Rakhmanov's Secrets of Opening Preparation

I start to prepare by watching my opponent's games for the last 2-3 years. Sometimes, senior year is enough, if the opponent is actively playing. Sometimes, if they are young and only have 30 to 40 games in the database, you can see all the games (by the way, if you only have a few games in the database, this is not very pleasant for the opponent). I do it quickly, analyzing about 20 moves, focusing mainly on the opening stage.

It's also worth looking into their games for the opposite color to understand if they play the same game you want to play. This is especially important if you use multiple opening options; there is an opportunity to take the opponent to a position less familiar to him.

An important point if you use the program "Chessbase". You can use the "select to book" function, but I think it's best to review each game to understand which of the openings have been played recently.

Then I try to understand if there's a weak spot. As the saying goes:

Once is an accident

Twice is a coincidence

Three times is a pattern

Four times is tradition.

Recently, I noticed that if the opponent has played a line 2-3 times, even if the line is doubtful, then there is a high probability that he will play it again. This line of play may be dubious from my point of view, but the opponent may think everything is great. This may be a disadvantageous position, but I would love to play it against this opponent. Whenever I can, I always try to get my opponent away from the lines they know well as soon as possible.

In general, my recommendation is simple if you're playing against a stronger opponent: play according to theory for as long as possible. It could be the theory in its own variation, and not the main lines. On the contrary, if the opponent is weaker, it is better that his theoretical knowledge be finished as soon as possible.