During this week's webinar I was asked how many times it's good to watch a chess opening video. I would say that the answer is rather nuanced.
To learn openings I recommend a combination of watching videos, training games and playing around with any pgn file to look for alternatives and see what the engine says. The amount of time used on these three approaches will vary from person to person and how much time they have available.
Personally I tend to watch videos, often whilst doing some other activity such as using a stationary exercise bike. I would like to spend time examining the variations with an engine and playing through them on a real chess board, unfortunately it's difficult to find time. As for training games, this tends to be my lowest priority, but I've put it there because I'd need both time and a suitable partner. In the past I've tested openings in correspondence games but tend to lose interest once the opening stage is over.
I would not recommend my approach to anybody else, I think we all have to find our own way. A good way to start is by watching Tiger Chess material and then play in the Tiger Chess training tournaments on Lichess.
Training Tournaments
This week's training tournaments will feature the Colle, which appears in both the Building an Opening Repertoire course and the White 1.d4 Repertoire:
Sunday November 10th at 5pm UK Time: Colle with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 c5
Sunday November 10th at 6.15pm UK Time: Colle with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 b6
Upcoming Events
Here's my approximate schedule over the coming months, subject to change! I often don't know until fairly late in the day.
December 1, 2024: Bolton Rapid Play
A fairly local event for me, so I'll be playing to to get some practice. Details can be found here.
December 7, 2024: Huddersfield Chess Club Seminar
I've run a number of seminars at this great club, this is the first since before COVID. Their website is here.
January 17-19: Huddersfield 4NCL Congress
I really enjoy the 4NCL Congresses as they're played under excellent conditions in nice hotels. This is the first one in Huddersfield, you can find details here.
January 27th: Stockport Rapidplay
I've played in this event with some regularity, so probably I'll go for it again. You can find details here.
February 16-27, 2025: World Senior Team Championship
I've accepted a place in the 50+ second team which means I'll play a much stronger field than on bottom board of the first team. Although this diminishes my chances of winning a medal I'm looking forward to the challenge.
July/August 2025: British Championships
Will these be held in Liverpool next year? There's a rumour on Tim Spanton's blog that they would be. I think I might go for the 50+ event if this is the case.
I'm hopeful that I'll get to play in the European Senior Team Championships (Walbrzych, Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board.
Hope you have a great weekend! Meanwhile please note that there are discounts on my Vimeo videos listed in my newsletter.
Nigel
