Two hundred Elo points sounds like the kind of promise that reeks of a scam. Yet for a player somewhere between 700 and 1300, a clean, automatic opening really does move the score. Not because you’re going to mate on move 8, but because you stop dropping games before you’ve even started to think.

Let’s look at where that gain actually comes from, and how to go and get it.

Where the points come from

At your level, a game is rarely lost to some strategic subtlety. It’s lost to a blunder: a hanging piece, a mate in two nobody spotted, a king stranded in the center. The opening works on exactly those wounds.

It saves you time. When your first six moves come out on their own, you keep your thinking and your clock for the part that matters, the middlegame. Your opponent, meanwhile, has been burning both since move 3 and runs short right when the fight breaks out.

It keeps you out of traps. Most beginners walk into the same ambushes, Scholar’s Mate leading the pack. Know your line and you’ll never get caught out in ten moves again.

It shelters you. A well-played opening develops your pieces and tucks your king into safety without you having to think about it. A castled king and active pieces is already half your defending done for free.

The gain is bigger than at high levels

Here’s the part people miss: the opening pays off most when you play badly, not when you play well. Between grandmasters, everyone comes out of the opening level and the game gets decided elsewhere. Between beginners, someone who knows their six moves is often sitting across from someone winging it from move 3. The gap opens straight away.

That’s why openings are one of the best places to spend your time early on. The payoff is immediate and lands on the scoreboard, not six months down the line.

How to go get those points

Choose little, learn it well. One opening as White, a reply to 1.e4, a reply to 1.d4. That covers your games. How to build that base is laid out in building an opening repertoire.

Understand each move. The gain comes from understanding, not recitation. A line learned by rote falls apart the second your opponent deviates; one you actually understand lets you find a decent move on your own. That’s the subject of playing the opening with a plan.

Make it automatic. As long as you’re still thinking about your first moves, you haven’t banked the gain. You want the line to come out effortlessly and free your head for what follows. That only happens by replaying it, actively, again and again.

Don’t neglect the rest. The opening gets you to a good position; it doesn’t win the game for you. It clears one step, but to keep climbing you’ll need tactics and endgames too. I sort that out in openings or tactics.

The method that turns reading into points

Reading this article won’t win you a single Elo point. Playing your openings until they turn into reflexes will, and that’s where most resources leave you hanging: a book or a video shows you the moves, but pinning them down is on you. That last mile is the whole reason Prologue exists. The full method is in the guide to improving at chess.

Frequently asked questions

Can you really gain 200 Elo from openings?

For a beginner to intermediate player, yes, it’s realistic, as long as you don’t stop there. A solid opening cuts out the fast losses and hands you better positions more often. Pair it with a bit of tactics and you clear a real step. Past roughly 1600, the gain shrinks.

How long before you see the difference?

Fairly quickly. Once your main line comes out without thinking, you stop losing foolishly in the opening, and it shows up in your next few games. Reckon on a few weeks of regular practice to anchor an opening, not months.

Which opening earns a beginner the most points?

The one you understand and enjoy playing. That said, the Italian Game is a great launch pad as White: little theory, clear ideas, traps for both sides. The best choice is whichever one you’ll actually put the work into.

Is it worth working on openings past 1200 Elo?

Yes, but the emphasis moves. Below 1200, the opening patches up crude problems. Above it, it mostly serves to reach positions you know how to handle, and from there you have to pour more into tactics, strategy, and endgames to keep climbing.