The Importance of Understanding the Openings

"I'm far from understanding a lot in chess, but I do feel like I'm really starting to swim in the knowledge arena," he says. "And I'm starting to know a little bit more about why XYZ is happening on the board or why, you know, a certain opening repertoire would move,. You know, a piece here or there." He adds: "I don't want to memorize a bunch of lines all the time and just play those lines".