I don't find chess memory intensive, I almost never directly commit opening variations to memory. I play around with them, often against myself, until I get a f

I don't find chess memory intensive, I almost never directly commit opening variations to memory. I play around with them, often against myself, until I get a feel for what works, what's speculative and what's bad. Preparing for a tourney or a big game is different obv. but usually you just play enough that openings and their values become a part of you