Answers.Body: <p>I give it a try. &quot;Just play&quot; rather describes the style of a new &quot;neural net&quot; engine. A human would take far too much time for &quot;just playing&quot; (exception: a lightning fast &quot;Kaffeehaus&quot; blitzer like me), instead, a human relies on learned patterns. Yes, the top players intensively study all phases of the game (getting an edge in the opening being most relevant at the top of the top). No, &quot;piecing together&quot; sounds rather overoptimistic. Indeed, you can play the Ruy Lopez exchange (opening), trade all major pieces (middlegame) and have a won endgame. Sounds very Tarrasch. If only your opponent Lasker lets you - too much unexpected happens in a chess game and only rarely your preparation will run smoothly through to the endgame.</p>
  <p>Thus, usually a human chess game is a mixture of x% application of learned patterns (&quot;piecing together&quot;) and 100-x% creativity (&quot;just play&quot;), with x largely depending on the player's style.</p>
  
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Answers.Text: Reddman Thanks for taking the time for your informative answer Kind regards
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Answers.Body: <p>Serious players do not 'just play', there has to be substantial study involved. Otherwise, it isn't easy to improve. The basic way to learn chess is to watch tutorials (GothamChess perhaps) on various aspects of the game. But to go deeper:</p>
  <ol>
  <li>Openings</li>
  </ol>
  <p>You need to pick an opening for black against 1.e4 and 1.d4, and, if you have the time, 1.c4 and 1.Nf3. For example, Caro-Kann against 1.e4 and QGD against 1.d4.  Then, you choose a first move for when you are white and prepare for the various responses black may use. For example, you choose KPO, 1.e4. Then, it would be best to start by learning Scandi, Caro-Kann, French, and Open Game, because those are the most popular responses. What I do is that I take MCO and read the descriptions of the openings, decide if I want to try it, and then find resources such as books or videos to learn about that opening. This is known as opening theory. Every serious player has a repertoire and openings that they consistently play and specialize in. You can try different openings, and know that some of them may have higher win rates but the most important to is to pick something that suits your style. If you like to attack, then the Trompowsky is worth looking into, if you are a very versatile player, investing time in Ruy Lopez's theory could work. You need to look back on your games on maybe Chess.com and see at least 5-6 book moves consistently (depending on the opening, I'm 1600 and I can go 13 book moves in my pet opening).</p>
  <ol start="2">
  <li>Middlegame</li>
  </ol>
  <p>Learning strategy can be done by reading 'Re-asses your chess' by Silman, but to understand the applications, it would be good to invest time in studying games played by super grandmasters. Bobby Fischer's games are very instructional, and I recommend Alexander Alekhine because he is the goat. Read the annotations, and take time to reflect on the game - 'Kramnik won because he was able to time his central push at the correct moment to counter Nakamura's flank attack (for example)'. To answer your question, yes, the middlegame is an epic fight and you have to go in there knowing that you need to MAKE A PLAN.</p>
  <ol start="3">
  <li>Endgame</li>
  </ol>
  <p>You should know the basic endgame principles and positions, as well as techniques like triangulation. The goal is to finish going through Dvoretsky's endgame manual, but do this at your own pace. Endgames are hard to study for most people, so just make sure you internalise the lessons learned each time you look back on your endgames, especially the ones you lost.</p>
  <p>Others:</p>
  <p>Do puzzles, beginners need this to stay alive. Serious players, in tip-top form, make some mistakes and inaccuracies but they don't hang pawns and they can see complex mating patterns. Just do puzzles in Lichess and try to reach a 2000 puzzle rating.</p>
  <p>Play Chess only when you are in good condition.</p>
  <p>This may all seem like advice to a new player, but what I am trying to say is that studying goes a very long way in maintaining and improving your chess rating. (after all, serious chess players are always trying to increase their rating). Experience from playing is also important, but make sure to analyze your games or keep a notebook of 'things I did wrong' e.g. today I played with white and lost the game because I failed to restrain black's central passed pawn' - this is a real experience.</p>
  <p>Hope this helps. If you are serious, then Study!! If you feel that you have already studied a lot, then at least do puzzles daily.</p>
  
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Body: <p>Do serious players just play or do they piece together studied segments of openings, middle and end games?</p>
  <p>I just began a free trial at Chess.com and stumbled into the Openings section.</p>
  <p>As I am sure you know, there is a vast catalog. Granted studying is a part of the game (I am always impressed seeing Magnus pouring over a magazine).</p>
  <p>So my question is do serious players just play or do they piece together studied segments of openings, middle and end games?</p>
  <p>And similar studied defensive programs as well.</p>
  
Tags: <strategy>
Title: How do serious players navigate a game?
ThreadText: # How do serious players navigate a game?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2024-11-19)
  
  Do serious players just play or do they piece together studied segments of openings, middle and end games?
  
  I just began a free trial at Chess.com and stumbled into the Openings section.
  
  As I am sure you know, there is a vast catalog. Granted studying is a part of the game (I am always impressed seeing Magnus pouring over a magazine).
  
  So my question is do serious players just play or do they piece together studied segments of openings, middle and end games?
  
  And similar studied defensive programs as well.
  
  **Tags:** strategy
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2024-11-20. Score: 1 | Accepted answer
  
  I give it a try. "Just play" rather describes the style of a new "neural net" engine. A human would take far too much time for "just playing" (exception: a lightning fast "Kaffeehaus" blitzer like me), instead, a human relies on learned patterns. Yes, the top players intensively study all phases of the game (getting an edge in the opening being most relevant at the top of the top). No, "piecing together" sounds rather overoptimistic. Indeed, you can play the Ruy Lopez exchange (opening), trade all major pieces (middlegame) and have a won endgame. Sounds very Tarrasch. If only your opponent Lasker lets you - too much unexpected happens in a chess game and only rarely your preparation will run smoothly through to the endgame.
  
  Thus, usually a human chess game is a mixture of x% application of learned patterns ("piecing together") and 100-x% creativity ("just play"), with x largely depending on the player's style.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Reddman Thanks for taking the time for your informative answer Kind regards  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2024-11-28. Score: 0
  
  Serious players do not 'just play', there has to be substantial study involved. Otherwise, it isn't easy to improve. The basic way to learn chess is to watch tutorials (GothamChess perhaps) on various aspects of the game. But to go deeper:
  
  1. Openings
  
  You need to pick an opening for black against 1.e4 and 1.d4, and, if you have the time, 1.c4 and 1.Nf3. For example, Caro-Kann against 1.e4 and QGD against 1.d4. Then, you choose a first move for when you are white and prepare for the various responses black may use. For example, you choose KPO, 1.e4. Then, it would be best to start by learning Scandi, Caro-Kann, French, and Open Game, because those are the most popular responses. What I do is that I take MCO and read the descriptions of the openings, decide if I want to try it, and then find resources such as books or videos to learn about that opening. This is known as opening theory. Every serious player has a repertoire and openings that they consistently play and specialize in. You can try different openings, and know that some of them may have higher win rates but the most important to is to pick something that suits your style. If you like to attack, then the Trompowsky is worth looking into, if you are a very versatile player, investing time in Ruy Lopez's theory could work. You need to look back on your games on maybe Chess.com and see at least 5-6 book moves consistently (depending on the opening, I'm 1600 and I can go 13 book moves in my pet opening).
  
  2. Middlegame
  
  Learning strategy can be done by reading 'Re-asses your chess' by Silman, but to understand the applications, it would be good to invest time in studying games played by super grandmasters. Bobby Fischer's games are very instructional, and I recommend Alexander Alekhine because he is the goat. Read the annotations, and take time to reflect on the game - 'Kramnik won because he was able to time his central push at the correct moment to counter Nakamura's flank attack (for example)'. To answer your question, yes, the middlegame is an epic fight and you have to go in there knowing that you need to MAKE A PLAN.
  
  3. Endgame
  
  You should know the basic endgame principles and positions, as well as techniques like triangulation. The goal is to finish going through Dvoretsky's endgame manual, but do this at your own pace. Endgames are hard to study for most people, so just make sure you internalise the lessons learned each time you look back on your endgames, especially the ones you lost.
  
  Others:
  
  Do puzzles, beginners need this to stay alive. Serious players, in tip-top form, make some mistakes and inaccuracies but they don't hang pawns and they can see complex mating patterns. Just do puzzles in Lichess and try to reach a 2000 puzzle rating.
  
  Play Chess only when you are in good condition.
  
  This may all seem like advice to a new player, but what I am trying to say is that studying goes a very long way in maintaining and improving your chess rating. (after all, serious chess players are always trying to increase their rating). Experience from playing is also important, but make sure to analyze your games or keep a notebook of 'things I did wrong' e.g. today I played with white and lost the game because I failed to restrain black's central passed pawn' - this is a real experience.
  
  Hope this helps. If you are serious, then Study!! If you feel that you have already studied a lot, then at least do puzzles daily.
  
  
  ---
  
  