Don’t Study Chess Openings in 2025 (Do this Instead)

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Want to improve at chess and start winning more games instantly? In this video, I reveal a powerful thinking system that will transform the way you play. Whether you're a beginner looking to avoid blunders, an intermediate player stuck in bad habits, or a chess enthusiast aiming to climb the rankings, this video has everything you need to take your chess game to the next level.
Discover essential chess tips, strategies, and tricks to stop losing games and make smarter decisions at every move. Learn how to analyze positions, spot tactical threats, and develop a winning mindset. This thinking system is designed to help players of all levels-from absolute beginners to advanced players-lose fewer games and play chess like a pro.
Don't miss this chance to improve your chess skills and start dominating the board today! Subscribe for more chess lessons, strategies, and tips for improving your chess rating fast.
Keywords:
Improve at chess, chess thinking system, chess improvement tips, how to play better chess, avoid blunders in chess, chess strategy for beginners, chess tips and tricks, chess advice, chess tactics, lose fewer chess games, chess lessons, chess improvement for intermediate players, winning at chess, chess training, how to stop losing chess games, chess improvement system.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

👇 FREE Chess Courses and Community: www.pegasuschess.com

[@VKMsdRO]

"Never move pawns unnecessarily" is a great strategy I have learnt from you.

[@R.Akerman-oz1tf]

Your moves are better. Black can rationalize their pawn moves; by thinking that they're protected & also opening a file. Great strategy by You.

[@jonaskarlsson5901]

it's really annoying when you play against an opponent that moves a ton of pawns but you can't exploit their weaknesses and then lose

[@R.Akerman-oz1tf]

@@jonaskarlsson5901 Practice I guess. I have faith in You.

[@jonaskarlsson5901]

@@R.Akerman-oz1tf why are you not a chess master then?

[@R.Akerman-oz1tf]

@@jonaskarlsson5901 I've played less than 100 games(enuf sed).

[@martycurtis7090]

Some of the great takeaways: 1.1:37 Always think about how can I improve my pieces! 2. 3:50 Keep pawn structure strong, don't move pawns unless necessary... just keep improving pieces 3. 6:18 In general try to only move C,D, and E pawns and keep all others on their starting squares as long as possible

[@whatwewantAItodo]

funny how certain endgames are beyond my skill set and I lose while being ahead - while in others I do fine. endgames can make me feel like a novice

[@4saken404]

Learn to master endgames. It's such a simple idea it's almost like a cheat code. That's one reason Magnus does it IMO. If you have a fairly even position and you are better at endgames than your opponent you're more likely to win. And if you're up then it's MUCH more likely. And in a middle game there is a very good chance you can do a bunch of trades to rush right to the endgame - which is not only easier for you but also foils all your opponents mating plans that they have just spent so much time on. And, perhaps most importantly, winning an endgame takes much less brainpower than trying to devise mating traps. And this is also a big help if you get under time pressure.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

It was this way for me for a long time as Well. Practice is key. This Sunday we have endgame lesson and tournament. Also I have a free endgame course www.pegasuschess.com

[@R.Akerman-oz1tf]

@@Pegasus-Chess Greetings, @ 15:27-b3 could that have been captured "en passant"?

[@andreilyas1426]

@@4saken404 thanks for this

[@R.Akerman-oz1tf]

@@karlhinze clarified well. Thanks so much.

[@Beery1962]

My current rating is just over 1000 (my highest ever is 1250). Immediately after seeing one of your previous videos illustrating your thinking system, I tested it out on a 1700 bot, and the app rated my gameplay at 2050 - the highest rating I've ever got from the app. Also, the reduction in stress I felt when using your system was amazing - chess has never been stress-free for me until this game.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

That's amazing! Thanks for sharing

[@okinawajapan1]

Which video was it? I'm interested.

[@Beery1962]

@@okinawajapan1 It was the one called "It took me 13 years to learn this about chess, but I’ll teach you in 19 minutes"

[@146msi]

@Beery1962 what app did you used to get rated?

[@EuropeanEmpireEU]

Studying Openings in Chess is like studying Formations in Football. But there is no point in knowing 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 if you don’t even know how to shoot or pass a ball.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Perfect analogy

[@Mark8v29]

My winning streak trying to perform solid moves and not thinking about what tradition says I should do seems to have left me 7.5 points to 8.5 points against the computer after loosing 3 out of 3 games yesterday. I'm again tempted to learn and remember the moves I should do. Trying to resist the temptation to go to the dark side of learning and remembering moves and hoping that maybe I'll learn something more valuable if I learn something from defeat. Thank you for your videos which are unique I think. Although it is not unique to advise against learning rote opening moves, I haven't seen or heard any master focus on encouraging and teaching and encouraging just solid moves. Your continual and repeated encouragement to play solid moves is helpful. Maybe this is a way that quickly gives some wins, then some losses, and then some wins. It's easy to be discouraged when solid moves don't result in wins.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

It Will improve over time as you learn more about chess, important to analyse your losses and learn from them. You are on thé right path

[@MartinZanichelli]

About the London, there is a game Ormsby-Felgaer in the Olympics (Isle of Man vs Argentina) where a 1790 drew with a 2600. I am from Argentina and here the chess community was impressed. White played against our GM Felgaer very simple moves that any club player who plays the London would do. Very inspirng for anyone who considers the London as a secondary weapon or even main one.

[@KevinBrown-v4j]

As one who recently has started obsessing over openings I love your advice in this video about not worrying about openings and just concentrating on playing solid basic chess.

[@Kasper-JH]

An alternative take on using your videoes: I have used quite som time studying a full opening repertoire consisting of The English Opening, Caro-Kann Defense and QGD without playing much chess (along with my new-found love of studying puzzles and playing rapid instead of blitz). Mixing my knowledge of these openings and your thinking process has gotten me from 1232 to 1475 in just 4 days with only 1 loss (gotten from the only game where i was sloppy and didnt stick to the principles). No more big mistakes when i dont remember the accurate moves in lines or dont know exactly how to handle a middlegame position. Also got my first win against a 2150 rated player in unrated.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

I personally use an opening repertoire combined with this strategy. You make it too hard in yourself without a repertoire at the higher rating levels

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Congrats on your achievement

[@mensiuscho]

Do this and study openings, There is no cheat code in chess. You have to study every aspects of it as much as possible as long as you can.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

I agree

[@pingamalinga]

Studying openings religiously endangers creativity. Sometimes it is better to let the game marinate accordingly

[@618033988749]

Marinate?

[@コミ-e8z]

Never enjoyed these types of videos, but your thought process and explanations made me stick around. Really made it simple and easy for anyone to understand despite being a pretty high level game! I’ve always struggled playing this way, I would have felt lost trying to achieve anything in that middle game. Often knowing my position is more solid but rather unpractical to convert it. Thanks for giving me some inspiration on how it’s done.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Thank you!

[@Beery1962]

I would love to see you do a ratings climb against real players using your system.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

I applied for an official rating climb account 🙂

[@redbeardthepink4809]

I used to be one of those people that would try to memorize a bunch of lines and ideas from openings, and my chess stayed pretty static. I feel like trying to think this way instead has actually improved my chess, so thanks for the content 😊

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Welcome to our side

[@RobertJosephBennett]

I have a poor memory, so playing in this more creative way could brighten up my chess world ! Thanks very much Yonas !

[@SpencerMustoe]

This is the best chess instructional video I've ever seen. Props to you.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Thank you!

[@CuriousPassenger]

"this should be an easy endgame, three pieces against one" Me: hold my beer.

[@digiternst]

Awesome. I feel like I was onto this thinking style on my own but you hammered home a few critical ways to think about things. So great, thank you.

[@Meffykins]

I watched this video 12 times so that I could memorize every move you made. Thanks it has helped.

[@B00B13S_L0L]

I'm 1750 rapid, every time I fully rework my repertoire I go up 100pts over the next 4 days. Then I take a massive break from chess and come back with new opening ideas.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Interesting, opposite from my strategy but hey if it works then it works 🙂

[@B00B13S_L0L]

@Pegasus-Chess Once I reach 1800 I'm going to solidify whatever repertoire I have and work more on middle games. Anything before 1800 I consider experimental and just figuring out how pieces move.

[@MPagels20]

Hi Jonas, I'm really enjoying your content. Would you consider streaming and playing with your thinking system against real player, while explaining everything like you do in your videos against the bot? This has several advantages: You would create more videos you can upload (e.g. edited one by one, or upload the long session) by just playing and explaining. And we would get more content. ;-) A win win! See you in the next video.

[@MrShokeSlam]

yeah make it raw wins and losses

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Yes I Will try to use more human opponents, did a blitz live stream last Sunday 🙂

[@Str8W.tm4rv]

Very good video! I’m a new fan!

[@DavidJohnson-qs9mk]

I’ve watched a lot of videos on chess and must say your videos are really very good. Following you advice has improved my chess considerably.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Thanks for sharing!

[@svetoslavdechev1298]

Can you please explain, how do you identify weakness? What is considered a weakness? Great video, thank you!

[@Oesiman2008]

same question. Why the Pawn in e6 is weak?

[@Pegasus-Chess]

It's a backwards pawn, this article should help: www.chess.com/terms/backward-pawn-chess

[@PeterWinkelChess]

Great video! Please keep posting

[@AloisioPonti]

The 2 hard moves to play in this game are Bxd5 and Bxh6.

[@1Ma9iN8tive]

Excellent. I’ve learnt more in this video than in 40 years of playing chess badly against my friends. Brilliant.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Thanks!

[@jasonparker6138]

Another great lesson! Thank you.

[@danjobin2608]

Thank you for the lesson, it makes more sense to me to play that way!

[@weswestbrook7902]

Nice video Jonas. Helps us develope a plan. 🏆

[@rodrigofrance4672]

Very nice lessons, thank u from Brasil!

[@andybickford6863]

Do you have a video that lays out your system of thinking? If not, you totally should. Really enjoying your videos so far

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Posting a daily video now explaining how to use it. Also Building a free course platform explaining everything I have learned www.pegasuschess.com

[@thelonewolfedits]

13:05 You could have taken the h6 pawn with Queen and then the knight to g6. Or maybe not. It totally depends on the opponent's move and it is better to not play hope chess.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Yeah I think that works but didn't want to risk it with the other line being a winning endgame

[@michael2244]

If I want to learn an opening I just play it and learn what I do wrong, a lot of times I get crushed. I have been learning the Polish opening and it's fun

[@sagesaith6354]

It looks like you just created a new opening -- called the Notta opening ...

[@oluwalekeoyedeji444]

Probably rhe best chess lesson I have ever got. And I am not a beginner. I'll put myself around 2200

[@wawerustephen2626]

U r the best teacher..

[@davidrobertson1980]

Awesome Jonas, subbed and joined community, cheers brother, nice game dude.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Thank you!

[@user-qsdf9br3e]

I started using the Réti Opening: Réti Gambit Declined, Advance, Penguin Variation and I have since improved my game substantially my opponents are left dazed and confused once I move my rook over to g2

[@VKMsdRO]

Just wanted to inform you that I once again played a 97.8 accuracy game in a 24 move game. All of this has been possible because of you, and my game rating was 2150. Btw, what special is coming for completion of 10k? I have been here since you were 1 something odd thousand and now congrats on 10 k.

[@kostatechuva]

There is no room for improvement using just the London system.

[@MrShokeSlam]

it is instructive thank you

[@Chote71]

Im only 1 week into chess but dont fully understand all the “weaknesses” you’re referring to😊

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Will do my best to explain this more in detail

[@saval35]

Thank you

[@chrislloyd5415]

What is the Francis chessbot? What is its rating?? You seemed to imply that it did some dumb things ... being overly agressive. And falling for the Fisher trap....I wish I was smart enough to emulate Fisher in his errors! Anyway, really enjoyed your commentary. I played chess with intent 50 years ago and am thinking about getting back into it. I always played according to the principles you mention, keep a strong structure, develop your pieces, look for weaknesses - having read too much of CJS Purdy!

[@Pegasus-Chess]

The Francis chessbot on Chess.com is supposed to be rated 2300. Thanks for your comment

[@MarkSamontañez]

Thankyouu so muchh bro I always watch your videos... I was 600 below elo before and now I just reached 1.800

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Wow 👀 Send me your profile info if you want to be in a future video

[@AnanyaKumarNayak]

In how much time 😮

[@ArielZapata]

Thats the same opening I always play

[@Zyrexia]

Don't say that London is not theory, people will play c5 Qb6 and you will be losing all games without theory

[@TheMichiganFishHunter]

Hey Jonas, do you believe that the rating at the end in the analysis is accurate?

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Yes but only if you take your average over many games. Sometimes it's very high because an opponent played terrible moves and the win was easy. Sometimes it can also be very low if the game was highly complicated. So taking the average view Will give you a good indication

[@AnanyaKumarNayak]

Sir what is you chess I'd 😊

[@silphv]

contrasting your mid-game thinking system as an alternative to "obsessing over openings" (aka memorizing and using any opening? I guess?) doesn't make any sense though. one of them is the opening and the other is the mid-game. You can just play an opening and then apply mid-game thinking, why not? I agree about not obsessing but the point of knowing openings is just that when you've played enough games you see that certain openings lead to certain styles of mid-game, and you might prefer an open positional mid-game to a closed, tactical one, for example. Of course, you don't always get your way and should practice principles that apply to any type of game but it's not wrong to have preferences and try to play those types of games

[@Pegasus-Chess]

I agree with your comment

[@JustinB_Oz]

Good video😊

[@MrDavePed]

I always open with the same postitional objectives. I adapt according to what is on the table at the time. My middle game starts with turn #1. ..

[@ketonicm8504]

Hey Jonas, you talk about only pushing the d,e and c pawn. I wonder how do you keep it with the rook pawns, especially if your opponent pins your knight with a bishop (do you make Luft with a tempo in those cases or would you say moving the rook pawns is bad as well)?

[@JeffreyLindsay]

At 2:46, rather than moving the black bishop, why not go for BxP at h7, followed by Ng5+, ,with the queen then checking at h5 (or, if the king moves to g6, going to d3+)?

[@IIIlIl]

but what if I enjoy and take great interest in learning about chess openings?

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Do what you love 😊

[@IIIlIl]

@Pegasus-Chess thank you! 😁

[@mufcmufc111]

Really useful

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Thanks 😄

[@ClooneyThunder]

I'm a 300 beginner. I vant seem to improve! But also I'm just a beginner so I don't know how to improve yet. I started today playing against Magnus bot knowing I'm going to lose everytime but I'm just studying his moves

[@redbeardthepink4809]

I've been playing for years, but right now I'm rated about 600. I was five hundred a few weeks ago, and I'm chalking most of that progress up to listening to Pegasus here, so keep an eye on this channel. This thinking system works.

[@Boxofdonuts]

I typically play like a maniac so these videos are very helpful

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Haha 😂

[@csolus]

What about Nb6 at 14:35? That wins the d pawn.

[@RaptureReady2025]

Would you consider the Greek gift at 2:51?

[@Syn-007]

Personally wouldn't consider, as the square where your knight shall go after the bishop sacrifice is covered, if the knight was blocking the queen's view, then it might work out. Edit: Although I am ~1650ish rn, so if anyone got a thought on how to make that strat work, I'm open to listen.

[@RaptureReady2025]

@@Syn-007bishop sac followed by Ng5+. If Qxg5 then BxQ which should be winning. And QxN is forced otherwise it’s mate. Yes?

[@RaptureReady2025]

@@Syn-007btw, love your thinking approach. Middlegame, endgame stuff. Openings are fine but then what? ❤

[@alexshropshire4651]

Thats exactly what I thought. It's the set up to win.

[@alexshropshire4651]

​@@Syn-007The knight is protected by the dark squared bishop, so it's possible.

[@robertmclean4953]

Hey, i wanted to ask how you get the grey board up when test variations against bots, how does this work?

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Chess.com has analysis mode for bots, bottom right on pc 🔍

[@Pegasus-Chess]

When you are playing without time!

[@christianblom1202]

Mate just after watching one of your videoes i won against a rank 2000 bot. Im rank 1050!!! can send the game if u need

[@Christian_counsel]

How is he able to make these moves during his play?

[@Pegasus-Chess]

When you play against a Chess.com bot without time you can use analysis mode to show different lines

[@Christian_counsel]

@ awesome. Thank you!

[@tobiasjacobs2093]

I disagree on it honestly. Opening is very important to learn, but many people start drilling the lines out of their heads rather than to follow ideas behind it. You learn openings by understanding the key ideas in it. When you do this you will navigate easier in the opening. Playing a system kind of a opening, yeah nice, but it makes you lazy to look for certain idea´s or concepts in the position and you just auto pilot in the opening which is bad. I think when you are below 2000 I think the main focus should be tactics and positional plans and most of all analyse the games you play altho this one counts for every elo basicly.

[@taufikhidayat9776]

How to use the preview mode? That's so helping

[@Pegasus-Chess]

On PC when playing against bots on the bottom right there is a 🔎 icon, only in games with no time control.

[@taufikhidayat9776]

@Pegasus-Chess thanks sir

[@itsopgaming368]

I used this thinking system and was pawn up from opening and got another pawn in end game and both were passed but i didn't know how to vonvert and i played a rapid game it was long game so i only had 3 min left then i tried to play fast and blunderd every thing and a mate how can i convert endgame

[@Pegasus-Chess]

It Will improve over time, endgame study also helps

[@KBrunoF]

bro how do you switch to the edit mode so easily?

[@Pegasus-Chess]

When playing vs bots without time you can switch to edit mode where you can move around the pieces

[@MrShokeSlam]

like before play I know it is going to be interesting

[@ChessCenturion]

How come you play against bots?

[@Pegasus-Chess]

It's easier to explain thoughts when it's vs a bot and there is no time control, also allows me to use 'analysis' mode and explain variations. I am trying to make similar style videos against humans but it's hard to do a decent explanation in a rapid game. If I increase the time control to 15+10 vs humans the video ends up being 50 minutes or more without much excitiement. If i play 10 min rapid the explanations are terrible or they're decent but I get in time trouble by explanining too much. Still trying to figure it out.

[@ChessCenturion]

@Pegasus-Chess yeah that makes sense, also drop me an email if you're interested in doing a collab at some point mate, we seem to be a pretty similar rating

[@GurpartapSingh-o3f]

I don't usually comment but your videos really helped me I defeated the nora bot with your help and the game review thinks that I am a 2250 rated player but I am just 1080 rated.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

That's amazing!! 🙂

[@huskerjpg]

I enjoy GothamChess for the showmanship. I enjoy Pegasus Chess for the plain spoken education.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Thank you! Means a lot.

[@muntheralfardan1726]

What about 1900 OTB classic. You advice the same ?

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Once you reach 1900 OTB it becomes more important to study openings and have a basic opening repertoire so you know what to play against all most common responses. I still stand by the idea that understanding chess is more important than opening preperation, but the higher your rating the more you'll need to be prepared.

[@MrDavePed]

At 4:47 why not Q-d2 to sac the bishop at h6? Solves your bishop problem.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

That's also possibility, but in general I try not to sack unless if the outcome is 100% clear

[@MrDavePed]

@@Pegasus-Chess Hmm those two castle pawns are a good bargain for the bishop which is blocking your position. Seems unlikely to be a bad exchange. Whenever they advance the rook pawn of the castle side like that it is very tempting to sacrifice a knight or a bishop and absolutely wreck their castle while presenting your queen unopposed. I guess that's just a matter of style.

[@TheExstud]

@2:50 Bxh7+!

[@Voidcaptor00]

Pegasus system is for only white or both ??

[@Pegasus-Chess]

For white only, I am also working on a Pegasus Defense but it's not finished yet.

[@Voidcaptor00]

@@Pegasus-Chess ok

[@MIDGETARELOW]

Can u make a video on how to play aginst d4 ❤

[@guilest4user]

Whats your rating otb mate?

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Haven't played OTB in a long time. My old rating is 1885 Fide and 1906 National. You can find my online profiles here: www.pegasuschess.com

[@guilest4user]

@Pegasus-Chess Thanks mate. Keep the tutorial vids coming 🤝

[@keithingram7398]

Can anyone please tell me why is the black e6 pawn so weak? Thank yiu

[@Pegasus-Chess]

It's a backward pawn: www.chess.com/terms/backward-pawn-chess

[@DanielShields]

nice

[@Bartekdex]

Can I begin to study them in 2026?

[@MiG-25IsGOAT]

So I just don't learn openings?

[@Pegasus-Chess]

I advise to have a general idea of what opening you're going to play and know some of the most common lines, but I am against obsessing over opening study and spending all your time on it. Of course, depends on your level once you hit 2000+ openings become way more important.

[@MiG-25IsGOAT]

@@Pegasus-Chess oh yes you are right, ppl spend too much on openings and at the end they end up with nothing, but saying "Don't study chess openings" is just exaggerating

[@itsopgaming368]

Can you play a system opening for black like czechpirc

[@Pegasus-Chess]

I Will soon

[@Smooler]

that prob won't matter to you, but if you really want to be the best learning option for chess you should probably restrain from ai thumbnails, at least to keep the more professional and classy image

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Thanks for sharing your opinion, I used to use AI for every video. Now I am mostly creating the thumbnails myself. I personally do not agree that lessons lose value because of AI use in the thumbnail but I respect your opinion.

[@Smooler]

@@Pegasus-Chess lessons themselves don't lose value, of course but the whole image of the channel/company does, at least in my opinion also great to hear that there are also original thumbnails made by you!

[@ZickPranks]

Honestly this is a bit boring. Play gambits and risk it for the biscuit.

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Boring chess is my favorite chess 😀

[@ZickPranks]

@Pegasus-Chess I get it you win more games. But its kind of the same as watching boring UFC fights. Go for the finish and sac everything!

[@j.d.2896]

I agree, gambits revived my interest in chess. The boring chess made me bored.

[@ronaldeverage1106]

Blunderpanda

[@thibaud57]

Exactly, i was between 1600-1800 without knowing any theory and all my parties were so boring. So now i study openning and went down until 1400. But i prefer playing know, its way more interesting with strategy

[@AnanyaKumarNayak]

What is your id 😊

[@Pegasus-Chess]

You can find my profiles here www.pegasuschess.com

[@AnanyaKumarNayak]

Tysm ❤

[@JVSPINBET]

What about for black ?

[@Pegasus-Chess]

Same thinking system, in my latest videos I sometimes do this strategy with black as well

[@MarkSamontañez]

Early again