Takes
Seven mornings, twenty minutes each
Needs
A board, a notebook, one opening written on a card
Result
The first eight moves are automatic now.
I play chess badly and slowly, mostly because every game starts with me wondering what to do on move two. The plan: pick one opening, set the board up on the terrace before breakfast, and play it until the first moves need no thought at all.
Write the opening on a card
Eight moves for each side, in pencil, on an index card propped against the board. Reading them aloud while moving the pieces helped more than I expected.
Play it against yourself
Moving both sides felt silly for a day and then became the useful part: I started to see why each move is there, not just where it goes.
Put the card away
On the sixth morning the card stayed in the notebook. I got to move eight without it, and then sat looking at the hills for a long time over move nine.
Finished note
The first eight moves are mine now. After that I am back to thinking hard and guessing, which is fine; that is where the game actually starts. Next week: the most common reply, one move at a time.