repertoire? what repertoire?

So there is a lot of talk going on about openign repertoires and such, and the more I hear people speak on the subject, the more I realise that I don't have one, not do I know much about them!

I have three questions. 1)What is an opening repertoire, 2)What is the best way to formulate one, and 3)Recently, I have been playing the English as white and am really enjoying it, can I build one around that?

My final concern is that most of my opening knowledge is centered around playing the white pieces. How can I work to fix that?

1) An opening repertoire is a set of openings you commonly play.

2) Play different openings and find ones that you like.

3) Sure, learn about the English Opening and many variations and positions that can result from it.

http://www.chesspublishing.com/content/repert.htm

check it out, it will help you.

Let me try to expand Ryan if I may.

1) An opening repertoire is a set of openings and responses to certain openings you have previously prepared.

2) The best way to formulate a repertoire is to find out your style.  For example, I am a tactical player and I like to play sharp positions.  So I pick tactical openings to play which complements my style and lets me play to my strength.  You may have a different style and therefore pick different openings.

3) You can build a repertoire around the English opening.  As RyanMK said, find out information and the ideas behind the English opening.  You can play a similar setup as Black like the Sicilian Defense, which has some similar ideas to the English.  This will cut down on your study time.

If you are just starting out on forumulating your repertoire, I would rather you try a lot of openings so you can get a feel for what you like.  You may end up deciding that the English is not right for you.

I would go about creating an opening repertoire by looking at what of positions you like to have in the middle.

Assume your opponent plays the opening accurately, which means going into the middle the position is roughly equal. You have to decide what you are willing to give in the opening order to shake things up.

For example I'll exchange structural damage for more active pieces, basically I'll let my opponent give me a doubled or isolated pawn if it will increase the activity of my pieces. Because I think I can generate an attack before the pawn is a factor. here's an example:

 I'm not sure how that is different than what I said, only more in depth. Anyways his advice is probably more reliable so keep in mind the things he recommended.

RyanMK and Killabeez let me try to correct you both if i may.

1. An opening repertoire is something you read right before you sit down to play your game.

2. The best way to formulate one is to buy it from your local supermarket. You will usually find it in the top shelf of the magazine section.

3. You say white English i say dark Spanish, we all have our preferences. ;)~

currently, I'm having a pretty good time learning about the english opening. Positions such as the Marcozy Bind, that sometimes can be reached with the english interest me a lot - and I'm learning about transpositions into that position from King's Pawn openings (e4/scotch).

I think my style is more of an attacking style. So an opening like the English, where my focus is to be in the center of the board is a good choice for me. Same with the sicilian possibly (but of course I cant just pray for white to start with e4 all the time can I?

 Of course not! Against 1.d4 try for a Benoni. nothing much more attacking than that.

The Benoni is really fun to play, although it is completely different than the English and Sicilian

I suppose with 1.d4 I could somewhat easily transpose into the sicilian with 1. ... d6, followed by c5

An opening rep. is pretty easy to formulate. However, it's not done overnight. I started by playing king's pawn for easy development with white, and the scandinavian for black. Then I researched when I ran into problems, which got my rep. pretty deep.

mabufo> 1)What is an opening repertoire

It's the opening lines you play.

mabufo> 2)What is the best way to formulate one

"Best" questions are silly. At your level (based on your in-progress game), don't go overboard studying openings since games are decided by tactics.

mabufo> 3)Recently, I have been playing the English as white and am really enjoying it, can I build one around that?

Why not? I like the English. Remember to prepare for 1...e6, leading to a QGD or Reti, and 1...c6, leading to a QGD or Caro-Kann. You usually get to sidestep d4 defenses, and it's White who calls the shots where I gave two options above.

The only 2 cents I have to add is be careful of the English when you play against an opponent who makes the same moves as you with the black pieces.  I believe it is called the "symmetrical variation".  This is the only opening for black that he can repeat what white is doing and get a good position from it.  Also, the English tends to be a bit "drawish" because it tends to lead itself into a equal position throughout the game if played properly.

sharkpoet> This is the only opening for black that he can repeat what white is doing and get a good position from it.

There are at least a few other openings where in some lines Black can mimic White for a time--for example, the Slav / Exchange, Petroff, and Colle.

Yes, it's important to have an idea when to break the symmetry if playing for a win. Most books that I own on the English devote some space to it. :)

sharkpoet> Also, the English tends to be a bit "drawish" because it tends to lead itself into a equal position throughout the game if played properly.

...e5 is twice as common as ...c5 and typically leads to sharp, tactical games.

Correct ,me if I am wrong, but I always thought English to be a quite opening - with no flammaboyant play?

ogerboy> Correct ,me if I am wrong, but I always thought English to be a quite opening - with no flammaboyant play?

sincere apologies