just started getting interested in chess again. played off and on since i was a kid, but never real serious.

i understand some basic opening strategies (the gambit, fianchetto, etc..) , but not I'm real up on the midgame or endgame strategies. Hell, I'm not even real good with adapting/revising an opening game thats taken a bad turn.

basically, i just revert to looking for the best move, and try to look ahead a move or three if possible, but really it's just kind of random.

how the hell do you get good at this game? do i have to read and dissect every freaking opening strategy and tournament game played since 1913 ??

9/4/2007 1:52:09 AM

One move lookahead is like you just learned the game

Quote :

"how the hell do you get good at this game? do i have to read and dissect every freaking opening strategy and tournament game played since 1913 ??"

yes

[Edited on September 4, 2007 at 3:36 AM. Reason : 44]

9/4/2007 3:36:25 AM

not all of them, just the ones in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings should be sufficient --but seriously, that's a big part of tournament-level chess, and the reason that on-the-fly variants like Chess 960 have become (somewhat) popular

9/4/2007 3:48:32 AM

the first key to becoming successful is a great tww thread - i'm not sure how successful you will be

play online against real players - plenty of free chess sites

9/4/2007 6:52:24 AM

just get an understanding of all parts of the game

learn a few openings that you can change as needed to gain center position and development
get castled

learn basic endgames


then practice (play, do tactical puzzles)



only when you are very advanced do you need to study further books and topics

[Edited on September 4, 2007 at 8:46 AM. Reason : ill play, pm me]

9/4/2007 8:46:45 AM

I got a good book with 1000 end games a while back. Basically they show you a certain configuration and you have to figure out how to get a guaranteed checkmate in X number of moves.

9/4/2007 10:31:08 AM

I was reading on wikipedia and found it interesting that the accepted outcome of high end chess is a draw, but since the white goes first he has an advantage. They had so many games turning out in draws they started using a different point system in tournaments.

9/4/2007 11:07:39 AM

My sister is nuts when it comes to Chess. She's only 11 and she's gone tons of medals and trophies and she beats people three times her age all the time. Haha she gets so pissed when I tell her that Chess isn't a sport.

9/4/2007 11:14:34 AM

children are beating older people all the time now, one of the top players in the world, magnus carlsen is 16 and ranked top 10... has been dominating the national tournaments lately.

^^yea they use 1 for a win, 0 for a loss and .5 for a draw... great players playing each other draw much more often than any other.

[Edited on September 4, 2007 at 12:28 PM. Reason : anyone want lessons or to play, pm me]

9/4/2007 12:27:55 PM

Quote :

"I was reading on wikipedia and found it interesting that the accepted outcome of high end chess is a draw, but since the white goes first he has an advantage. "

i don't this has actually been proven, just an extension of solved games like hex (which is the shit btw)

9/4/2007 12:39:21 PM

i don't think go has been solved either

[Edited on September 4, 2007 at 12:40 PM. Reason : my bad]

9/4/2007 12:40:00 PM

white does have a small advantage beginning due to tempo and quicker development... it is very very slight however and when both sides play optimally it is usually not exploited. Hence more draws at high level

9/4/2007 12:48:30 PM

Chess is a tough game to get started in, much less become good at... but here's how I did it.

1) Be sure you know the rules. Any beginners chess book can do that. I'm always amazed when people try to tell me I'm castling wrong, or that en passant isn't a rule, or similar stuff like that.

2) Read some beginners books. I read one that covered the most basic openings (6-7 moves in), covered how to checkmate in simple situations, and offered a few "tricks of trade" like forks, skewers, pins, double check, discovered attack, etc. These will give you ideas on how the game is played.

3) Play. The only way to get better is to practice. Try out new ideas and see if they work. Game experience helps make practical sense of the principles outlined in the book.

4) Read more, try more advanced books, get a chess program/analyzer. Use what works best for you.

5) Repeat 3,4 as needed.

9/4/2007 1:39:48 PM

i love when they tell me im cheating when i do en passant or 0-0-0

9/4/2007 2:10:16 PM

threefold repetition is my personal fav

9/4/2007 2:15:16 PM

play fykal?

9/4/2007 2:18:39 PM

sry, i gotta leave in a few--i have an appt at 3:00

9/4/2007 2:24:56 PM

I can understand not being familiar with en passant, but castling...?

9/4/2007 2:26:31 PM

0-0-0 is castling queenside... a lot of noobs dont know that rule

9/4/2007 2:27:05 PM

They don't think you're allowed to castle on both sides?

9/4/2007 2:29:01 PM

most people dont know 0-0-0 or en passant....

people who play know obviously, but beginners dont always get it

9/4/2007 2:29:56 PM

How do you learn enough to know about castling on one side but not the other?

9/4/2007 2:31:50 PM

Because when beginner's learn they are often taught that a "castle" is a move specific to the king's side rook, and the king.

They instead need to be taught that Castleing is a manuever with your rooks, either side to defend yourself.

9/4/2007 3:26:51 PM

Play a lot, and against different people. I got pretty good against my roommates but when I started playing online I saw things I hadn't before. I got a lot better that way.

Find somewhere to play online. I really like the site instantchess.com I think it has a lot of good features. I gave someone on here a one month membership for it a while back, don't recall who though. it's like 100 games for $10 (discounted if you buy more). There are a lot of places to play for free but the features and quality of players (all levels) makes it worth it to me.

The Chess Master game has a pretty decent tutorial. It's based on the books and videos by the "Searching For Bobby Fischer" kid (Josh something), and his teacher. The kid (now grown) does the narration and what not. It's a good start if you'd prefer seeing, hearing, and interacting with the tutorial as apposed to just reading a book. It covers basic rules, openings, mid-game, end game, strategy, etc.. It also has a database of opening moves, and tournament games. It's a good start for the beginning player I think. And obviously you could play the actual game if you wanted.

There are also a bunch of websites with all kinds of tutorial.

9/4/2007 3:43:36 PM

instantchess is a complete ripoff

go to http://www.chessclub.com (1 week free trial) ICC is the worlds largest chess server... 29 bucks a year for students unlimited play and you can watch grandmasters play and get free lessons

also http://www.playchess.com (used to be 1 month free trial) is good



also, best way to improve as a beginner is to take lessons with someone
that way you can get a grasp on the easy parts a lot faster than reading them in a book and trying to make a connection

[Edited on September 4, 2007 at 4:04 PM. Reason : .]

9/4/2007 4:02:10 PM

http://www.google.com/search?q=raleigh+chess+club

[Edited on September 4, 2007 at 8:06 PM. Reason : df]

9/4/2007 8:05:39 PM

i think trying to dissect every possible opening scenario might be overkill. why not find a positional book, therefore instead of trying a bunch of memorization you can try to understand fundamental principles about positions and can therefore reason out the "best" move often on your own.....maybe

9/4/2007 10:06:16 PM

anyone want to play?

9/4/2007 10:08:28 PM

online or in person?

9/4/2007 10:09:09 PM

online, im drinking cant drive

any site you want

9/4/2007 10:11:08 PM

maybe later tonight, i think i might head out for a bit

9/4/2007 10:20:04 PM

Quote :

"most people dont know 0-0-0 or en passant.... "

we had a chess competition at school when i was i guess 12-14 years old.

i accidentaly came upon en passant just the night before the competition, and so i used it the next day. everybody was like wtf, and i was like, hey that's a rule!

9/6/2007 12:07:16 AM

the initial double pawn move is a recent invention to the game. En Passant was a compromise for when one side had their pawn on the 5th rank, effectively preventing the opposing pawn from moving out of it's initial position.

I've known about it since i was a kid. I'd be embarrassed for anyone playing chess who didnt know about it, or castling.

9/6/2007 3:34:52 AM