lichess.org
Donate

Study endgames or openings first?

Hi everyone,

Just curious how you approach studying chess. Is it good to study openings a lot before going to endgames? Or study tactics first? I am just trying to get to the point where I can win more of my games and I'm working on openings right now but I want to be sure I am taking the right approach to getting better.
It depends on your goals. If you want better results fast you are better off learning some opening theory. But if you want to become a better player I would recommend studying the endgame. A little bit of both with some tactics thrown in the mix can't be wrong either.
i hope they will add openings, some thing like practice it would be so cool. this site is one of the best and if they add openings it will become no 1 for sure. new players need to learn openings, am still new and i dont know where to learn openings. i try on chess.com but u need to pay :(
Don't listen to lovlas, he's only an FM and therefore hardly better than a patzer. When he becomes an IM, that's when you listen to him, not anytime sooner.

Anecdotally, I'm going to suggest learning endgame first is most important. This is simply because you can learn or calculate not to make obvious blunders in the opening by playing reasonably sound moves, but in an endgame a reasonably sound looking move can be the difference between a win or a draw. I would credit much of my rating improvement over the years to a better appreciation of endgame techniques.

(Thought the titled player is probably more correct).
#3 If you want to learn openings the easiest and maybe even best way is to study master games. You could f.ex check out some moves with the lichess opening book and play around with some games in the master database.

#4 I agree 100%. The Endgame is the best place to start.
Thank you all for your replies. That's all very helpful. As a new player I constantly find myself making blunders (duh) and so I'm trying to find myself in better positioning but also get more aware of potential blunders.
You have to study the basic tactics and basic strategies of the game, because you are an 1300 player.

Opening and endings won't help if you have so weak tactical vision. Just develop pieces in the opening where they aren't attacked and you are fine.
#7 exactly! You will find these basic tactics and basic strategies in the endgame.
<Comment deleted by user>

This topic has been archived and can no longer be replied to.