How do you study move order issues?

Move orders matter, and memorizing is bad because you may make a "remembered move" in similar looking but strategically different position.

Started reading "Chess Openings for Black, Explained", and in the Nimzo-Indian, depending on what white plays, the repertoire chooses, as Black's fourth move, one of b6, Nc6, d5, c5 or 0-0 (and h6 and Bxc3+, but those are almost forced and easy to remember, although, to be sure, the Nimzo Bishop sometimes also withdraws in some lines ). These moves get made in many different orders. The repertoire is supposedly designed for ease of study (e.g., 4. Qc2 Nc6 was chosen since that is similar to the Bogo-Indian part of the repertoire), but the following snippet of the repertoire does not match the claimed uniformity. This part of the repertoire after (1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4):

4. e3 b6

4. Qc2 Nc6

4. f3 d5

4. Bg5 h6

4. a3 Bxc3+

4. g3 c5

4. Bd2 0-0

4. Qb3 c5

Maybe one approach is to study the positions as suggestions. In actual game, we will depart from it. When bad things happen, game analysis might reveal why the suggestion was good, and that may stick in memory better.

Any suggestions on studying move order subtleties? No shortcuts would really work if they bypass understanding, so I suppose I am asking how you build that understanding.

Why does White make this move and not the other move first, how would black react. Computers and databases are useful but try to work it out yourself first. 

Keep in mind move order subtleties can be extremely complex even if they look straightforward enough. Many grandmasters have had made a mess of move orders or been "move ordered" into a bad position (to "move order" someone - when used as a verb like this - means to make a slight change to the normal move order hoping the opponent will not understand what they should do and make themselves worse). 

You don't need to fret too much about understanding all possible move orders and all their nuances or you will be there forever. 

Understanding the key reasons for the move orders is most helpful. Often the reasons are either personal choices or 3000 elo stuff. If you want you can put your repertoire to chesstempo and drill them.

I recently started playing the Nimzo... and I've had some surprisingly good results with it. With the help of chessbase and stockfish (and an understanding of various pawn structures) I chose the lines that made the most sense to me... that's one of the main benefits (IMO) of not using books for openings.

Like Qc2 Nc6... that's not similar to anything. Sure in the bogo you play that after Nbd2, but that's only only somewhat similar, and it's such an obscure position... it doesn't relate to anything in the normal queen's gambit family.

I often like giving long replies, but this would honestly take me about... 1-2 hours so I don't want to do it lol, but a much better way to teach the Nimzo would be to cover the... maybe 4 or 5 structures you'll be getting. 

Ok ok, so I'll go ahead and give two basic things that I think every Nizmo player should be aware of.

First is this sort of classical queen's gambit structure where both players exchange off their c and d pawns.

-

-

Is this a good way for black to play at the super GM level? Of course. It's probably a super boring draw (in spite of white's catalan-like nagging pressure), which is what black should aim for at that level.

By the way this structure can happen in all sorts of g3 move orders and even more than that, it can happen in all sorts of Nimzo variations.

But IMO this is a ridiculous way to play at our level because we're not hoping for a fast and dull draw every time we play with black.

Below I'll give a fundamental Nimzo-type structure. I call it fundamental because it too can happen from various move orders in different variations

-

-

Double the pawns, then play d6, then later go for e5. Knights often on f6 and d7, bishop often fianchettoed on b7.

This can be reached in the 4.Nc3 and similar. Even when white's c pawns aren't doubled, it's a fine idea. For example in 4.Qc2 variations...

-

-

These are the fundamental ideas of the Nimzo, not some garbage GM variations which, of course, aren't actually garbage, but the author of that book probably assumes you already know this stuff.

Not to say the book is bad. If you invest a large amount of time and effort, you'll probably have a very nice repertoire... will that be useful at your level as a non-master? Probably not at all, to be perfectly honest. Your opponents wont know these lines, and if you don't understand the structures to begin with, then you wont know what to to in the middlegames you're getting anyway.

Get a book like Soltis' Pawn Structure Chess (or similar, there are a few like it) and an endgame book. Play a lot of games, and work on your tactics. After all that is when an opening repertoire will help you out the most.

My two cents.

You should not study all the lines.

1.Just choose one and (. e. g f3 d5) and only one branch from continuation. 

2.minimize the branches as much as you can 

3.go deep as much as you can including examples of dozens of master games. 

I agree! I also had a time where I tried to remember opening lines and was getting lost like a man who tries to count the grains of sand in an desert..... it´s endless - and useless. In nearly every video here on chess.com about openings the masters tell you: Understand the basic ideas of the openings, the pros and cons of the opening and some prinziples and don´t try to memorize all the lines. (i.e. Ginger_GM I love him!). I know maybe 5 or 6 moves in my favorite openings and after I played it 30 - 40 times even some more with the reactions of my opponents. That is more than enough if you are not plus 2000 I think. Focus more on the middle game (I´ve a lot of problems anlysing a situation here, that´s my problem) and the endgame. Like Capablanca said, to understand the endgame means to understand chess.

IMO this is good advice.

If it's a very new and vast opening, it's like being lost at sea. You should start by finding a small island, and make that your home. After you've learned all about it, you can slowly branch out with that as your home base.

play directly with d5. it has very few move order nuances. probably only e4 will somewhat dissuade it. i'd leave the b6 lines and the benoni c5 lines for later when i have more experience with the nimzo in general.

When you study an opening, you have to account for all ways that an opening can be reached, and to tell you the God-honest truth, players do not usually switch around move orders to trick you (at least anybody that is good at chess is not doing it for that reason), but it is usually some form of avoidance.

See, each move you make leads to some form of commitment.  By switching the move order, you may avoid one thing, but must be willing to deal with something else.  The best way to explain it is by a few examples of openings that often have different move orders:

1) Queen's Gambit Declined. 

The "normal" move order for this is 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 etc.  Well, think about this.  As Black, what sidelines might you have to face?  Could you avoid any of these sidelines by playing 1...e6 or 1...Nf6 first?  The QGD has come via 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 or 1.d4 e6 2.c4 d5 (or 2...Nf6) 3.Nc3 Nf6 (3...d5 if 2...Nf6).  What do each of these move orders AVOID is what you probably want to ask yourself.

1...d5 avoids the Trompowsky (1...Nf6 2.Bg5), but allows the Psuedo-Tromp (1...d5 2.Bg5) and the 2.Bf4 London.  While 2.Bf4 can be played against 1...Nf6 or 1...e6, there are small nuances that White has to deal with that he doesn't if Black has committed his d-pawn to d5.  Some London System books from about 5 to 10 years ago actually recommend 2.Bf4 against 1...d5, but 2.Nf3 against 1...Nf6.

1...e6 - Here you completely avoid the Trompowsky (2.Bg5 drops a piece), but you must be willing to play the French Defense as White could play 2.e4.  If you are a French player against 1.e4, this is a complete non-issue.  Also, if 2.Bf4, you still have the opportunity to play ...d6 at any point since the pawn has not already gone to d5, but you can also push ...d5 at any point as well.  Plenty of flexibility, but you must be willing to play the French.

1...Nf6 - Here you have to deal with the Trompowsky, but against the London, you may not want to play an early ...d5 and do more of a Queen's Indian setup, but against the main line, you intend to do the QGD.

2) Sicilian Defense

Many will play various move orders to avoid certain lines.  For example, 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 is often viewed as an anti-Sveshnikov.  After certain responses, White will play 4.d4, and in other cases, play something else.  3.Nc3 against 2...e6 is also a common scenario to avoid the Pin variation.  Also, 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 and if 2...Nc6, maybe White will play 3.Nf3 intending 4.d4, but against 2...d6, he'll play the Grand Prix attack since that is the one line where the Grand Prix is favorable, against an early ...d6, since the main question mark to the grand prix is early ...d5 lines, like 1.e4 c5 2.f4 d5!.  If you are a Najdorf player, then 2...Nc6 3.Nf3 is a problem for you as the Knight can no longer go to d7, so most Najdorf players will play 2...a6 or 2...d6.

3) Queen Pawn Openings.

Take myself.  My main opening move for White is 1.e4, but I also play a second first move at times, 1.Nf3.  Often times, I will wind up in a Queen Pawn opening, but if that's the case, why not 1.d4?  Why 1.Nf3?  Again, it is to avoid certain things.  What do I lose by playing 1.Nf3?  I lose the ability to play the Saemisch King's Indian, the Saemisch Benoni, the Flick Knife Attack against the Benoni, and the Four Pawns Attack against the King's Indian Defense.  What does 1.d4 do?  It commits a central pawn early.

Well, I can tell you specifically why I avoid 1.d4.  I go out of my way to avoid the Grunfeld Defense at all cost.  After 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5, I will enter an anti-Grunfeld with 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.dxc3! (6.bxc3 followed by 7.d4 would directly transpose to the Grunfeld).  Another common one is avoiding the Nimzo-Indian, though you can still play the 4.Nf3 Nimzo by transposition after 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 (a line of the Anti-Nimzo normally reached in the English Opening, 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 (3.e4 is also possible) Bb4.  Now White can transpose to the Nimzo with 4.d4, or he can play the Anti-Nimzo with 4.Qc2 or 4.Qb3 (or maybe 4.g3 also, not sure, I don't play this line).  As far as myself, I avoid the Nimzo as well, and play 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.d4, which is the Catalan by transposition.  However, if Black goes for say, a King's Indian Defense, I'll gladly transpose (1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 - Avoiding the Grunfeld - 4...d6 5.d4).

So what you have to do when establishing your repertoire is consider what switches in move order your opponent can make, and what sidelines are possible for him or her, and you need to act accordingly.  Like in my case, when I play the Dutch, since I play the French Defense religiously, I will answer 1.d4 with 1...e6 before playing 2...f5, avoiding the Staunton Gambit or Poison-Spike Gambit or 2.Nc3 and 2.Bg5 lines of the Anti-Dutch, but I have to be ready for 2.e4, but since I answer 1.e4 with 1...e6 anyway, that is a complete non-issue.  I always tell people that plan to play the Classical or Stonewall Dutch that if they are French players, that they should play 1...e6.  If you play the Leningrad, you have to do 1...f5, or if you play the Sicilian or 1...e5 or Caro-Kann against 1.e4, then you also would have to do 1...f5.

This is just 3 common ones where move order matters.  There are others as well.  Take the opening you are studying, and try to account for your opponent switching up the move order, and figure out what it gains and what it loses, but also try to figure out what your opponent is specifically trying to avoid!  Like in my case, with 1.Nf3 instead of 1.d4, I am avoiding specifically the Grunfeld (I could just as easily play the Catalan instead of allowing the Nimzo with 1.d4, and so the main reason for 1.Nf3 is to avoid the Grunfeld).

In my opinion, the easiest way to learn opening moves and study defenses is by using a relatively strong engine (eg. Rybka, Shredder, Stockfish etc.) with an opening book installed on it. Play against it offline. It'll punish you for every mistake. It's a pretty time consuming approach but with every move you make, it'll teach you all the possible variations of that particular opening/defense. For traps, wikipedia is sufficient.

As you learn how to play against an engine, it'll also teach you one important aspect, piece coordination.

I’d say studying the pawn structure and thematic maneuvers and piece placement is key. After all, my Catalan theory ends at around move 7-10. I can’t bring myself to study any more than that, because the move orders are all confusing. 

I am glad I asked  Thanks for the detailed responses. I summarize them all together here (hopefully not distorting too much in the process):

From Uhohspaghettio1: You don't need to fret too much about understanding all possible move orders and all their nuances or you will be there forever. 

From Wannabe2700: Move order reasons are often personal choices and sometimes Super-GM reasons (so understanding everything is not really possible/meaningful: there may not be anything to understand). One possibility of learning: drilling.

From llama47: Many structures that arise may be optimized for objectives we may not care about (such as aiming for a draw when Black). Try to learn the standard positions rather than offbeat positions (such as those arising after 4. Qc2 Nc6). Also, investing large amounts of time on this repertoire will not pay off at my level (1550 on this site). Learn the relevant pawn structures (for example, through Soltis' book)

From drmrboss: (paraphrased) Rather than learn an entire tree, learn a few paths from the root to some leaves. Here, play through some master games.

From archaja: Know by heart only the first few 5 to 6 moves of your chosen openings, play a lot of games here, and focus on the middlegame and endgame study.

king5minblitz: Advises playing the d5 line since it has fewer nuances.

Thrillerfan: Good advice (which I won't try to summarize) on how to take move order into consideration in the process of repertoire construction in order to avoid some particular positions (he avoids Grunfeld at all costs, for example).

Ransome01: Practice openings against Stockfish or such. Time consuming, but can be rewarding.

B1zmark: Also emphasizes pawn structures.

Thanks!