How am I doing?

Originally posted by Daphnes
Bottm ten percent, huh? That is bad. Oh well, 'tis not the end. I'm having fun around here, and maybe my rank will climb someday.

Like others have said, you can improve quickly if you learn some basic guidelines. But even before you start drilling tactics, you need to have some understanding of what you're trying to accomplish. I took a quick look at some of your games and it looks like the following should be of help to you. Good luck.

http://www.uschess.org/beginners/ten/index.php#opening

Originally posted by wormwood
start doing tactical puzzles. preferably every day, even if you can only do a few. it's not only fun, but also extremely beneficial to a beginner.

go check out chess tactics server for starters:

http://chess.emrald.net/

Tactics at 1000 Elo? Does he know what a pin, fork are or why not to use the Queen too much in the opening? I would first learn his weak spots before recommending tactics with fervour.

Originally posted by z00t
Tactics at 1000 Elo? Does he know what a pin, fork are or why not to use the Queen too much in the opening? I would first learn his weak spots before recommending tactics with fervour.

I think basic opening principles are enough. from my experience, at that level, every stage of the game comes back to tactics. of course there's no ultimate solutions in chess. it's just what I did for myself.

Originally posted by Daphnes
I've been able to keep my rank between 1000 and 1100 over the course of my games, and was wondering what people think of that. Am I doing alright for myself? What is the average ranking for RHP players?

My rank just jumped up from 1017 to 1045, but that was mainly because I skulled two games. My true rank is still closer to 1020.

Critique my rank?

Said it before & I'll say it again...

1)Moves & all rules
2)Tactics
3)Basic checkmates
4)Tactics
5)Endgame
6)Tactics
7)Strategy
8)Opening theory
9)Tactics

You might think that you have to learn openings because other people rated around 1000-1200 may know a couple.
Thing is, if you concentrate on basic opening principles you really don't need to study opening theory until you get to at least 1400-1500+.

Do yourself a massive favour & buy 2 books which are all you'll ever need until you reach 1500

Logical chess move by move - Irving Chernev
Winning chess tactics - Yasser Sierawan

Originally posted by z00t
Tactics at 1000 Elo? Does he know what a pin, fork are or why not to use the Queen too much in the opening? I would first learn his weak spots before recommending tactics with fervour.

hence my post after that one, directing him to a site which explains what tactics are.

Originally posted by Daphnes


I'm not playing on that site anymore. The last problem (p25839) wanted me to sacrifice a rook for a pawn. No.

after you take the pawn the queen can't take your rook because if it did you could play Qxf8#. So your are gaining a pawn for nothing.

Originally posted by wormwood
there's no reason not to play, but the daily tactical training is indeed the thing that will make you better the quickest.

you know that emrald.net crap? i tried it, created an account, 3 days later i was at the 1480s, then when i tried to log in that day, it told me my account dont exist no longer, $*%# that site.

Originally posted by EmLasker
you know that emrald.net crap? i tried it, created an account, 3 days later i was at the 1480s, then when i tried to log in that day, it told me my account dont exist no longer, $*%# that site.

there was a server crash at some point. if it was then, it could've been that they lost all new accounts since their last backup. either that, or you remembered your password incorrectly. they never delete accounts, regardless of if the user was cheating, created multiple accounts or for any other reason.

if you clicked the 'forgot password?' link, the server deleted your old pwd and send a new one into the email address you provided. if I remember right, it took some time before the new one started to work.

Originally posted by EmLasker
you know that emrald.net crap? i tried it, created an account, 3 days later i was at the 1480s, then when i tried to log in that day, it told me my account dont exist no longer, $*%# that site.

That's quite an emotional response there. How much did you pay for that account? Oh, that's right...it's free! I also forgot my password once. It wasn't a big deal at all to get it reset, and have the new password e-mailed to me. It is a good site, especially considering the price.

for the record, the address is:

http://chess.emrald.net/

BLR

How can you critique somebody's rating? You could do better, you could do worse. You could stay the same. Keep playing. I've never known someone to get worse over time by playing. Maybe for short periods they'll drop, but not over time. They've got to improve or die.

Originally posted by wormwood
there was a server crash at some point. if it was then, it could've been that they lost all new accounts since their last backup. either that, or you remembered your password incorrectly. they never delete accounts, regardless of if the user was cheating, created multiple accounts or for any other reason.

if you clicked the 'forgot password?' link, the s ...[text shortened]... ress you provided. if I remember right, it took some time before the new one started to work.

yeah i tried forgot password, and when i clicked on the link, it just direct me to the main page...

Originally posted by Daphnes
Bottm ten percent, huh? That is bad. Oh well, 'tis not the end. I'm having fun around here, and maybe my rank will climb someday.

🙂 don't let it bother you, Daphnes. Who cares about ratings any ways? As long as you're having fun and enjoy playing/meeting people; you will probably keep improving little by little. Can't fall for the same moves everytime, right? Sometimes it helps your rating and is more fun if you play people that are around your level though. Maybe like 'round 100 points more or anyone rated less than yourself.

-- pAUL

p.s. I love your positive attitude. Always looking on the bright side on things.

Here are some good books you might like if you really want to improve faster, though. Good luck! 🙂
=================================================

[PUZZLE BOOKS]

"1001 Winning chess sacrifices and combinations"
by Fred Reinfeld

"Chess Tactics for Champions: A step-by-step guide to using tactics and combinations the Polgar way"
by Susan Polgar
=================================================

[NON-PUZZLE BOOKS]

How to Reassess Your Chess: The Complete Chess-Mastery Course
by Jeremy Silman

The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions into Chess Mastery
by Jeremy Silman

Modern Chess Openings: MCO-14 (McKay Chess Library)
by Nick De Firmian
===========================================

Originally posted by EmLasker
yeah i tried forgot password, and when i clicked on the link, it just direct me to the main page...

that happened to me too. but the new password came in an email later, and started to work after a while. it was a bit confusing but worked eventually.

another option was to create a new account, but I didn't want to lose my 'wormwood' handle.

Originally posted by Daphnes
I'm not playing on that site anymore. The last problem (p25839) wanted me to sacrifice a rook for a pawn. No.

Oh God, that is an awesome comment. That's probably the funniest thing I have EVER seen on RHP. I'm actually going to rec that. The "No." part at the end just made it so good.

Originally posted by Daphnes


I'm not playing on that site anymore. The last problem (p25839) wanted me to sacrifice a rook for a pawn. No.

Somehow its easy to predict that you wont ever be a good player...