Building an Opening Repertoire
When new books come out on your opening, you may want to check them out for new ideas and well-annotated games of the latest theory. I regularly get new high-level games from The Week in Chess, and add them to my Big Database (with Chessbase 9 I have to un-check "Themes" when copying them over or else Chessbase will crash). I'll browse each week's game collection for those that use openings within my repertoire, and study them later during the week. Sometimes a line you're playing may get "busted" by a new move the opposition has discovered. If this turns out to be true, first look for altenatives earlier on in the lines you're playing, rather than drop the entire opening. You can also look at alternatives within an opening for variety, for example a sharp and a quiet system. Other major sources of current opening theory are:
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| Chess Informant |
The latest high-level games, frequently annotated by the players. |
| New In Chess |
A more general-purpose chess magazine, it still has a lot to offer on recent theory with contributions by top players. |
| Chess Publishing |
A subscription site where you pay for the categories you want to receive regular high-level (non-private) instruction for opening systems. |
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Analyzing your own games is one of the best things you can do to improve your chess. You want to find out where and how you went wrong (even in games you didn't lose!), categorize them, and strive to improve in those areas. Use this to guide your study and enhance your materials on the various openings where applicable. I would caution against dropping an opening just because you've lost a game or games with it. Most games at the class level are not won or lost through opening choice, but rather tactical errors after the opening is complete.
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