I want to learn chess.
 

Like BusterStacks, I want to learn to play chess this summer.

I've always "played" chess occassionally for fun with friends. But I've never developed any particular strategy or deep understanding for the game.

I now want to change that. I don't want to become a pro, just a good player who can beat all the 'general public.'

Anyway, I just went to Chapter's tonight and picked up "First Chess Openings" by Eric Schiller. Seemed basic enough to start with. Anyone know this book, or any other good resources?

I'll close with this for now: Perhaps I'm wrong, but from my current understanding of chess, it is a game of complete information (unlike poker). If I lose any particular game, it's my fault - whereas a losing session in poker could simply be due to variance even though all decisions have been +EV. I'm intrigued by the possibility of having "full control" over one's destiny in this game.


Adam

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

Just learn a very basic opening for black and white. Then focus on all tactics. Tactics are the heart of chess and will allow you to easily crush any of your neophyte friends. The more experienced guys will be able to recommend some good tactics books.

My personal recommendation is don't get too involved in the game. There's just way too much memorization and boring crap involved in my opinion.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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Just learn a very basic opening for black and white.

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I'm a personal fan of the 4-move checkmate. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

Adam,

Lots of books out there, lots of websites. I like Chesscafe.com, read Dan Heisman's Novice's Nook column, including all the archives. Seriously. There are many good books. Lots of players like to dog SChiller, because he has put out some really crappy books, but I personally have found some of his books I Really like. For a first book, logical chess move by move by Irving Chernev is excellent. Dont worry too much about openings right now. Lots of beginners make this mistake. You also need a good book on tactical motifs, I think that Yasser Seirwan's Winning Chess Tactics is a great one to start with. Learning the basic tactical motifs and then doing problems is simply the best way to start off as a beginner.



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Perhaps I'm wrong, but from my current understanding of chess, it is a game of complete information (unlike poker). If I lose any particular game, it's my fault - whereas a losing session in poker could simply be due to variance even though all decisions have been +EV. I'm intrigued by the possibility of having "full control" over one's destiny in this game

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Well it is a game of complete information in the sense that you know exactly what the balance of power is between you and your opponent. But you still have to be anticipate your opponents range of moves, which ones he is most likely to make, etc. And be aware, there is little to no sucking out in chess. The greater the distance between your rating and another players, the lesser chance you are going to luck into a win.

For practice, you can play on the Free Internet Chess Server or at the ICC (I forget what the initials stand for). FICS is free, ICC isnt unless you play anonymous. Stay away from Yahoo chess [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Hope this helps, good luck, chess is a very fun game.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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Stay away from Yahoo chess [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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just curious...why??

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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My personal recommendation is don't get too involved in the game. There's just way too much memorization and boring crap involved in my opinion.

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There is no reason that a player that practices tactics regularly and understands basic opening principles cant push his rating to around 1800 or so (playing online). There is no need to get into memorizing opening lines up to that point. I should add that you should know some basic endgames as well, but those dont require much memorization.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

Filled with cheaters and rude kids. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I will say that I used it from time to time to practice opening lines but you can get all you need playing on FICS or ICC.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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cheaters

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How does one cheat at chess?


Adam

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

thanks for the excellent and comprehensive reply.


(I may have further questions for you down the road. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img])


Adam

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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cheaters

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How does one cheat at chess?


Adam

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The only thing I can think of in my use of Yahoo Chess is that a great number of players will quit a game in order to avoid an actual loss, and maybe harass you if you don't accept their draw offers when they're way behind. Not cheating, but definitely annoying.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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cheaters

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How does one cheat at chess?


Adam

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Use computer programs to make the moves. In other words they have a computer playing program opened at the same time as they are playing you. They make your move and see how the computer responds. Then that is the move they make. FICS and ICC combat this in different ways. Yahoo, at least the last that I knew, doesnt.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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thanks for the excellent and comprehensive reply.


(I may have further questions for you down the road. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img])


Adam

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Youre welcome. Let me know if you want to play online some time. I havent played in quite some time actually so I am very rusty but I can still talk you through some basic tactics and opening principles. Hopefully some other people weigh in because I know there are some very good chess players lurking around these forums.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

here's a tip for the person who has played a bit but never looked at strategy, try and find knight forks and pincers to hold opponent pieces in place, you propabaly know that already. i tried to learn chess about a fortnight ago, and i just wanted pretty much the same thing, you know to beat the the average guy. then i realsied 2 things:

1. the average guy is going to be your drinking buddy or something, and you 2 are't going to have the concentration to play chess. you can have a 'quick game of whist' or something, but there's no such thing as a 'quick game of chess'

2. if i wanted to be a serious player, there was no hope of me ever becoming any good, because the field is just too large to get anywhere.


but if you still want to learn how to play chess, the basic strategy can be found here: a very useful chess site.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

Personally, I'd recommend Silman's How To Reassess Your Chess. It moved me from a ~1000 to a ~1300 player before I slacked off. Here are a couple of general tips:

1. Don't spend too much time on openings if you're just learning the game. You can have all the best openings memorized 15 moves deep and you're still screwed the moment you hit the end-game.

2. Get yourself a set you can take down to the local bar/coffee shop/hang out and play as many people as you can.

3. Get yourself an account on FICS. That's probably the best place to play.

3a. Don't play blitz until you know what you're doing. "2 12" can make you worse if you're just starting out.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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Personally, I'd recommend Silman's How To Reassess Your Chess.

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I love Silman's books but I wouldnt recommend it to someone starting out. It wont be useful with out having basic tactics down.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

I know a few decent players (world class) and would sum up as follows:

Basically you become better each time you play an opponent that is better than you and worse each time you play a worse one. Blitz chess damages your game when you lack experience (when you have experience you are quick enough to use it to test different things). Play games with high time limits and spend at least a minute considering each position. If it is an interesting position, spend 10 minutes. NEVER do a move just to move, keep looking until you find a move that achieves something. This consciousness will slowly open your brain for the magic.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

1.e4...

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

Schiller books are not good.

I advise picking up the "Winning Chess..." series by Silman and Seirawan. There's 3-4 books, all pretty inexpensive.

Play on FICS at www.freechess.org. I've been playing there for 10+ years.

Play whoever you can live. Don't be one of those people who thinks they have to "be good" before you can play in public. Accept that you will have to lose hundreds of games to get good.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

you spelled thousands wrong

I'll amen the seirawan book rec, especially the tactics one. Probably the one most responsible for me getting decent.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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1.e4...

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More like 1.c4. It pwns everyone.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

Get a book or two on endgame first. It's much more interesting and fun. Sort of like post-flop play. Although in limit hold'em I feel like it's impossible to be a winning player without solid preflop play, it is much less essential in chess, at the level that you and your opponents will likely be. Endgame is the easiest part to play, followed by the middle game, so learn in this order.

Bob

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

Yasser Seirawan has a nice series of books. I started with the "Winning Chess Openings" and had a lot of success with it. Someone recommended staying away from Yahoo chess, however, I think its a great way to learn and work on basics. There are also a shitload of computer programs that will definitely help a beginning player.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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Yasser Seirawan has a nice series of books. I started with the "Winning Chess Openings" and had a lot of success with it. Someone recommended staying away from Yahoo chess, however, I think its a great way to learn and work on basics. There are also a shitload of computer programs that will definitely help a beginning player.

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fics has anti-cheat crap, real interface and competent opponents. substantially better than yahoo in all respects.


www.freechess.org

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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1.e4...

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More like 1.c4. It pwns everyone.

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I'm just a newbie, I'll look into that though. Thanks. I guess this will get you off the hook for that crappy post about Led Zeppelin.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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1.e4...

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More like 1.c4. It pwns everyone.

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I'm just a newbie, I'll look into that though. Thanks. I guess this will get you off the hook for that crappy post about Led Zeppelin.

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I'm pretty sure 1. e4 is better.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

beginners only need to know the following order of development for their opening repetoire: center pawns, knights, bishops, castle, rooks, Queen. Memorizing the specific order of openings can be counter productive, imo. tactics are a MUST.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

I started really "studying" chess 6 months ago and its easy to go over board. For openings just pick out two basics and memorize them. (ex:Sicilian, Queens Gambit..)
Middle game is alot of logical decisions which are natural for me and can be developed over time by most. There are plenty of websites that can help you out. And most of them have many demonstrations and examples of endgame and openings. And you can watch replays of GM games while they explain.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

check out instantchess.com for some quick games while at work or if you have a few spare minutes

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

i started to get into chess a little bit because i find the study im putting into it enjoyable. i havent read any books, but have been using chessgames.com and computer program shredder classic.

chessgames.com allows you to watch thousands upon thousands of games from all the best players in the world. ive watched a ton of bobby fischer games and as a result, have a very good idea for opening starting moves along with middle and end games. before coming to this site, i was pretty decent at chess. i opened with queens pawn and had a pretty good idea for middle games, but had horrible end game strategy. i now realize that queens pawn pretty much blows. i couldnt put people into checkmate. i would always win by building a material advantage and then trading until the board is empty. now i feel that i have a good idea of checkmate combinations and have been able to checkmate opponents early in games, something which i could never have done before.

shredder classic supposively won the national computer application championships, meaning that it is the most sophisticated computer chess player in the world, at least for its time. obviously i could never build an advantage against it, and it of course can be frustrating to lose every game over and over again, but i learned so much from it. you can download the program off download.com, but its a trial version and costs a few bucks to continue if you want to.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

If any of you would like one of your games analyzed, you can send it to me by PM and I will post the analysis here. I think that would be a good way for all who are interested to learn.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

You are right, this is definitely a great way to supplement your studies. If you like this sort of study, here are some books that I recommend (and I own all of them, so consider these first-hand recommendations).

Logical Chess Move by Move - Great beginner's book

Winning Chess Brilliancies (Winning Chess Series) - Another great one for beginners. Its by Yasser Seirwan, who has a real gift for explaining the flow of a chess game.

Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur - This one is a bit dated but still very good.

Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games - This is probably my favorite. Written by 3 very good chess players, covers a wide variety games from throughout chess history. Great balance of analysis and explanation. I hope they update this one soon.

Best Lessons of a Chess Coach - This book is interactive and is great for teaching the "whys" of certain moves.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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1.e4...

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More like 1.c4. It pwns everyone.

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I'm just a newbie, I'll look into that though. Thanks. I guess this will get you off the hook for that crappy post about Led Zeppelin.

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I'm pretty sure 1. e4 is better.

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Depends. Especially at the lower levels everyone's familiar with e4, but they won't be with c4. You can get a bigger advantage by taking advantage of their weaknesses.

At a master level I think e4 is better.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

One thing with 1.c4 is that is has a lot of transpositional possibilities in it. So its something at master level you have to be very aware of. But I do agree at lower levels it is good for taking people out of their pet openings. I really liked The Dynamic English by Tony Kosten.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

i think you are right about this. bobby fischer used to start off with c4 during his amateur days and of course switched to e4. right now i open with c4 because i have the moves memorized a mere 8 turns deep.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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i think you are right about this. bobby fischer used to start off with c4 during his amateur days and of course switched to e4. right now i open with c4 because i have the moves memorized a mere 8 turns deep.

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....

define his "amateur" days, anyway. Pretty sure he was an e4 guy even then.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

watch his matches in 1955 and 1956 on chessgames.com. he opened with c4 in the majority of them. i dont know which year he changed to e4 though, it could have been several years afterwards as i havent seen those matches yet. some of those tournaments were "junior" events and "amateur" championships.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

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watch his matches in 1955 and 1956 on chessgames.com. he opened with c4 in the majority of them. i dont know which year he changed to e4 though, it could have been several years afterwards as i havent seen those matches yet. some of those tournaments were "junior" events and "amateur" championships.

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it was right around then, for certain. I'm pretty sure he only opened e4 in the US championships and he started those in '57 IIRC.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

Chess videos

They're free and a nice way to learn as well.

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

Having full control of your destiny is a two edged sword... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: I want to learn chess.
 

sorry guys i feel foolish, he didnt open with c4 he opened with knights pawn or knight to c3. the whole lettering/number system is still confusing to me.