You can just memorize a 40-move Stockfish line, draw the game, and call it "optimal," but once in a while a strong player will discover or pioneer a new and interesting line, and we'll have another layer of chess to discover.
"... The game might be divided into three parts, i.e.:- 1. The opening. 2. The middle-game. 3. The end-game. There is one thing you must strive for, to be equally efficient in the three parts. Whether you are a strong or a weak player, you should try to be of equal strength in the three parts. ..." - Capablanca
"... I think people tend to be afraid of the main lines. They think: ... sure, I'm going to take up (say) 5 Bg5 against the Semi-Slav, once I've got time and learned it properly. ... My advice is - don't bother. The more you learn anyway, the more you'll recognize how little you know. ... 5 Bg5 is a good move - get it on the board, get ready to fight, and see what happens.
Sure, there will come a time, whether on move two or move twenty, when your knowledge of theory runs out and you have to decide what to do on your own. ... sometimes you will leave theory first, sometimes your opponent. Nothing will stop this happening. It happens in every well-contested GM game at some point, usually a very significant point. This is a part of the game: an important part, something you have to get better at. ... to improve you have to challenge yourself; ..." - IM John Cox (2006)
"... I think people tend to be afraid of the main lines. They think: ... sure, I'm going to take up (say) 5 Bg5 against the Semi-Slav, once I've got time and learned it properly. ... My advice is - don't bother. The more you learn anyway, the more you'll recognize how little you know. ... 5 Bg5 is a good move - get it on the board, get ready to fight, and see what happens.
Sure, there will come a time, whether on move two or move twenty, when your knowledge of theory runs out and you have to decide what to do on your own. ... sometimes you will leave theory first, sometimes your opponent. Nothing will stop this happening. It happens in every well-contested GM game at some point, usually a very significant point. This is a part of the game: an important part, something you have to get better at. ... to improve you have to challenge yourself; ..." - IM John Cox (2006)
"... the two extremes are clearly wrong. The one extreme of do-nothing and the other extreme of try-to-memorize-every-possible-thing-that-anyone-could-ever-play-against-you-in-your-opening, that's not going to work either. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2019)
httpscolon//wwwperiodyoutubeperiodcom/watch?v=zBk3Kle2O9k
httpscolon//wwwperiodyoutubeperiodcom/watch?v=zBk3Kle2O9k
@Chessiosaurus said in #8:
> You could also argue that in the modern world carlsen has gone down this route, relying largely on safe uncomplicated openings in order to get opponents into a level middlegame where his natural superior gameplay takes over.
> Unfortunately it also feels like now he has developed an ego to the extent that any losses suffered against prepared opponents must be cheating as there is no way they could possibly win against him...
Now Carlsen is just playing whatever. Looks like it doesn't work for him...
> You could also argue that in the modern world carlsen has gone down this route, relying largely on safe uncomplicated openings in order to get opponents into a level middlegame where his natural superior gameplay takes over.
> Unfortunately it also feels like now he has developed an ego to the extent that any losses suffered against prepared opponents must be cheating as there is no way they could possibly win against him...
Now Carlsen is just playing whatever. Looks like it doesn't work for him...
It sure did many decades ago.
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