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My opening play is just terrible and I don't know

My opening play is just terrible and I don't know

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m
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I'm honestly geting very angry, it seems like my games basicly end in 3 ways:

1) If I win, it's through a long hard fought endgame

2) If I draw, it's through a long hard fought endgame

3) If I lose, it's because I get beat in 10-20 moves by an opening trap/zap/tactic.

It's in particular number 3 that peeves me off. I would tolerate losing better if it was a good game, but geting beat in 10-20 moves by some tactical queen trap in the opening is NOT A GOOD GAME NOR FUN, NOT FUN AT ALL AND I'M HONESTLY GETING EXHAUSTED OVER IT.

I've tried EVERYTHING to avoid this, I tried a massive amount of different openings, I'm trying the Caro, a supposive non tactical opening, yet the tactics, the queen cheapos, they are still there! I spend more time studying the opening then anything else to avoid this, still, when I lose, it's in the opening. Whoever said you cannot lose in the opening is filled with shiaty pants!

I honestly don't know what to do at this point, I'm geting very frustrated with this and I feel like throwing away all my chess books and quit the game. No matter what I do to try and fix this, I cannot. I just don't expect to see tactics that win, on say, move 5-8, and they happen, I cannot mentally prepare for this, I simply DO NOT SEE THIS. For whatever reason, I cannot see tactics in the opening, because it's hard to imagine how they could be done, yet they are done, and it's a shock everytime, everytime. Studying the traps does little good, tactical players have ways of making their own little creations to mess you up whenever you play a given book opening, it's different everytime.

I've struggled with this my whole chess career to be honest, I don't know what to do about it, eventually ppl catch onto this and beat me routinely in 10-20 moves doing their little opening tricks, then it's all over, my rating plummets to 1300 and I just quit. In a way, I want them to play this against me, so I learn how to stop it, but even after falling for these opening traps maybe hundreds of times, I still don't learn, I NEVER LEARN. I guess it's part of the illness, to do the same mistakes over, and over, and OVER again. I just wish there was a way I could stop myself from doing these same mistakes over and over.

Checking databases won't help because in order to do a tactic that wins in the opening you have to go outside the database. Another thing is, when you are playing 50 simul games, you tend to not give the opening much deep tactical thought, you just play it out.

Obviously the weakness in my game is very unique in nature, and I need HELP. Where/what/who, can give me some help in this area? I want to stop these tactics like a second nature, I shouldn't even have to think or worry about it. Please, I'm begging, if I could somehow solve this little problem, I may be a 1800 rated player someday quite easily, but when you lose to 1300-1500 raters from some opening trap early in many games, your rating suffers, your phyche suffers badly too, I can't get over this hump/problem by myself, so I am turning to the outside for help now, because I can't seem to fix it by myself. PLEASE HELP! HELP!

m

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honestly, i don't think you have the temperament for the game.
Whereas most people see a loss as an opportunity for learning something new you see it as a reason to beat yourself up.
No offence but it gets tiring reading the same posts again and again.
If the game is bringing you so much grief why not try backgammon?

!~TONY~!
1...c5!

Your Kingside

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Play the Stonewall, or some set up where no matter what black plays you play the same thing, like the KIA. It's impossible for tactics to occur in these positions because white pretty much just sits on his half and black on his.

X
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Originally posted by mateulose
I'm honestly geting very angry, it seems like my games basicly end in 3 ways:

1) If I win, it's through a long hard fought endgame

2) If I draw, it's through a long hard fought endgame

3) If I lose, it's because I get beat in 10-20 moves by an opening trap/zap/tactic.

It's in particular number 3 that peeves me off. I would tolerate losing ...[text shortened]... rning to the outside for help now, because I can't seem to fix it by myself. PLEASE HELP! HELP!
Stop caring about your result and your rating. Those are incidental. Take each position and find the best continuation. Take longer per move. Cut down on your games in progress. Even if you are losing a game keep finding the best move, use it as practice. Stop whining and posting annoying threads. That last one is the most important. For everyone else's sake.

m
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Originally posted by martinbeaver
honestly, i don't think you have the temperament for the game.
Whereas most people see a loss as an opportunity for learning something new you see it as a reason to beat yourself up.
No offence but it gets tiring reading the same posts again and again.
If the game is bringing you so much grief why not try backgammon?
I beat myself up when it's the same kinda loss over and over again. Sorry, but losing to an early queen tactic in the opening is NOT A GOOD GAME. It's not fun, it's not learning, it's quite simply depressing. I don't learn anything, all I learn is perhabs, opening books are useless. It's geting to the point whenever I see the queen out early I want to p*ss my pants, wondering, "oh dear, what is this lazy arse up to now, better look", doesn't save me however. . .

m
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Originally posted by XanthosNZ
Stop caring about your result and your rating. Those are incidental. Take each position and find the best continuation. Take longer per move. Cut down on your games in progress. Even if you are losing a game keep finding the best move, use it as practice. Stop whining and posting annoying threads. That last one is the most important. For everyone else's sake.
It won't help, the opening traps always happen to me. Convensional sense just doesn't work, a lot of these traps are very difficult to imagine, so you cannot really see them. If you cannot imagine your opponent being able to do a tactic, you won't spot it. Should I treat the opening like some massive complicated tactical situation? Should I play for fast wins in the opening myself and would that help me?

m

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you are overlooking your opponents threats, it's nothing to do with openings.
This is down to an incorrect thought process, this is what you need to work on. Go to chesscafe.com and read dan heisman's novice nooks (all of them).

m
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Originally posted by martinbeaver
you are overlooking your opponents threats, it's nothing to do with openings.
This is down to an incorrect thought process, this is what you need to work on. Go to chesscafe.com and read dan heisman's novice nooks (all of them).
Most novice books I read through and understand quite easily and quickly. I don't have so much of a problem with tactics in the middlegame or ending, but in the opening it is particularly very bad.

X
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Originally posted by mateulose
Most novice books I read through and understand quite easily and quickly. I don't have so much of a problem with tactics in the middlegame or ending, but in the opening it is particularly very bad.
If you don't know the position you have to treat it as a middlegame. If you just develop mindlessly then you will lose games to tactics.

!~TONY~!
1...c5!

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Originally posted by mateulose
It won't help, the opening traps always happen to me. Convensional sense just doesn't work, a lot of these traps are very difficult to imagine, so you cannot really see them. If you cannot imagine your opponent being able to do a tactic, you won't spot it. Should I treat the opening like some massive complicated tactical situation? Should I play for fast wins in the opening myself and would that help me?
I honestly think that you can't admit that you do anything wrong. When you lose at chess, you have noone to blame but yourself. You blame god and unseeable traps for your losses. Face it, you have a problem with tactics. Study up and reduce your games so you can concentrate. Deviations from opening theory by amateurs tend to have something wrong with them.

T

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Originally posted by mateulose
It won't help, the opening traps always happen to me. Convensional sense just doesn't work, a lot of these traps are very difficult to imagine, so you cannot really see them. If you cannot imagine your opponent being able to do a tactic ...[text shortened]... I play for fast wins in the opening myself and would that help me?
Try playing not too much different openings, don't expect to surprise your opponent with them because unless you have studied him thouroughly jou just may find out he is an 'expert' in that opening.

If you want to be able to spot early tricks you should look at a book/database at every moves, and if your opponent breaks with it you know it is not the best move (assuming the book/db you use is "good" and "complete" ) and instead of trying to defend to tricks you should try to punish him for making a wrong move.

no1marauder
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Originally posted by mateulose
Most novice books I read through and understand quite easily and quickly. I don't have so much of a problem with tactics in the middlegame or ending, but in the opening it is particularly very bad.
I think you're right; you should quit chess altogether. There are three reasons for this: 1) Chess is more of a system of thought than a game per se (it has no random elements) and you seem to have a myriad of psychological problems that prevent you from progreessing at the rate YOU insist on. As I pointed out to you elsewhere, your rating at RHP right now is higher than mine was when I had played the same number of games but your attitude is entirely negative where as I was positive that if I continued playing I would become stronger. A pessimistic attitude does not a great chess player make;

2) You are utterly uncoachable. You ask for assistance, but then arrogantly dismiss any advice given you. I don't think there's any advice you'll actually take so you'd have to play your games and improve by your analysis. However, see (1) above; your attitude makes it impossible for you to dispassionately analyze your games. So you're basically screwed by the s**t in yer own head;

3) Your "contributions" to this forum are all negative and probably have a detrimental effect on players not as skilled as you, but more receptive to advice and teaching. This thread is a perfect example; there are good chess reasons why beginners are taught not to bring their Queen out in the opening since it can usually be harried by minor pieces while those pieces develop. Your useless "advice" to these players is to ignore this common sense approach because you've botched some games against unsound attacks. No matter what we say to you, you won't listen but to other players below Mateulose's level I say: the General Rule about not bringing your Queen out early is a good one, but you should always try to figure out WHY your opponent made a move - what he thinks he can accomplish. If you can put yourself in his head, you'll be better able to anticipate tactics. But the main point here is that you could screw up other people's game with your worthless rants so for the good of chessdom as a whole and RHP in particular, do us all a favor:

QUIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

s

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Dear mateulose,

As I see you are from Canada. It should be easy for you to read and to go through this small book http://www.niggemann.com/detail/buecher/6287.html
The name of it is "Rapid Chess Improvement" by Michael de la Maza. If you have patien to go through it for 6 months you will be awarded 200 points of rating at least.
I recommend it because I am doing it for last 4 month and my playing is better now. I don't spend time for openings, I don't spend time for endings, I don't spend time for middle game. I do ONLY TACTICS. And I play better now. I could not agree with me but read introduction in the book at first.

n
Cheese log/Beef log

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Originally posted by mateulose

I've tried EVERYTHING to avoid this, I tried a massive amount of different openings, I'm trying the Caro, a supposive non tactical opening, yet the tactics, the queen cheapos, they are still there! I spend more time studying the opening then anything else to avoid this, still, when I lose, it's in the opening. Whoever said you cannot lose in the openi ...[text shortened]... rning to the outside for help now, because I can't seem to fix it by myself. PLEASE HELP! HELP!
mateulose:

Consider this: an opening line is usually a series of moves that are 'best' or at least 'very good' in the opening. When your opponent deviates from one of your text moves, TAKE NOTICE. Chances are, THEY HAVE MADE some positional or tactical ERROR.

Your job is to see why the move they made ISN'T PREFERABLE over the text move. Once you have done this, you can USE YOUR OPPONENT'S MISTAKE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE.

You cannot simply expect that the next book move is the correct response to your opponent's move when they have deviated from the text. You must also deviate from the text at this point, but YOU SHOULD HAVE THE ADVANTAGE.

r
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Originally posted by mateulose
Another thing is, when you are playing 50 simul games, you tend to not give the opening much deep tactical thought, you just play it out.
That seems to be part of the problem. Try reducing your number of games, or play longer timeout/timebank games so you can mull over moves for longer.

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