An opening repertoire isn’t a library. It’s a prepared answer to the handful of situations you meet at the start of every game: what to play as White, what to reply to 1.e4, what to reply to 1.d4. Three questions, three worked-out answers. Everything else, you handle by principle.

Loads of beginners assume you need a dozen openings to be “ready.” It’s the reverse. Too many openings means too much to hold in your head, so nothing really sticks. We’re going to build something small and sturdy instead.

What a repertoire really is

In chess you don’t get to choose every position. As White you decide the first move, so you steer things. As Black your opponent opens, and you need a ready answer to their two most common moves: 1.e4 and 1.d4.

So a complete, minimal repertoire is:

  • one opening as White (your first move and what follows);
  • one defense against 1.e4;
  • one defense against 1.d4.

Three bricks. That’s enough for the vast majority of your games. Depth comes later, once those three come out on their own.

Choose by your style, not by fashion

The best opening for you is the one you understand and actually want to play. A trendy line you barely follow will cost you more than a humble one you’ve mastered.

Two broad families, two temperaments. Like open positions, pieces out fast, direct attacks? Go with 1.e4. Prefer to build slowly, keep control, steer clear of chaos? 1.d4 or a system like the London fits you better. Neither wins in the abstract. If you’re still torn, I break the choice down in 1.e4 or 1.d4: where to start.

A concrete starting repertoire

Here’s a complete example, easy to pick up and good all the way to a solid club level. Nothing says you have to follow it to the letter, but it gives you a coherent base.

As White, the Italian Game: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4. Three pieces out in three moves, a clear target on f7, barely any forced theory. It’s also the free opening Prologue starts you off with.

Against 1.e4, the Caro-Kann Defense: 1.e4 c6. Solid and logical, it steers you clear of the Sicilian’s wild complications while handing you a healthy game.

Against 1.d4, you can play 1…d5 and aim for a stable Queen’s Gambit Declined structure, or head toward a Slav Defense with …c6 and …d5. The idea is the same: a solid pawn center and natural development.

This is only an example. A more aggressive player would happily swap the Caro-Kann for a Sicilian Defense. What matters is coherence: openings that lead to positions you enjoy playing.

Build, don’t collect

The classic mistake is to bolt on a new opening every time you lose. A gambit catches you out, you learn a reply, then another, and your repertoire balloons without anything holding together.

Do the opposite. Start with your three bricks, play them dozens of times, and only expand once they come out without thinking. Depth before breadth. Knowing one defense inside out beats knowing three on the surface, because against an opponent at your level, understanding counts for more than coverage.

One more rule of thumb: don’t memorize deeper than you understand. Five or six moves a line is plenty early on, as long as you’ve got the ideas. The number of moves to memorize stays smaller than you’d think, for far longer than you’d think.

How Prologue helps you build it

The real work isn’t choosing your openings, it’s making them stick, and they only stick if you actively replay them until they run on their own. That’s the whole design of Prologue: you build your repertoire one opening at a time, each move paired with the reason behind it, so what you keep is a plan and not a stack of lines. It also schedules the reviews for you, spacing them out so the repertoire stays fresh without eating your evenings. The full picture is in the guide to improving at chess.

Frequently asked questions

How many openings does a beginner repertoire need?

Three is enough to be complete: one as White, one against 1.e4, one against 1.d4. You can play hundreds of games on that. You only expand once those three are solid and come out effortlessly.

Do I need the same repertoire as White and as Black?

No, they’re two different problems. As White you set the game from move one; as Black you react to your opponent. So you prep one opening as White and two defenses as Black, one for each common first move.

When should I change an opening?

Rarely, and never after a single loss. Switch if a line keeps dumping you into positions you can’t stand, or if you’ve genuinely improved and it’s now holding you back. Otherwise stability pays off: the more you replay the same lines, the better you read them.

How do I know my repertoire is too broad?

If you’re mixing up your lines or blanking on an opening from one game to the next, you’ve bitten off too much. Trim it: keep your three main bricks, work them hard, and shelve the rest until the base is automatic.