Chess: want to get better fast

[bugstud]

I'm only USCF 1775 or something...not that strong, and I probably don't play at that level anymore. I was really motivated then [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

I think that the quick games will help him identify the quick tactics and general pattern recognition. He said get better fast too, which is why I don't think he's going to have time to play as much G/60 as he'd like [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I agree it'd help him more, so maybe once a week he can get to a chess club in person, play a game and have a better player go over it with him after playing it. I think that may help him out quite a bit. I guess I did play against a lot of older players at my developmental stage, but they were all 1000 strength excepting one 1400 that was getting ver yold and infirm.

Popin, if you make an FICS account and want to go over a game or two you can PM me or post here, I'd be more than willing to give a little help.

Yugo, I do appreciate counterpoints here...I think I'm a pretty rare case as far as learning chess goes. I at least used to have something resembling a photographic memory and therefore remembered a lot of the lines rather well.

Good luck Popin, I guess....now that we're off track [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[ilya]

Send me $29.95. I will send you a sleep-hypnosis tape and a bishop costume. Discard these items. Go out and buy Capablanca's book. Ignore anything that involves memorization; just focus on fundamental concepts & pattern recognition. If you can find Lisitsin's "Chess Strategy and Tactics," read that. It is the best chess book ever written. Play a lot - blitz, regulation, swedish chess, whatever.

ilya, USCF 2185 at last reckoning (6 years ago...)

[OrangeKing]

I'm rated about 1600, so my advice probably isn't worth as much as many of the other posters, but here it is:

1) Make sure you have a fundamental grasp of tactics - if you want to improve, this will be the fastest way (at first). You'll cut out a lot of the losses at your level simply by being able to find 2-3 move combinations reliably. Several good sources for tactical knowledge have already been posted in this thread.

2. Learn a simple opening system for yourself, enough that you're confident in getting a playable, comfortable positoin no matter what your opponent throws at you. Again, many sources have already been posted for this. Don't go too crazy on the opening yet, but at least have something basic in place.

3) I'd highly recommend Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual as well. Your one stop shop for all your endgame needs. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

All of this has been said before, but I just wanted to throw my two cents in. Good luck!

[citanul]

Tactics, best book I've ever seen:

Encyclopedia of Chess middlegames/Combinations.

The company that produces this book also produces a worse/newer book called I think "anthology of chess combinations" which I think is actually all sacrifices. But they also produce the line of ~800 page problem books for things like "R v P endgames," "R v R endgames," etc. Incredible books in their own right, but it's very important to have a conceptual understanding of the endgame ideas before approaching such a book. I don't have a great idea of which book to pick up for that, but I'm sure someone else does.

The Siliman books are quite good. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

citanul

[JaBlue]

You are 1150? This means that a lot of the things suggested here will be of almost no use to you. Anything by Dvoretsky is going to be miles over your head. Once you become an A-class player, say 2000+, these materials will be very valuable.

Until then, there are many things you should do.

1) Don't get caught up in opening study. This simply won't do anything for you right now - your opponents don't know any opening theory, and therefore whatever you learn will be close to a complete waste.

2) TACTICS! Most games you win at this level will be because of tactics. They are ESSENTIAL. Get the manual of combinations vols. 1 and 2 from Convekta www.convekta.com CT-art 3.0 is also very good but will probably not be useful until after the completion of volume one of the manual of combinations. Solve all of them in volume one and then move on to volume two. Also Reinfeld's 1001 Winning Chess Sacrafices and Combinations and Patnufieffs The Art of Combinations is very good. Reinfelds book is very good for beginners and should probably be used before moving on to volume two of the manual of combinations.

3) Studying the actual games: Right now it is very important to understand what was happening in chess 150 years ago for you. If you look at current grandmaster games, you may be entertained, but you will probably have no idea going on [I feel this way often and many here would call me a strong player at 2350!]. Get a collection of the games of Paul Morphy and analyse them.

4) Analysing your own play. This is the key to becoming a strong player. Look at the games you played and analyse them (especially your losses). Where did you go wrong? How did you lose?

Also I forgot to put it in the list, but learn basic endgame play. Do you know what the Lucena position is? Can you checkmate with two bishops and a king against a lone king or a knight and bishop against a lone king? Get an elementary endgame book. Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual was suggested earlier, but you need something much more down to earth for your level.

6) Once you feel like you understand how Morphy played and you feel as if you have a decent grasp of tactical concepts - i.e. you can solve easy problems (forced mate in 5, get decisive position in 3) you should be introduced to modern play. This will come from the most instructive chess book ever written, Aron Nimzowitsches My System.


Good luck in your quest for chess glory. Remember the most important thing is constant effort put into the game. It is much better to put in a half hour every day of the week than to put in a two hour session and a one and a half hour session on two seperate days of the week.

Good luck.

[vulturesrow]

Ja,

Great post. A good endgame book for beginners is Pandolfini's Endgame book. One of the few of his books that dont suck. Good games collections for beginners: Logical Chess Move by Move, Best Lessons of a Chess Coach, Master vs. Amateur. Also the Mammoth Book of the Worlds Best Chess Games can provide lot of value to all levels of experience, mostly due to the awesome blend of analysis and commentary it gives. I am working through this book right now and I can for certain it has improved my game.

[KingDan]

If anyone plays online, my handle on the sites is usually KingDan.

Im like 2150 USCF. Most of it just natural ability, some opening prep and going over of games. One thing I'd like to comment on: Don't put too much faith on the one book opening guides(MCO). After a certain level ,it is not enough. There are mistakes, and if you play the line you are better off getting a specific book. Even if you are not at a very high level, there are books that are great at point ideas.
One thing some players do is switch openings too quickly. PIck and opening you can grow with, that way you can get a feel for it. So much of over the board chess is just playing positions you feel comfortable with.

[the Bulgarian]

I have been searching for someone good at chess to answer some of my questions, and I qould be very grateful if you answer some of mine.
1) You say you should analyze your games. Does that mean you yourself should do the analyzing, or that you should feed it to some computer program to analyze for you. If you are supposed to analyze it yourself, what I don't get is how you are supposed to be able to spot all the things you need to spot while analyzing. If you are good enough to see the hidden mating combination, when analyzing, why couldn't you do it in the game?
2)You say that it is good if you put in time every day. Should I use that time to play games, analyze old games, do tactics puzzles? What did you do to become so good?
3) Where do I go to find out my rating? I honestly have no clue what my real rating is. I used a chess program once, but it told me I was a candidate master so I'm not gonna trust it.
4) How should I go about learning openings? I like e4 for white and I tend to use sicilian with black. What I still have to learn is how to play against the sicilian, caro cann, scandinavian, and I need a defense to d4 and c4 when i'm playing black.
If you do answer these questions, thank you, and if you don't, I guess I'll have to keep on looking for someone who will.

[The Yugoslavian]

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I have been searching for someone good at chess to answer some of my questions, and I qould be very grateful if you answer some of mine.


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Hope you don't mind answers from me.

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1) You say you should analyze your games. Does that mean you yourself should do the analyzing, or that you should feed it to some computer program to analyze for you. If you are supposed to analyze it yourself, what I don't get is how you are supposed to be able to spot all the things you need to spot while analyzing. If you are good enough to see the hidden mating combination, when analyzing, why couldn't you do it in the game?


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Well, you have to *learn* how to see mating patterns and strategic improvements/weaknesses. As far as game vs. analysis -- game conditions are completely different (more pressure, possibly second game of the day, there is a unique texture and context to your oppoents' play up to this point). Plus, there is no clock and/or no worry about winning or losing. When doing analysis you can spend as long as you need to looking at a position and considering options -- writing ideas down is a great idea. Then, compare them to grand master annotations or the mating solution (perhaps you're close, or narrowed it down to two similar moves and the annotations help specify which is better and why). Now go back and look at the position again armed with the annotation/move of grand master, or mate solution. Also, as with anything, practice makes perfect and you more efficently practice away from the game (where you can set up random positions and such).

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2)You say that it is good if you put in time every day. Should I use that time to play games, analyze old games, do tactics puzzles? What did you do to become so good?


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Put your time in doing all three. Motivation is probably the most important. If you love doing the problems, then do more of those (but not only those) to get better. If you love playing, then play more (make sure to not just play fast games though or to never analyze your play after the fact). Also, you don't need to do all three every day. Maybe you can get some games in with friends every Saturday. Well, you could play on Saturday, go over your games on Sunday, work on tactics/puzzles Mon/Tues, analyze GM games Wed/Thur, and take Friday off completely for extra time to get your social swerve on.

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3) Where do I go to find out my rating? I honestly have no clue what my real rating is. I used a chess program once, but it told me I was a candidate master so I'm not gonna trust it.


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To get a rating you need to play games governed by a governing body that has a rating system. In the US this is the United States Chess Federation. You have to pay yearly dues and there are entry fees for tournaments. But, these tournaments are the best place to get solid experience. Those programs that try to calculate one's rating are completely bogus, IMHO.

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4) How should I go about learning openings? I like e4 for white and I tend to use sicilian with black. What I still have to learn is how to play against the sicilian, caro cann, scandinavian, and I need a defense to d4 and c4 when i'm playing black.


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Well, go look for some solid books that focus in on the openings you're intrested in. Do some research (jermeysilman.com has good book reviews) and then go to a bookstore and browse a few titles to see if the communication is straightforward.

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If you do answer these questions, thank you, and if you don't, I guess I'll have to keep on looking for someone who will.

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This should read: 'If you answer these questions, thank you, and if you don't, then I will hunt you down and Pz0wneded you.'

Yugoslav

PS Feel free to PM me if you want.

[the Bulgarian]

Thanks a lot for answering. I guess I'll just analyze my games as far as I can, and have my computer do the rest. As far as rating, I live in a remote town, where there really isn't any chess, so unless I travel a minimum of 2 hours by car a day, I won't be able to regularly play in real clubs. I was wondering if there was any gaming community online, like ICC, that had a rating system close to what your real rating would be.