Start With the Defences You Actually Meet

Before you buy a single opening book, spend an hour with your own games. Look through your last thirty club games and online rapid games and tally the moves your opponents played. Most players are surprised by the result: a handful of defences account for the vast majority of their games, while the exotic lines they have studied hardest appear once a season.

At club level in the UK, as White you can expect to meet 1...e5, the French, the Caro-Kann, the Sicilian, the Scandinavian, and the Pirc or Modern. As Black against 1.d4, the London System, the Queen's Gambit, the Colle and Stonewall, and the King's Indian Attack will fill your calendar long before the Grünfeld does. Build for that reality rather than for a grandmaster's database.

A Two-Line Skeleton Is Enough

You do not need a deep repertoire. You need a shallow one that covers everything. A practical structure looks like this:

• As White: one main first move — usually 1.e4 or 1.d4 — plus a ready answer to the defences you meet most.
• As Black: one reply to 1.e4 and one to 1.d4, with a short side-line for the London and other systems.
• Five moves deep, no more. Know the ideas behind moves six and seven rather than the exact moves.

Two lines per opponent's first move is plenty at this stage. Depth comes later, and it arrives more cheaply once you understand the plans behind the moves.

As White: Simple, Sound and Repeatable

If you play 1.e4, the Italian is a superb club weapon against 1...e5. The plans are easy to remember: build with c3 and d4, castle quickly, and aim for a slow build-up on the kingside. Against the French, the Advance Variation with 3.e5 gives you a clear space advantage and a target on d4; the Exchange is a low-theory alternative if you would rather avoid sharp complications. Against the Caro-Kann, the Advance with 4.Nf3 is reliable and rarely leaves you worse.

The Sicilian deserves one honest line. The Alapin with 2.c3 sidesteps mountains of theory and leads to positions where understanding beats memory. Against the Scandinavian, develop naturally with 3.Nc3 and take on d5 at the right moment; the queen on a5 rarely causes real trouble once you have played d4 and Nf3.

If you prefer 1.d4, keep it just as tight. Against the Queen's Gambit Declined, the Exchange Variation gives you a permanent, simple structure and a clear plan on the kingside. Against the Slav, take on c6 and play e3 and Bd3. Against the King's Indian and Grünfeld, the Fianchetto systems are solid and require far less memorisation than the main lines.

As Black: Know the Systems You Will Face

As Black, choose one defence against 1.e4 and one against 1.d4 and commit to them for a season. The Caro-Kann is a wonderful club choice: solid, structurally sound, and easy to play once you know that the light-squared bishop belongs outside the pawn chain. The French offers counterplay but demands patience with a bad bishop; the Sicilian rewards ambition but eats study time.

Against 1.d4, the Slav and the Queen's Gambit Declined are both sturdy. So is the King's Indian if you enjoy attacking — but only if you accept that White will often have more space, and your play comes later.

Then prepare for the systems, not just the moves. The London System will arrive constantly, so have a plan ready: a quick ...d5 and ...c5, a knight on f6, and the bishop developed before the pawn chain closes. Against the Colle and Stonewall the same idea applies — contest the centre early and avoid passive drifting.

Turning Study Into Tournament Points

Repertoire work should be short and regular. Twenty minutes twice a week beats a four-hour binge before a congress. Write your lines on one side of paper per opening — if it does not fit, it is too long. After each club night, note the move where you left your preparation, and look up only that position.

When you enter a local tournament or league match, resist the temptation to prepare for a specific opponent. At club level, general familiarity with your chosen lines will outscore a hastily assembled anti-someone line you have never played. Play your repertoire, take your time, and let your opponents be the ones improvising.

Finally, review your openings through your own games rather than in the abstract. Every time you lose inside fifteen moves, you have found the exact place your repertoire needs one more sentence. That is how a repertoire grows — not by collecting variations, but by patching the holes you actually fall into.