your chess studies.
Software Tools
The software tools I use for my opening repertoire are:
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| Chessbase 9 |
Chessbase is the leading database management tool for chess games. You can create, edit, and view game collections, search by position, player, and many other criteria, and analyze positions with many different chess engines. Chessbase 9 is the most recent incarnation, and while still a bit buggy at times, it's new features outweigh the minor inconveniences that may crop up from time to time. You can read my review. |
| PowerBook |
This is an openings book for Chessbase, containing statistics based on games between very strong players. |
| Big Database |
This is a huge database for Chessbase (the same database as the Mega Database, except with no annotations). |
| Hiarcs 9 |
My favorite chess engine, Hiarcs seems to have more positional sense than the other engines. |
| Fritz 8 |
The most popular chess engine, Fritz is known for its strong tactical ability. |
| Chess Openings software by Bookup Corp. |
The makers of Bookup 2000 Professional (and other chess openings software) address the one major feature missing from all the database programs I've seen: transpositions. Bookup stores everything by positions, so if multiple move-orders reach the same position, you'll retain the same annotations (and it will inform you of the transposition). I export my repertoire games from Chessbase to PGN, and import them into Bookup. The main thing I then do with Bookup is training. Bookup can present every possible line to you in random order, testing you on knowledge of the moves, and repeat lines you guess incorrectly on. I would like to stress that learning an opening is not about memorizing moves, but rather on understanding what's behind the moves. So when I train with Bookup, I'm also training on recalling the understanding that goes along with the moves. One thing you will get with Bookup is top-notch support from its programmer. |
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Manually Enter Lines
I manually enter all the lines (sometimes with illustrative games), with full annotation, into Chessbase. These lines primarily come from books I've bought on the openings I'm studying. I try to time this close to when I'll be studying those lines, as it helps to absorb what's going on in the lines. As I enter the lines, I make an initial attempt to understand what's going on: why each move is made. If I have any questions or ideas for improvements, I'll go ahead and add those as annotations. One thing I do is use different colors in Chessbase for different types of lines. For main lines I use the default black. For lines that are mistakes I should avoid, I use red. For lines that are good lines I might want to consider later, I use orange. The purpose of this is so I can later cut out everything in a game that isn't black (in a copy of the game) so that I can export only lines I should play for training in Bookup.
Computer-Check Lines
Every chess book I've ever seen has errors, whether they're typos or bad assessments. I always run a strong engine or two over lines I'm considering playing, to verify their tactical soundness. Sometimes the engine will even find superior moves. Be careful about assessments an engine gives that are less than a point from the moves recommended by a grandmaster. Engines are notoriously bad at understanding positional concepts, and detecting compensation that isn't immediate. Engines are best used for tactical analysis.
Study Lines
At this point I want to understand as much as I can about every move in the line. Recognizing and understanding the strategic and tactical elements of a line make it much easier to not only remember the moves, but also to know what to do if your opponent deviates from the moves in your repertoire. I will frequently have questions about moves not expained in the book, or wonder why another move isn't better, or wonder why another move isn't more consistent with similar positions studied earlier. I'll add these questions as annotations, and be sure to resolve them by deeper study and engine analysis if necessary. I'll also feel free to change lines from those recommended in the book(s), if the line I'd like to play is sound. Sometimes I do this because the move from the book is just too crazy for my taste, and sometimes because it seems more consistent with moves from similar positions.
Summarize Lines
I like to come up with instructive summaries for the lines I play, and actually create some instructional material, such as a DVD. This can be viewed regularly, especially when first learning lines. A simple text summary will also do. This gets back to two of Sadler's goals. By explicitly defining the aims of an opening and summaries of typical positions, it can be much easier to retain knowledge of how to play the openings you're learning, especially when lengths of time pass by between looking at lines.
Drill on Lines
I use Bookup 2000 Professional for this. It's important to think of the relevant strategic and tactical elements as you drill through lines. Many times I'll notice patterns when training on lines that I hadn't noticed before, and some moves will seem odd. I'll find the positions in Chessbase that cause questions to arise, and add my questions to be investigated soon after. To build the training books, I only export those lines that are in black in Chessbase, and I'll frequently cut some lines short (particularly if the database has complete illustrative games, but sometimes I'll cut games once they reach a playable middlegame). I'll color the remaining moves that I don't want to train on in orange to indicate I shouldn't retain those moves when exporting to Bookup. You should be selective about what you train on, as the volume can build up considerably. I try to focus on sharp lines. For more positional lines, I don't worry about including every possible move-order and variation, but just enough key lines to remind me of the basic positional themes involved. While knowing lines can give you valuable time on the clock, you should know the ideas behind every move you make, and you should try to be aware of these ideas whenever you make those moves. Bookup training helps give you that sense that you are at the board and your opponent is playing a move. The random training is great to prevent you from falling into anticipating patterns, without really knowing how to play the lines.
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