Chess: want to get better fast

Popinjay · #1 01-06-2005, 05:39 AM

I want to get better at chess, fast. I mostly play 30min-1.5hr games (1hr - 3hr total) and want to get better at chess. I know there are some very highly rated players here, so I was wonder if I could get some specific advice as to how I should proceed in getting better. Give me a plan or something, with details!

About me, I am rated like 1150? in real life chess. I play the Giuco Piano as white and know it sort of. I say I play Evans Gambit with it but I hardly know anything about it besides the fact that it is b4. As black I play the sicilian dragon and know a little bit about it. I am decent at longer games (30min+) but really suck hard at speed. My fast tactical game is really lacking. Please help me.

eric5148 · #2 01-06-2005, 05:51 AM

Post this in Other Gambling.

There's been a bunch of good threads about chess there.

Dynasty · #3 01-06-2005, 07:17 AM

Practice (1) tactics, (2) tactics, and (3) tactics.

A good first step is buying a problem solving book. I reccomend Combination Challenge! by Lou Hays.

MelchyBeau · #4 01-06-2005, 08:20 AM

Do tons of chess puzzles. Polgars book is good to do this with. Chess puzzles will help you the most. You will pick up patterns fairly quickly.

Do not waste your time on the sicilian. At your level people will take you out of the book fairly quickly, so there really is no point in memorizing the sicilian dragon to the 15th move. Gambit play is probably not in your best interest starting out. Choose a very simple opening that you won't have to worry about. I suggest something to the sort of the Scotch. So do chess puzzles, and don't worry about openings.

Melch

heavybody · #5 01-06-2005, 02:33 PM

You probably already have a computer chess program but if not try this one

Phat Mack · #6 01-06-2005, 03:51 PM

Practice (1) tactics, (2) tactics, and (3) tactics.

A good first step is buying a problem solving book. I reccomend Combination Challenge! by Lou Hays

I think this is excellent advice. Also look for a book covering the end game--I don't know which are currently considered the best, but someone might chime in.

phifediggy · #7 01-06-2005, 03:51 PM

hey popinjay, i'm no expert but the only way you get better at chess is by playing and studying a lot. if you're not already, get on a site like us chess live. look over books to get your openings down. review your games if you record the moves and make note of what you did wrong. if your tactical game is lacking, i'd advise against the dragon b/c it tends to get into a lot of tactical situations. to sharpen your tactical skills, do a google search for chess puzzles.

The Yugoslavian · #8 01-06-2005, 06:21 PM

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual

And it's not even close.

Popinjay: If you want to excel at all facets of chess (a must), you will need to know much more than just the tactics and puzzle books don't work very well for all players. Silman is a solid author for you to look into. Also, opening knowledge and memorization is overrated (if you have a great memory, by all means memorize it all) -- stick to middle game and endgame once you have a playable opening worked out.

Yugoslav

exist · #9 01-06-2005, 06:36 PM

read jeremy silman's book The Amateur's Mind. it was the first real chess book i read. it was a revelation. before i read it i had no clue about pawn structure or good and bad bishops (although the use of "good" and "bad" oversimplifies). i had no idea what i was supposed to do when playing a chess game. i just moved pieces around in silly miniature attacks. Silman's book showed me how to make and implement plans for the middlegame. buy it, you won't regret it. btw, i now have a expert rating so it really did help me improve.

TimM · #10 01-06-2005, 07:02 PM

A lot of decent and standard advice so far. I would say that it is important not to let any one area of your game get way ahead or fall way behind the others.

At this point, don't worry about speed chess. As you gain experience at slower games you will be able to play faster naturally.

For openings, study just enough specific variations to stay out of trouble. It won't do much good if you are great in the middlegame and ending but keep falling into opening traps. Try to get an idea of the basic plans the openings you play. To do this, play through a lot of complete annotated master games in these openings. This is important because your opening choice pretty much determines your strategic goals for the rest of the middlegame.

It is also good to spend a little time explore openings you don't play in the same way, just so you get exposed to other plans which don't often come up in your games, and also just to see if you wouldn't like some other openings better.

Your middlegame and endgame will also be helped by studying these complete games.

Solving tactical problems as others mentioned here goes without saying.

Going over your games also helps. When I started playing at a live chess club (funny to call it that, there were no online chess sites in 1983), it was very helpful to go over the games with my opponents. I would also study these games at home, looking for improvements, seeing if I missed wins, or if I allowed my opponents wins that they missed.

If you want, post a game of yours that you thought was interesting. It will give a much better idea of what you need to work on than your own description.