Memorizing key lines means learning by heart the opening moves you cannot work out at the board, usually forcing sequences in the openings you actually play.
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In sharp lines one wrong move can lose at once, and those lines need memory. Everything else is easier to keep once you know the plan, so memorise last, and only what you play.
How to do it
- 1Keep a small repertoire: one reply to each main first move.
- 2Learn each line's plan, structure and pawn break before its moves.
- 3Memorise only the forcing parts, and review the lines you get wrong in games.
For your level
Learn why each opening move is played. A move you understand is easier to remember.
Common mistakes
- Memorising long lines in openings you rarely reach.
- Learning the moves without the plan, and being lost the first time the opponent plays something reasonable but different.
Questions
- How deep should I learn an opening?
- Until you reach a position you know how to play, often around move ten at club level. Going deeper pays only in the sharpest lines.