Ok, to start with, i did not create this thread in order to stroke my own ego. I've started this thread because i was a struggling 1200 player two years ago and think i might have some good ideas for the real beginner to improve quickly. I invite other players to add or correct any points you feel necissary. It is my aim to make a good list of short points, rather than go into any strategic or positional ideas at length, as it is not really necissary to have a deep understanding of things like this when you are playing <1500 players. In my opinion, a player needs only eliminate silly mistakes from their game to get over 1500.
In order to try and narrow down the talking points, i'll assume that players reading this are firmiliar with this basic concepts.
"Play for control of the center in the opening"
If you don't know what i mean by this (obviously you understand the words, but you haven't learned about this concept from a book or from a teacher) you should make a point of reading a beginners chess book. There are many to choose from, a couple that stand out from my point of view are...
My System - Aaron Nimzowitsch
An old book, but most players pick it up at least once in their playing 'career'. Ask Ravello, he read it and has now won two (yes two!) tournaments.
Logical chess, move by move - Irvine(?) Chernev
This was my first book, by the time i finished it i was 1400+, a great book for the beginner.
If you haven't read a chess book before, one of these two will fill you in on all the basic concepts. You need to know the basics to improve. A 1500 player understands the basics. A 1500 player beats you because you don't know, or you ignore these basic concepts.
Right, ok. I can quote basic conceptual ideas without explaination. If you see me quote an idea and you don't know what it is, look it up because it is a basic concept that every beginner book covers.
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Sub 1200 players
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Bloody stupid mistakes, only beginners make and how to avoid them! (Generally players under 1200, though not exclusively!)
Top of the list, without question is..
1. 'Not recapturing after a piece has been taken'
This is something i've seen a lot with players under 1000. The player in question is so wrapped up in their plans that they choose not to re-take a piece after one of theirs has been taken. This is suicide. There are occasions when it is prudent not to retake a piece, when it is followed by mate, or results in the loss of more material for example, but generally it is essential. I play a lot with my friend JayD who lives next door to me. We looked over one of his games the other day and found he'd chosen to do this twice in one game!!! As it turned out it was a simple case of him not looking back at his previous move in the game and had thus over looked the loss of material. If you are down in material, it is much harder to win, sounds obvious, that's because it is obvious!
2.'Moving to exchange a piece when another piece is already threatened.'
Ok, your opponent has just moved a pawn forward to attack your bishop, so you move a knight out to attack one of your opponents knights. This seems to be a very common mistake. The pieces i have used in this example are irrelevent, you could sustitute the bishop for a rook or a queen or anything for that matter, once your opponent has taken the knight, you must loose the bishop. "What if i move the bishop?" Well, you've just lost a knight.
This kind of mistake is born from a player forgetting that chess is turn based. If, after you make a move, you have two pieces attacked, the chances are you will loose them both. Sometimes it will be the right move, but you have to find a really good reason why it is right, otherwise avoid it like the plague!
3.'Attacking from the opening with only 1 or 2 pieces developed.'
This is a slightly less obvious mistake than the others above, yet none the less devastating. We've all won a few games with fools mate. Yes it works when your opponent doesn't understand the weakness of the f7 square (or f2 as white). The problem comes when your opponent does know the weakness. It is almost impossible to force the winning of a piece or check mate from the first 5 or 6 moves. It takes a mistake on your opponents behalf that, if you rush in, they may not make. In fact, if your opponent sticks to their principles, developes their pieces and defends weak threats with 1 or 2 pieces, they will stand better once the opening is over.
(forgive me, im suffering from RSI in my wrist, i'll have to add some more points later. If any other players have some points to add, roll on, this is a forum after all 😉)
Originally posted by marinakatombA few more from my experience:
Ok, to start with, i did not create this thread in order to stroke my own ego. I've started this thread because i was a struggling 1200 player two years ago and think i might have some good ideas for the real beginner to improve quickly. I invite other players to add or correct any points you feel necissary. It is my aim to make a good list of short po ...[text shortened]... ints later. If any other players have some points to add, roll on, this is a forum after all 😉)
1. Use a chessboard, or the Analyse Game feature of RHP.
It's quite surprising how many times I can get unforced mates against 1200-ranked players. You can often avoid blunders through a simple "If I play this, then my opponent can play that ...".
2. CC is not blitz chess.
You normally have atleast a day to make a move. What's the hurry?
3. Don't play more games than you can handle.
Too few games and I'd get bored, sometimes making extremely ridiculous blunders. Too many games and I'd be forced to make quick moves in each (see 2).
4. You can use opening books and databases, so learn how to use them.
This suggestion ties in to the earlier post about using the analysis board. I play much better when I do the following...
1. open the analysis board and replay the last few moves...to get a "feel" for what was going on in the game.
2. look at the opponents last move and try to understand what they are threatening. Dan Heisman, in his chess cafe column for beginners, suggests to look at the board and ask this simple question, "If my opponent could move again, what would he most likely do?" This has been very usefull to me in helping to understand threats that may not be so obvious.
3. Only after you know what you were planning with your last move, and what your opponent is planning now, should you begin to consider your alternatives for you next move.
I started with this advice sometime ago and watched my rating jump from about 1300 to almost 1600...
Then I got overconfident and saddled myself with about 45 games. Next thing I knew, I was back to making hasty moves because of my limited time in front of the computer screen. Long story short, I ended up resigning a bunch of games and watching my rating take a beating because I was very unhappy with the type of games I was playing. Now my rating is on the climb again, and I believe I will be able to maintain it. Best of luck to all others as well
BLR
Great thread. My two additions (from someone just shy of breaking 1500 again).
1) What's my plan? If I don't have one - find one before I start moving pieces at random
2) What's my opponent's plan? Look at their game from afar, not just in terms of what their last move did for them.
Ok, three additions:
3) Don't lay a trap, no matter how lucrative the outcome, if you can find a refutation. Never depend on hoping they won't see it too.
Regarding traps, is it worth learning a number of them though? Not with the intention of using the trap against your opponent,, more so you know how to avoid them. Would advanced knowledge in general principles avoid them anyway?
I do know a few traps, e.g. Blackburn Gambit: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4 4. Nxe5? Qg5 5. Nxf7?? Qxg2 6. Rf1 Qxe4+ 7. Be2 Nf3#. I think general princicles would cause White to automatically play 4. Nxd4 which would avoid that trap.
The traps I think you are referring to are actually just opening tactics. There are a number of books available on them, one that I own is The Winning Way by Pandolfini. It is a little simplistic (like everything else by him), which makes it perfect for players below 1600! You have to crawl before you walk... anyway, I agree with what you are saying, the best way to learn to make strong opening moves (which I am working on) is to learn which moves are weak and WHY they are weak. Looking at opening traps in that way can be very helpful (has helped me anyway). I think most of the resistance that masters put toward studying traps is based in the idea that people who learn them tend to try to play for them...the opposite of what you are suggesting. My opinion, for what it's worth...
BLR