Last night I was working on the Maroczy a little bit when I realized something. I've been going about this all wrong. I have been looking at moves when I should be looking at games. You do not gain an appreciation for an opening by finding the next book move, you gain an appreciation for an opening by watching strong masters handle it against other strong masters. I don't even know the plans for White really, just the moves. And this is what has cost me, I've been missing the nuances because I haven't really been looking at games, I've been looking at positions. I haven't been looking at plans. In the Peterson game I knew he was going to play f5 after he played f4, but I didn't care to figure out how to play against it I just ignored it because I didn't really understand the main points. I have to figure out the main themes before I can make any progress.

Although I think AFTER you have acquired the themes by osmosis it is important to find the correct move orders to reach positions you are familiar with and comfortable in. Yesterday I got a lot of good ideas from a very unexpected source. More about this in a few months when I am ready to try them out.