It's a common misconception that chess requires memorization. You don't learn to play chess by memorization. That's like saying that you have to memorize the C

It's a common misconception that chess requires memorization. You don't learn to play chess by memorization. That's like saying that you have to memorize the C language specification to be a C programmer. Back when I was playing chess I was around 2100 (uscf). I knew almost nothing about chess. However I did have the ability to analyse and a good eye for tactics. That was enough to be almost a Master. The key to chess is to analyse better than your opponent, not to memorize better than your opponent.