Hello can anyone advise on the best way to learn chess I have had 7 games and lost 7 I always seem to be on the defensive any help would be appreciated
Originally posted by The Drake Hello can anyone advise on the best way to learn chess I have had 7 games and lost 7 I always seem to be on the defensive any help would be appreciated
Originally posted by The Drake Rahim much appreciate the fact you are willing to help it seems most of the people think its privillaged info ;-----)
Start with tactics,endgames and just the basics of openings.Don't fall in the trap of spending most of your time on the study of openings,like so many beginners do(me included 🙁 ).
That's about all advice I have to give.
Play people that are better than you as often as you can. Constantly ask them why they made a certain move. It'll give you an idea of how a better player thinks during a move.
I had a brief look over some of your losses. Two common themes stood out:
- basic tactical errors. You don't need my advice here; there's an abundance of advice in how to improve in this area by other posters/threads. Follow their advice
- you often fight with only part of your army. Analyse your games and pay attention to the job that each of your pieces are doing. Often one "lazy" piece is enough to spoil a position, especially if your opponent is putting all his pieces to use.
Originally posted by The Drake Hello can anyone advise on the best way to learn chess I have had 7 games and lost 7 I always seem to be on the defensive any help would be appreciated
cheers
Practice. I think the only way to get better is to lose to better players and learn from your mistakes.
Already lots of good advice presented here. I might add a friend of mine -- a very good player -- said the way to improve your game is to play . . . and lose . . . hundreds of games.
Kasparov said on TV not long ago: "The only way to improve in chess is to analyse one's games."
Good luck, and remember, chess is a lifelong study.
I think it is important for a beginner to do some reading. It is important to learn the basics of the game beyond how the pieces move. Without this knowledge, I think it would take much longer to improve. After a good base, studying tactics can bring you a long way.
As for books, I would reccomend the books by Yasser Seirawan to be a good start
First, it appears you are a true beginner, so don't be upset at losing. EVERYBODY loses at first.
1. Learn the rules of chess. All of them! If you don't know what "en passant" or a "stalemate" is, then you don't know them all yet.
2. On this site you have the "Analyze board" option, USE it. This is probably my best advice I can give. The more you use this feature, the better you will get. And don't just move the pieces around; try to formulate a plan using it. Especially use it to try to figure out what your OPPONENT is going to do in response to your moves.
Starting out you will probably be wrong on what move your opponent will make next, but that is part of the learning process. Chess is all about planning for the future, the present is almost irrelevant.
The best way to learn how to imrpove your chess playing strength is to hire a chess coach. Another good way for you to improve your play is too play through Joshua Waitzkin's lessons in ChessMaster.
people reccomend endgame study starting out, but not sure its doable without first learning tactics. when mildly profficient with tactics learn about middle game strategy. once youve learned enough basics in those areas to be around intermediate level,(maybe even before then.) im now a strong advocate(along with some strong players.) of studying master games by covering up the winning moves and pretending its you playing, play the move you would make, then compare with the move played before reading the annotation, if any, and play the move uncovered and repeat till the game is finished. there are variations of this methought(writing down your annalysys, or not playing your own move but just playing through them slowly.) but i like this one for its convenience, and i like how with annotated games its like having a former world champion comment on your play. jeremy silman and c.j.s. purdy(first world correspondence chess champion.) reccomend studying master games as a failproof way to improve. other things for improving are annotating and anylysing your own games, trying to get rid of mistakes in your play(or causes of them.). especially useull in this regard is haveing a chess coach who will go over the annotations with you and help you learn from mistakes in judgement etc. a tom rowan site i was given a link to had articles on these methods i think.
Originally posted by The Drake Hello can anyone advise on the best way to learn chess I have had 7 games and lost 7 I always seem to be on the defensive any help would be appreciated
cheers
Do loads of tactics as has been said here. As for endgames, at the very least know how to mate with a rook and king against a king. Not much use coming out of the middle game that much material up if you can't actually win the thing.
1. Play against stronger players.
2. Find your weaknesses and correct them.
3. Speak to other players / join a club (IRL).
4. Study the endgame & tactics.
What is the best way to learn chess
14 Jul '06 16:40
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