Openings

I don't know how to practice openings. Whatever openings I study I get demolished in. I don't think that I'm not learning well or just memorizing moves. I perform much better if I just play what I feel like in that moment but my problem is that lately I have been punished for being so carefree in the opening. What do I do?

@RandomDude1729

Study an opening that is similar to what you naturally tend to do in your care free style. I am sure you still have tendencies. No sense fighting what comes natural. Embrace it, and refine it.

Or better yet, study middle game structures, figure out which ones seem intuitive and logical to you, and then play openings that tend to lead to those structures. At least then you'll know what you're doing when you get to the middle game and if someone deviates from theory, its all good. By understanding the structure, you'll hopefully understand WHY their move was sub optimal and can attempt to punish it. Know the standard plans for both colours in your selected structures.

For this purpose, I would recommend the book "Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide" by Mauricio Flores-Rios.

Oh cool, Ill try those things out. Thx for the advice

You must play lots of games with a specific opening and after the game correct your repertoire and apply it in the next games.

I saw your opening explorer, you seem to do 51% with White with 1.e4 but 60% with 1.d4. Play something that you're comfortable with in the beginning, maybe 1.d4 is right for you, perhaps 1.e4, perhaps 1.g3. Go for something like the Jobava London, or the Catalan, you get nice position without suffering. We all make mistakes, but you can limit your mistakes by just focusing on the board for 10 minutes. Play long time controls, so as to fully get the position and understand what to do.

Your problem resides with Black, as you seem to play most often 1.e4 e5 with a winrate of 48%. Try something else, like Sicilian or Scandi or Caro. And with 1.d4, don't play something you pretend to know but don't actually know. 1... d5 is boring, but if you like boring positions, I respect your opinion. If you like spicy stuff, play 1... Nf6, with the East or West Indian defense. Play the Dutch with 1... f5. You don't have to know your opening better than your pocket, learn the most common variations and the best moves within the openings I suggested you or something else you appreciate to play.

@RandomDude1729 said in #1:
> I perform much better if I just play what I feel like in that moment but my problem is that lately I have been punished for being so carefree in the opening.

So in fact you don't perform well that way...

Set your opening repertoire (if you don't have yet) for both sides (White and Black) and then practise it in games. For repertoire you can refer YouTube there you can find many videos on how to play certain opening.
Plus you would also get to know common variations and all which is crucial as part of initial phase of the game.

I think that this quote gives the basic idea for learning about a specific opening:
"... The way I suggest you study this book is to play through the main games once, relatively quickly, and then start playing the variation in actual games. Playing an opening in real games is of vital importance - without this kind of live practice it is impossible to get a 'feel' for the kind of game it leads to. There is time enough later for involvement with the details, after playing your games it is good to look up the line. ..." - GM Nigel Davies (2005)
In a nutshell, pick up what you can from quickly playing over some games (skipping a lot of the details). Then use your own games as a guide for where to learn more. I once wasted a lot of time, reading about the position after 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 dxc4 5 a4 Bf5 6 e3 e6 7 Bxc4 Bb4 8 O-O O-O 9 Qe2, only to realize (eventually) that the position never arose in any of my games.
Here are some more quotes on learning about openings:
"... For beginning players, [the book, Discovering Chess Openings by GM Emms,] will offer an opportunity to start out on the right foot and really get a feel for what is happening on the board. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2006)
web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
www.amazon.com/Discovering-Chess-Openings-Building-Principles/dp/1857444191?asin=1857444191&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1
"... Overall, I would advise most players to stick to a fairly limited range of openings, and not to worry about learning too much by heart. ... the average player only needs to know a limited amount about the openings he plays. Providing he understands the main aims of the opening, a few typical plans and a handful of basic variations, that is enough. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
"... Read many annotated game collections ... By looking at entire games, the aspiring player learns about openings, middlegames, and endgames all at one fell swoop. Playing through annotated games spurs improvement as the reader learns how good players consistently handle common positions and problems. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2007)
web.archive.org/web/20140627062646/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman81.pdf
"... As is the wont with modern opening works, these books usually centre their recommended variations around an instructive and/or entertaining game, without great depth but with sufficient detail to show the main branches and explain basic ideas. This is absolutely legitimate ..." - IM John Watson (2012)
web.archive.org/web/20140627015516/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen163.pdf
"... I am not a big fan of weaker players memorizing lots of opening lines they will never play. However, it is quite a different issue to spend a small amount of time learning how to play your openings a little better each time they occur. A long journey begins with a single step. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2005)
web.archive.org/web/20140627023809/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman50.pdf