Why is everyone obsessed with chess openings?
This is especially common among beginners, although the same thing happens at the top. Openings feel concrete. There is always another line to check, another novelty to remember, and another file to update. That can make opening work feel productive even when it is not addressing the reason you lose games.
The weakness my friend would not train
I remember a grandmaster friend who was quite good at openings and calculation, but his endgame technique was weak relative to other higher-rated grandmasters. Whenever I saw him, he was working on some opening line. I kept telling him to work on endgames. He would not.
At some point I played against him. After the opening I tried to attack, but he defended well. I felt that I was losing the thread of the game. It probably made sense to enter an endgame that looked like an easy draw.
Then I remembered his weakness, so I went there anyway.
I won that endgame relatively easily. I do not think even that game changed his mind.
Study what your games are asking you to study
Openings matter. At a certain level you cannot arrive unprepared. But opening preparation is only one part of chess, and it is often the easiest part to keep studying because the work is familiar and measurable.
The harder question is whether your study matches your actual weaknesses. If you repeatedly reach playable positions and then lose control, another opening file may not help. If you misjudge exchanges, defend badly, or fail to convert favorable endings, those are the areas asking for attention.
A useful training plan should begin with your own games. Look at where the quality of your decisions drops—not merely where the engine first changes its evaluation. Was the problem calculation, understanding, time management, defense, or technique? The answer should decide what you study next.
Your favorite area of chess and your weakest area are rarely the same. Improvement often starts when you stop using one to avoid the other.
Adapted from my original post on X, published April 29, 2026.