Openings Checkup September 2023

Following up on last month's post.

Last month I made a training plan for studying openings and these were the openings I felt I needed to study, and also, how I did:

• Top Priorities

  • Ruy Lopez Martinez main lines (as White) → I studied a main branch of a particular variation that was giving me trouble, and the side lines. Result: I’m scoring about 50% in these lines. This isn’t optimal, but it’s an improvement for sure (I was scoring around 40% last month).

  • Ruy Lopez Steinitz Deferred sidelines (as Black) → I never got to this — I’m thinking of starting from scratch on this line.

  • Sicilian Najdorf, Kan, and O’Kelly (as White) → I studied the Najdorf and Kan. the O’Kelly I didn’t worry about it but tried to go for the same lines I use against the Kan, and this worked out well for me. The Najdorf is still giving me problems, that will probably take a lot of practice to overcome.

  • Pirc and Modern Defenses (as White) → Never got to this (too busy with Ruy Lopez and Sicilian lines). I scored pretty well against the Pirc, but not against the Modern.

  • Scotch Gambit (as Black) → Failed to study — and I’m still scoring poorly.

  • London System (as Black) → Failed to study, but managed to score well this time around.

  • bxa6 Benko lines (as Black) → I started studying this last week. My results are decent (50%), but I don’t know the middlegame plans well and I suffered a hard defeat in a rapid game.

• Secondary priorities:

  • Alekhine Defense (As White) - Major improvement, from 42% to 60. I didn’t see it as much this time around.

  • Caro-Kann Defense Ne7/Nd7 lines (As White) - I didn’t study these lines very much, but I still started scoring better against the Caro-Kann.

  • Two Knights Defense Knight Attack (As Black) → I didn’t study this one very much either, but I still scored 100% in five games.

  • Giuoco Pianissimo (As Black) → Also a line I didn’t study, but I scored at a relatively acceptable 45.5%

  • Reti and Nimzo-Larsen lines (as Black) → Didn’t study, and didn’t perform particularly well except against the Reti Gambit.

What’s new for October?

White:

Sicilian

I’m having some trouble with the Rossolimo lines after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5. These Nc6 lines are where I lose the most games. October may be a month dedicated to covering the rest of the Sicilian holes in my repertoire.

Since I’m still scoring poorly against the Najdorf, I will be keeping those lines in my study rotation. I think this is just a matter of time and experience before those positions become more comfortable to play and I become a stronger player for it.

A new issue that has popped up in the Sicilian is the Hyperaccelerated Dragon. I’ve got to work on finding ways to fight against this idea. My current plan is simply to play c3+d4 and go for something of an Alapin-like setup, but I need to solidify these plans in my mind, so I’ll be adding this to the rotation.

Spanish

My main issue in the Spanish that I’m not currently tackling is the Deferred Steinitz (my own opening as Black). I misunderstand it from both colors, so I’ll be working a lot on these lines in October.

Caro-Kann

I’m scoring well in most lines against this opening — I did do a bit of study to get a better idea of some of the plans, so I’ll keep that up and hopefully keep getting good results.

French

Even better than the Caro-Kann. My confidence against this opening is currently at an all-time high.

Scandinavian Defense

I could use a slight refresh on some of the “Modern Variation” lines, where sometimes I get a really strong position, and others, Black is just wiping me off the board.

Modern Defense:

Doing abysmally. It’s probably time I actually learn something against this line.

Black

1.e4 e5

The Spanish is giving me fits — it’s probably time to reboot my study of this opening and get more serious with it. My score is absolutely terrible:

Based on my own stats, this is the priority issue to fix — the Scotch is secondary (though I’m scoring poorly there too)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 (Benko/Benoni)

I’m already working on my Benko repertoire here, but in general I could do better against 1.d4, both in the Benko main lines, declined, and sidelines.

Priorities for study in October:

White:

• Sicilian Najdorf (keep studying), Rossolimo (in general), Hyperaccelerated Dragon.

• Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Deferred, keep studying Martinez main lines.

Black

• Steinitz Deferred (possibly reboot study and start over)

• 1.d4 — basically touch up everything.