Hello All
I admit I read & enjoy these forums a lot. My question is and I know some will say just give up! But can a below average player such as myself get better at chess? I know I have a few issues to start. I move way too fast. I had a book called chess for dummies and it seemed to help when I was reading it. I did not start as a kid as a matter of fact I just started to play a few years ago on this site. I enjoy chess a lot even though I do get my @$$ handed to me a bunch. I enjoy it because I have to mentally think and it helps me with day to day stress. I wish I could play over the board with people better than myself so I could learn more that way. I would be happy if I could just get to 1300's I'm not trying to be some great master or something but I just can't seem to get better than 1000's.
Manny
- Joined
- 15 Jul 06
- Moves
- 3509
You must have too many games going on and are moving too fast because it doesn't look like you can see your own games. I just looked at a couple of your games. You gave up too soon in your draw against jpfranke. It was an easy win. All you had to do was keep playing. Your game against gahi; you set him up perfectly to take his queen on move 20 and then captured his bishop instead. If you don't see that you can capture your opponents queen you aren't looking hard enough. Play less games and pay more attention. The games I looked at you could have won so it's not like you have no talent or no chance to win. A little more care and you should be able to overpower these guys.
Thanks for the advice. I'm thinking I might stop clan play.Too many games there. I will look at the games you mentioned more closely. I figured I was 60+ moves in the game with jpfranke. He asked for a draw a few moves before the end. I figured I might have had a win there but your right I kinda gave up.
Manny
Originally posted by menace71First off i dont think 50 is to many, i try to keep my gameload below 50, but dont really mind going over it either. This also depends on the timecontrol of the games and how much your opponents move tho.
I'm thinking I might stop clan play.Too many games there.
Dont blame your clans tho, i think any clanleader is willing to listen to thier members and stop sending them challenges when they have enough.
You can also turn your availability flag off (yellow muppet->white muppet), that way a clanleader is unable to add you in a challenge.
Originally posted by menace711) You are really moving too fast 2000< moves per month is much too much. Spend more time to think about your moves.
Hello All
I admit I read & enjoy these forums a lot. My question is and I know some will say just give up! But can a below average player such as myself get better at chess? I know I have a few issues to start. I move way too fast. I had a book called chess for dummies and it seemed to help when I was reading it. I did not start as a kid as a matter of fac be some great master or something but I just can't seem to get better than 1000's.
Manny
2) For beginners in your level the most important thing are tactics tactics and tactics. Solving some tactic puzzles may help you + if you have chess engine you should analyse your finished games - engine will show most of tactical opportunities you missed.
Do you have an opening repetoire. I couldnt get beyond 1000 (otb) until i had studied the openings properly. I found i was able to compete until the middle game without being behind after say only 8 or 10 moves. Next was time management, not such an issue online but certainly otb. Pacing yourself and leaving enough time for complicated positions near time controls is important. Next was study of tactics in depth, I saw an improvement in my game after practicing tactical problems. So thats a 123 i could suggest. I play to about 1500 - 1600 level online (dipped with time outs) and I belive you could get to that standard too.
Originally posted by menace71First of all, make the decision to get better. Don't just keep doing the same and expect better results.
Hello All
I admit I read & enjoy these forums a lot. My question is and I know some will say just give up! But can a below average player such as myself get better at chess? I know I have a few issues to start. I move way too fast. I had a book called chess for dummies and it seemed to help when I was reading it. I did not start as a kid as a matter of fac be some great master or something but I just can't seem to get better than 1000's.
Manny
Second, I wouldn't go crazy studying openings right now. You can use books or even something as crude as Wikipedia to guide you through openings on RHP at your level.
As Korch said, if you study anything in depth, at this stage, it should be combinations and tactics. Learn to take advantage of pins, set up forks, take advantage of overworked pieces, etc.
Get some comprehensive tool that will teach you the basics of tactics. At the risk of agreeing with cheater1, if you don't have Chessmaster, shell out the $20 (or maybe even less) and buy CM- GM edition and listen to every word Josh Waitzkin has to say... and then do it again.
Until you get better, use analyze board on EVERY move you make (well, maybe except for the first few moves and/or after the game is won/lost). Put in your proposed move and then pretend you're the opponent and make the BEST move you can thing of. Do this 3 or 4 moves ahead for every move you consider making.
Cut down your number of games. Plan to spend at least 5 minutes on every move.
Don't be afraid to stay in an even position. If you don't see any compelling tactics, then just move to improve your position. Not every move has to be the start of a mating combo. At your rating, if you play smart positional chess, your opponent will blunder eventually. If you give your opponent enough rope, he will probably hang himself. I recently played a game against a player rated 600 points lower than I am and was in a minus position well into the middle game. So, I didn't panic; just defended and bided my time. Eventually, he overcommitted and threw the game away without all that much help from me.
Don't assume that your opponent is a complete idiot. Don't make moves hoping your opponent won't see something. Don't bring your queen out early to try to mate him on f7 unless you also have a backup plan in case the opponent stops it. Make each move assuming your opponent will make the best move available to him.
Have fun. For 95% of us, that's all this game is about- fun.
Excellent advice from the previous posters. I agree with sh76 that you don't have to worry about specific openings yet. But it wouldn't hurt to learn some more general opening principles. (I notice that you often move pieces multiple times in the opening instead of continuing to develop all of your pieces first.)
Drag out that Chess for Dummies book and give it another read, or get Patrick Wolff's The Complete idiot's Guide to Chess if you got rid of the Dummies book. The others are right, studying tactics is very important. Also going over your finished games is a big help.
And, as sh76 said, I don't relish the idea of agreeing with cheater1 about anything ( 😉 ) but I agree that going through the Chessmaster tutorials might help quite a bit. I'm currently going through the CM10 tutorials, and they're not bad at all. (I'm actually learning some stuff! )
Thanks to everyone. I will take it to Heart. Chessmaster I believe I've seen that at Bestbuy under $20 USD. I still have my book did not throw it away. I knew my number one issue is moving way to much. Does anyone know of any kind of Chess club or informal Chess gathering where people play over the board in the Seattle area? I know of one place but I've never had the nerve to get in a game. The place has a large Chess board with big pieces in a mall. It's fun to watch the games there. I've been trying to make an effort not to move the same pieces in the opening moves.
Manny
Originally posted by menace71Check out this list. It looks like there are clubs in Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma. Hopefully one isn't too far from you. You're lucky - Many people in the US don't have a club anywhere near them. Take advantage of your good fortune and visit one or more of the clubs.
Thanks to everyone. I will take it to Heart. Chessmaster I believe I've seen that at Bestbuy under $20 USD. I still have my book did not throw it away. I knew my number one issue is moving way to much. Does anyone know of any kind of Chess club or informal Chess gathering where people play over the board in the Seattle area? I know of one place but I've never I've been trying to make an effort not to move the same pieces in the opening moves.
Manny
http://main.uschess.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=198
Actually Bellevue is Where this large Chess board in the mall is located. The pieces are made of wood. It seems like a fun way to play. The pieces are like 3' high. I don't remember the color of the kings. I live about 20-45 minutes from Bellevue depending on traffic. I'm smack in the middle of all of these places. Thanks again.
Manny