Which openings should you learn at 1000 rating? Fewer than you think
Players around 1000 spend more of their study time on openings than any other group, and it shows up less in their results than any other kind of study. The reason is simple: at this level almost no game is decided in the first twelve moves. It is decided on move 25 by a hung knight. The opening’s job is only to get you to move 15 with a sound position and a plan you understand.
One opening as White
Pick a system you can play against almost anything, so you are never surprised. The London System (1.d4 and Bf4) and the Italian Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4) are both fine choices. The London asks less of your memory; the Italian teaches more about open positions and tactics, which is what you will need later. Either way, learn the setup and the two or three typical plans, not the lines.
One defence to 1.e4 and one to 1.d4
Against 1.e4, the Caro-Kann (1...c6) and 1...e5 are both solid and both teach good habits. The Sicilian is the most popular reply at every level and also the one that punishes a half-learned player hardest; leave it until your tactics are reliable. Against 1.d4, the Queen’s Gambit Declined (1...d5 and 2...e6) or a Slav setup (1...d5 and 2...c6) will hold up for years.
- White: London System or Italian Game.
- Black vs 1.e4: Caro-Kann or 1...e5.
- Black vs 1.d4: Queen’s Gambit Declined or Slav.
What to learn about each
Three things per opening: where your pieces belong, which pawn break you are playing for, and the one trap your opponents actually set. Ten moves of main line is plenty. If you do not know what you are aiming for after the book runs out, the extra moves of theory were wasted.
How to tell whether an opening is really your problem
Look at your own games, not at a database. If your evaluation is already bad by move 12 in a particular line, that opening needs work. If the position is fine at move 15 and lost by move 30, which is the usual case, changing openings will change nothing. Deepline’s analysis shows your results and your evaluation by opening across all your games, so you can see which one, if any, is actually costing you points, and the opening pages on this site cover the plans for each.