know.

CookbookHobbies and playNo. 58

A chess opening repertoirelines, plans, traps and the move orders to drill

Recipe No. 58 · Hobbies and play

For: A club player building an opening repertoire

You get: A section per line, flashcards, and a board that plays each line

Time: Ten minutes after each game

See it in know.sh

Try it. Three opening lines on a working board: choose one and step through with Next and Back or the arrow keys, a comment on every move.

An opening as a document: the line in a sentence, flashcards for the move orders that go wrong at the board, then a section per line.

RepertoireNo. 2

Italian GameGiuoco Piano (White)

9 sections, 3,210 words, about 14 minutes, filed 2 June, revised 21 September, 4 highlights.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4, aiming for the pawn centre and meeting the check on b4 with the quiet 7.Bd2. Black’s other third moves have sections of their own: 3...Nf6 is the Two Knights, and 3...Nd4 is a trap.

Every move in this document has been played through on a board beside the book; lines still unchecked are filed as Questions.

Sections

  1. 1Why the Italian, and what it asks of meInsight
  2. 27.Bd2 — the quiet main lineEvidence, key, 2 model gamesBlack frees the game with 8...d5; White is left with an isolated pawn on d4 and active pieces.
  3. 37.Bd2 Nxe4 — when Black takes the pawnQuestionSharper than the book makes it look. Check with the engine before the next club match.
  4. 47.Nc3 — the gambit, for laterOpportunity
  5. 53...Nf6 — the Two KnightsInsight, 3 model games
  6. 6The Blackburne Shilling trap, 3...Nd4Risk, keyDo not take on e5 with the knight.

and three more sections

A line as a section: the moves, then ideas, plans, model games and traps. The plans are written by hand, and the loss comes first.

know., Italian Game, 2 · Look up, New, ⋯

Repertoire, Italian Game

2 of 9

7.Bd2 — the quiet main line

Evidence, key section, 1 highlight, 2 sources, 380 words

Highlight, Note, Edit

The moves. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Bxd2+ 8.Nbxd2 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Qb3 Nce7 11.O-O O-O 12.Rfe1 c6.

Ideas. After 9...Nxd5 the centre is open and White’s d-pawn stands alone. It is a strength while the pieces are on and a weakness once they come off: it gives White space and the e5 square, and it gives Black a target and the d5 square in front of it.

Typical plans. White keeps the pieces on: rooks to e1 and c1, a knight to e5, the queen and bishop on the diagonal to f7, and play on the kingside. Black trades pieces, keeps a knight on d5, and aims for an ending against the pawn on d4.

Model games. Club match, 14 March, lost in 31: I traded queens on move 16 and the d-pawn fell in the ending. Rapid, 2 August, won in 27: rooks on e1 and c1, knight to e5, attack on f7.

Traps. Black can take on e4 at move 7 instead of exchanging bishops; that sharper line is section 3, still a Question.

Sources. My opening book, chapter 4; checked with the engine on 20 September.

How it works

You knew 7.Bd2 was the move, but what comes after ...d5? Give each line a section: its ideas, the plans for move 13, your own games with the losses first, and the traps both ways. Flashcards drill the move orders you mix up, and a small board steps through each main line with a comment on every move.

  1. Give your assistant your games

    Give it your last fifty games and ask for a document per opening and a section per line you actually meet, each with Ideas, Typical plans, Model games and Traps.

  2. Play every move through on a board

    Set up a board beside your book and play each line from the first move. Where the section and the book disagree, the book wins; then write the plans in your own words.

  3. Drill the move orders with flashcards

    Ask for a flashcards element at the head of each opening, a card for each move order you confuse, and check every card on the board before you trust it.

  4. Ask for a board that plays the lines

    Ask your assistant for a widget that steps through the main lines with Next and Back, a comment per move, and the board turned for the openings you play as Black.

Try this prompt

Your assistant, connected to know.sh (Claude, ChatGPT or a local model):

Using know.sh, read the PGN file I have attached and sort my games by opening. Make a shelf called Repertoire with a document per opening I play, and a section per line I actually met, titled with the move that defines it, with the parts Ideas, Typical plans, Model games and Traps. List games by date and result, and give the move where each left my line. Invent no moves.

Your assistant, connected to know.sh (Claude, ChatGPT or a local model):

Using know.sh, add a flashcards element to the top of the overview of “Italian Game — Giuoco Piano (White)” on my Repertoire shelf: four cards on the move orders in the 7.Bd2 main line, each question giving the moves that reach the position, each answer giving the move and one reason. Use only moves from the document’s sections, and change nothing else.

Made with

ShelfDocumentYour AI assistantElementsHighlightsLook up