Attack Or Develop!™

The idea

Most opening study is memorising lines you will never reach. This works the other way round: you play, and then you study the one line the game actually went down, while you can still remember what you were thinking.

A game you just played is the best opening lesson you will get that week. It is specific, it is yours, and you already care about the answer.

The loop

1. Play a game. Anywhere — online or over the board. Nothing here needs to watch you play.
2. Paste it in. Openings Trainer → Games. A link or the moves themselves, one game at a time.
3. See where you left the book. It finds which repertoire file covers the game and shows you the exact move where you or your opponent went off it — and what the file plays there instead.
4. Study that spot. One click puts you on that move inside the file, with the lines around it readable. Not a flashcard: the actual prep, in context.
5. Ask if you are stuck. The Ask tab knows which position is on the board and what the file says about it.

What each tool is for

How to actually use it

• Do not read a whole file. They are reference, not reading. Go to the position the game raised and read outward from there.
• One game, one lesson. Take the first place you left the book and stop. The rest will still be there next week.
• Copy before you edit. Dr. Mike’s files are read-only on purpose. Copy one and the copy is yours to annotate; the original stays put so there is always something to compare against.
• Tactics daily, openings after games. They are different habits. Tactics wants repetition on a schedule; openings wants you within an hour of the game.