correspondence chess

can anyone please tell me the best way to play email chess online

Originally posted by gmaguire
can anyone please tell me the best way to play email chess online

Use the analysis board, and post it notes. See you on page 1.

Originally posted by gmaguire
can anyone please tell me the best way to play email chess online

Hi, here are some tips that have helped me.

1. Use opening databases. 365chess.com is good because it includes games of players of all skill levels. So it's full of blunders, but it also shows you how to exploit them. The most important part of using opening databases is clicking ahead a few moves, look at a few of the mainlines before selecting a move and make sure you are comfortable with the resulting positions. Never make a database move if you don't understand it. I have won games on here without even leaving opening database, sometimes against 1800+ compitition! Use them and you will never fall for an opening trap and always get a playable middlegame against players of any strength. Also when you reach the end of the database, you will have a dozen or so full games with very similar middle games that you are playing. You can really get a feel for the middle game and maybe steal a few ideas from those games.

2. Use the analyze board button before every move. Make the move you want to make on the board and then flip it. Put yourself in your opponents perspective and try to refute the move you've chosen. Try out all sorts of different ideas. If you can't find a good move let the game sit overnight and try again the next day. It's amazing how much more you see when you take a second look.

3. Have a good endgame book for reference. When you find yourself in a difficult endgame just flip through until you find the closest relevent position, then hopefully you will get some ideas.

4. Manage how many games in progress you have wisely. Less games means more time to analyze each one. Keep track of the tournaments you're in to see when the next round is coming, plan accordingly.

5. Don't pay attention to ratings, it's pretty easy to temporarily inflate ones rating by stalling games. Also that guy with a 1200 rating might have just lost 1000 rating points by timeout. It's best to not look at the number next to their name.

6. The more time and effort you put into your games the higher your rating will be, it's as simple as that.

I hope this helps.

Originally posted by KnightStalker47
Hi, here are some tips that have helped me.

1. Use opening databases. 365chess.com is good because it includes games of players of all skill levels. So it's full of blunders, but it also shows you how to exploit them. The most important part of using opening databases is clicking ahead a few moves, look at a few of the mainlines before selecting a ...[text shortened]... r games the higher your rating will be, it's as simple as that.

I hope this helps.

Thumbs up!

You have made the perfect start by joining a chess playing site.

After that it all depends what you want from chess.
If you are playing for the sheer enjoyment of playing then
just relax and play chess.
You appear to know how the pieces move and I take it you know
the object of game. Checkmate.

So no need to start lifting moves from an opening database.
Just get your pieces out, castle and checkmate the other lad before
he checkmates you.

That is about how 85% of the lads on here approach electronic corres chess
and they all appear to be throughly enjoying themselves.

However If you want to become what we call a serious player, then it's database time
and looking at endgame technique and the other 101 things us miserable
good players have to take into consideration.

Weak pawns, doubled pawns, passed pawns, connected passed pawns, protected
passed pawns, outside passed pawns, isolated pawns, blocked pawns, pawn chains....
and that is just the stupid pawns.

This is how the remaining 15% play on here.
We hate how the game has over taken our wretched lives and long for those
care free days when we pushed pawns with gay abandon and never had to
worry about the consequences. Then it was just a game.

So to answer your question:

"can anyone please tell me the best way to play email chess online."

Don't get good.