1. Joined
    12 Jul '08
    Moves
    13814
    01 Sep '20 21:08
    Doing Tactics Reminds me that Greenpawn is right.

    The last puzzle I got right was because I remembered greenpawn telling me that the queen is a terrible defender. I attacked the queen, drove it off, took the bishop.

    The other piece of advice is to learn mating patterns.

    Do not know the name of this pattern, but have learned to look for this one now.



    Have not been playing but when I do I need to learn to treat a game board like a tactics puzzle...

    Look for mating pattern then look for material. If I fail to see either of those how can I improve my position? If nothing else , that should make me move slower.
  2. e4
    Joined
    06 May '08
    Moves
    42492
    01 Sep '20 22:49
    Hi Eladar,

    "Look for mating pattern..."

    Funny at it may sound, but I sometimes think the mating pattern is looking for you.

    You are looking at a position from a game and the pattern just pops in there.
    Then you work out how to get the mate on the board using the pattern as a map.

    It helps solving a puzzle when you know there is something there to spot.
    It's harder to get it in a game. There you hope a friendly face in a crowd, and it
    must be a face you have seen and met before, stands out and starts waving at you.
  3. Standard membere4e5f4d5
    Falkbeer
    Joined
    31 Aug '20
    Moves
    699
    02 Sep '20 11:112 edits
    Strategy creates the tactics.
    You have to know what the position is telling you to do.
    How to get a knight outpost.
    Bad bishop vs Good bishop.
    How to attack the center or hold the center.
    Ranks and files. Etc. Etc.
    Just moving pieces and hoping for tactics will only get you so far and not very far either.
    I am only 1700 though so maybe I should be quiet.
  4. Joined
    12 Jul '08
    Moves
    13814
    02 Sep '20 15:04
    @e4e5f4d5

    Strategy improves your position. Knowing what to do with an improved position is another story.

    At the moment I can only look for mates or tactics after my opponent makes a bad move.

    The more mating patterns you know, the more tactics you know, the better your chance of seeing it when it presents itself.
  5. Joined
    12 Jul '08
    Moves
    13814
    02 Sep '20 15:061 edit
    I wonder if there is a person out there who understands chess so intuitively that he or she could play gm level chess without training and practice.
  6. Standard membere4e5f4d5
    Falkbeer
    Joined
    31 Aug '20
    Moves
    699
    02 Sep '20 15:08
    Capablanca was like that.
  7. Joined
    12 Jul '08
    Moves
    13814
    22 Oct '20 16:19
    One other thing about puzzles, they are the opposite of playing bad opponents.

    When you play bad people you only see your bad ideas and your opppnent' s bad ideas. When you do puzzles you get to see good moves you have never seen before.
  8. Joined
    12 Jul '08
    Moves
    13814
    22 Oct '20 16:38
    Oh, and watching opening traps videos and lots of 5 minute blitz videos are not good for my chess.

    Trap videos make revert to trying to force an opening instead of reacting to the board. Patient play while actually looking at the board I find has better results.
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