You might want to do a little chess reading too. It doesn't need to be anything intensive to gain some results for you, maybe a simple book on tactics (one that breaks it down by explaining the mechanics and gives simple examples), plus, as was already suggested, Weapons of Chess and Logical Chess Move by Move. Three easy books to read that'll give you some solid foundation to build on.
Originally posted by Natureboy71I recommend this book for learning the principles of opening:
Thank you. That is great advice. There must be 1000's of books. Is there any recommended one? Or just a basic opening moves of chess. Along with looking at some games on here.
“Discovering Chess Openings”
Building opening skills from basic understanding.
by John Emms.
Everyman Chess ISBN 1-85744-419-1
As it happens I'm taking a shot at writing the occasional chess book review and this is one of the books I've chosen so here is my review of it:
In this excellent first openings book we get a GM with over 30 years experience and a renowned openings expert reaching down to the beginner, playing the move 1.a4 and explaining why this move is so popular with beginners, why it’s not such a good first move and how to play against it. The schoolboy’s mate gets the same careful considered explanation. The book is aimed at improving players who are just starting to take an interest in opening play. You’ll need to know how the pieces move and how to follow notation to get the most from it. As best these things can be estimated I’d recommend it for people with ratings from around 900 to 1500 although for those with a rating closer to 1500 it will be a refresher. Actually I say that out of politeness - I’d be really surprised if a 1500 player really did fully understand all of the content - judging by my own experience anyway.
Reading it you get the impression that John Emms has taken a lot of time to really understand the thinking of the improving player and never once do you get the impression that the task is trivial. There is a good measure of passion and enthusiasm throughout. Every effort is made to clearly explain the ideas behind the rules and principles. My rating is around 1500 on RHP so although I’m familiar with some of the material presented but I found many useful insights. We get simple explanations of the centre, piece mobility, development, pawn play and king safety.
Throughout I found the text accessible, enjoyable to read, and with a good balance of diagrams, explanations and notation.
The intention is to help the reader learn the opening principles and the reasons behind the rules.
As an example, I'm already familiar the rule “knights before bishops” but John Emms explains the reason for this is because you know that the best square for whites g1 knight is f3 whilst the Bishop could do with waiting a move or two to see what the other side is up to before committing. More than this, the book then explains why the f3 square is such a cool place for this knight and compares it to other possibilities. Its details like this that make the book such a good read and it’s really helped to solidify my understanding. This might also be a good book for more advanced players involved in teaching.
I'd say learn the basic opening principles, getting your kingside pieces out, control the middle of the board and castle early in the game. I'd say tactics will do the best. I tought my friend openings and he always made mistakes in the opening even after I advised him of the better moves. He read a tactics book and he went from 1250 to 1500 within a month and a half. I'm not saying tactics wil make you raise that many points but I am saying tactics help you see things better because you understand the power of each piece.
Originally posted by Natureboy71Chess puzzles, and End Game books are good to begin with. I like
Thank you. That is great advice. There must be 1000's of books. Is there any recommended one? Or just a basic opening moves of chess. Along with looking at some games on here.
chess puzzles because they help you see attacking or mating nets,
practice will make you play stronger. I like end game books because
you really get a feel for how the pieces work. There are some
outstanding books for beginners, even the Idiot's guide to chess can
help you pick up some ideas on how to make the pieces work
together.
Kelly
This was originally posted in thread Thread 50887, but this is what most basic chess books teach you about the opening.
Zebano's guide to the opening**
1. Develop your pieces and protect your king (connecting your rooks and castling is ideal)
2. Control the center of the board namely the e4,e5,d4,d5 squares. This can be done by occupying the center (probably with pawns) or from afar with pieces that cannot be attacked (these are known as hypermodern openings). The reason for this is laid out in numbers 1 & 2 below.
Some general ideas which help you get there
1. Place a bishop on c4 and consider how many squares it influences, how many does it influence on f1? How about if it is on g2 and there is a pawn on e4?
2. Repeat # 1 but with a knight, notice that the pawn makes little difference in the scope of the knight (it can restrict a knights movement options).
3. Don't move pieces more than once without a concrete reason to. You are wasting time that the opponent can use to gain a lead in development - it doesn't matter if you're up a rook but he has all 6 other pieces pointed right at your king and you have only the queen nearby to defend.
4. It is usually a bad idea to move the queen out. This is because the opponent can attack it and it is so valuable that you must move it. This generally means your opponent will gain a lead in development.
5. Forcing moves (i.e. check or a night attacking the enemy queen) are better than non-forcing moves simply because they are easier to calculate and means the opponent is playing your game not his. This is true in all portions of the game.
6. Remember to look (briefly) for tactics in all positions. This is how 90%* of games are won at our level.
7. f2/f7 are the weakest points of the pawn chain and attacking them may be worthwhile but trading your knight and bishop for your opponents rook and f2(7) pawn is almost always a bad idea.
8. There are exceptions to all rules. That said, you must first learn when the rules work if you want to know when you can break them.
**bastardized from other sources to numerous to name which give out the exact same information.
* An estimate by me. Remember that 99.3% of statistics are made up on the spot.