Many players spend more time on openings than on anything else, and get less from it. They learn long lines they never reach, forget them, and lose in positions the books did not cover. A repertoire built the other way round, from your own games outwards, is smaller, easier to remember and far more useful.
What a repertoire is
A repertoire is the set of openings you play: as White, your first move and how you meet each reply; as Black, one answer to 1.e4 and one to 1.d4, and something for the other first moves. That is all you need to start. One answer to each move, not three.
Choose openings that fit how you like to play
- If you like open, tactical positions, choose openings that open lines early.
- If you prefer to manoeuvre, choose solid ones with clear pawn structures.
- At club level, choose openings built on plans you understand rather than on exact move orders. A position you understand is worth more than a line you have memorised.
There is no best opening. Strong players win with almost everything.
Start from your own games
The most useful thing you can do is look at what you actually face. Take your last fifty or a hundred games and see:
- which replies your opponents play most often against your first move,
- where you left your preparation, and how the game went after,
- which openings lead to your worst results.
You may find that half your games as Black against 1.e4 go into one variation, and that one sideline you have never looked at costs you points every month. Study those first.
Learn plans, not only moves
For each opening, learn:
- the typical pawn structure it leads to,
- where your pieces belong in it,
- the usual plans for both sides: which side of the board to play on, which pawn breaks matter,
- the common traps, so you neither fall into them nor miss them.
Then play through a few complete master games in it. You will remember a line far better when you know where it is going.
Go deeper only where your games go
When an opponent plays something you did not know, look it up after the game and add it, a few moves deep. Over months, your repertoire grows exactly where your opponents take you, and nowhere else.
Review it, a little and often
Lines are forgotten like anything else. Going over your repertoire for a few minutes a day, a few positions at a time, keeps it fresh. Spaced repetition suits this well: positions you know come back rarely, ones you forget come back sooner.
Building a repertoire in GreyChess
GreyChess keeps a repertoire for each colour. You can build it from your games, so the moves you play most become your repertoire to start with, add moves on the board by hand, or import a PGN, and export it again as PGN. It shows how your repertoire meets what your opponents play, and the moves you are not prepared for yet. On Pro, you can practise its positions.
The opening explorer beside the board shows what masters and Lichess players have played in a position, so you can check how often a move is played before adding it.
A simple plan
- Pick one opening as White and two answers as Black.
- Learn the first few moves and the main plans of each.
- Play them for a month.
- After each game, find where you left your preparation, and add a few moves there.
In a few months you will have a repertoire that fits you and covers the games you really play.