This will be a collection of openings that I typically use to help improve my opening play. Similar to other amateurs, I have memorized a few moves but don't really know what middle game position I am trying to reach in that opening. I also need to spot my opponent's inaccuracies and know how to exploit them to gain a small advantage.
I need to credit the author of the book I read often on opening ideas. John Watson's book Mastering the Chess Openings by Gambit Publishing has helped me learn some opening theory. I wanted more than just to memorize the moves, I wanted to know the best plans for both sides. His book does an amazing job of teaching exactly that. In my games, I miss the ideas and the correct specific moves all the time. I plan to go back through and study them all again hoping that I will last longer before I make my first mistake of the game.
Closed Ruy Lopez (Spanish opening) - I try to play this if my opponent obliges. I will stick to the Spanish Opening for a while until I feel I have it correct. Then I'll move onto something else.
Sicilian Defense
First I will put up the moves that I typically use and encounter in my games with a failure to find the correct plan (or correct specific moves...I don't know which at this point).
Sicilian Defense Najdorf Variation
These are the actual suggested moves in the Sicilian using a 2....d6 system.
