|
Perry Mason Jar posted:If you had to recommend one chess book for a beginner - I haven't played ladder due to number fear, so I don't know - which one would you recommend? Play Winning Chess by Yasser Seirawan. Suitable for absolute beginners (it starts with how the pieces move) but it's also good for casual players looking to step up their game. By the end it gets to some surprisingly advanced concepts about development, space, and tempo. If you find yourself wanting more, the next book in the series is Winning Chess Tactics which gives a great introduction to pins, forks, skewers, etc.
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2023 18:08
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 4, 2024 06:43 |
|
|
yasser also did a series of videos for chessbrah on basic strategic thinking (iirc there’s one on piece value, one on tempo, one on king position, and one on pawn structure). i thought they were great
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2023 18:18
|
|
|
I would recommend https://www.amazon.com/Learn-Play-C...ps%2C119&sr=8-1 and https://www.amazon.com/Everyones-Fi...yY2hfYXRm&psc=1 But whatever books you end up with, buy physical. Kindle chess books are really tough because even with smaller text you will read entire paragraphs about positions you can't see and will constantly be going back and forth between things that would be on the same page in paper.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2023 18:38
|
|
|
I've watched a lot of YT videos on basic chess concepts and have done the chess.com course for most if not all of the concepts. What I need, I think, is to refine my game and understanding, and to learn some openings, common lines, common checkmating positions and forces, etc. Or should I keep grinding basics until a certain elo?
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2023 19:02
|
|
|
You should probably just play games.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2023 19:18
|
|
|
Buy one good book and the workbook I linked. Watch the Chessbrah building habits videos if you haven't already. As for Elo anxiety, I was where you are for a while and have mostly gotten over it. Here's my advice: 1. Play slow games to improve. Like, 10+0 isn't slow. 15+10 is kinda slow. 30+0 is a good start. 2. Only play those slow games when you are in a mental position to learn (ie, lose). If you're stoned or tired or you have other poo poo on your mind, figure out whatever time control/website you just enjoy and don't care about your rating in and have fun. (Now ask yourself why playing 5+3 on Lichess doesn't "count" but playing 10+0 on chess.com does.) 3. Know that the absolute BEST thing you can do for your long-term chess is to play a well-considered game that you lose. What you want is to sit for 3-4 minutes and really chew on a position, decide on a move, and be dead wrong. Those are the ones that show your path forward. Be grateful. If it helps, literally say thank you out loud when you lose. It sounds dumb but it really does help. 4. Your Elo is your shadow. You can't outrun it, but it also can't get left behind. If you get better, it will go up. Don't worry about the number going up, worry about getting better. So if losing makes you better than winning, you're only holding yourself back by denying yourself the opportunity to lose. Go lose! Lose smart, learn from your losses, but if you don't lose you'll never get better.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2023 19:27
|
|
|
Do tactics
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2023 21:45
|
|
|
Perry Mason Jar posted:If you had to recommend one chess book for a beginner - I haven't played ladder due to number fear, so I don't know - which one would you recommend? Chess for Dummies was literally my first chess book, and it was okay enough.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2023 00:05
|
|
|
Powered Descent posted:Play Winning Chess by Yasser Seirawan. Suitable for absolute beginners (it starts with how the pieces move) but it's also good for casual players looking to step up their game. By the end it gets to some surprisingly advanced concepts about development, space, and tempo. If you find yourself wanting more, the next book in the series is Winning Chess Tactics which gives a great introduction to pins, forks, skewers, etc. +1, this whole series owns
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2023 02:22
|
|
|
When I play very carefully and pay attention, I still lose, but I have a much better time looking into why. The engine will show me my blunders and inaccuracies and something like, half the time? I can see why the engine says that's an inaccuracy, and most blunders I can eventually figure out. Most of the time though I lose because I get impatient and make a move without much attention or care. It is very important to me to not play blitz or even rapid because the time pressure makes me extra prone to doing this thing I am already terribly prone to doing. I just jam a piece forward without looking to see all the ways that changes support, threats, lines of attack, and so forth. Just "Ooh, I can grab that knight! It's not protected!" and uhhhh, dumbass, you just hung your queen? In one move? Like, obviously? gently caress The rest of the time I lose because I try to do calculation and hit a mental block where I just can't hold the board state two moves ahead in my head well enough to think about what moves 3, 4, etc. could be. I suspect that this part comes from just, loving, tons of practice, and also maybe not already being 48, like I bet there's a huge advantage to starting this poo poo when you're 9. I'm thinking if I clean up the impatience stuff, and maybe also bother to learn a few openings, the last bit will either resolve with time, or not, but it's not what I need to be worrying about right now.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2023 03:58
|
|
|
i also +1 the "winning chess" book series. another one to check out is "How to Reassess Your Chess" by Jeremy Silman (Seirawan's coauthor on the winning chess books). https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/how-to-reassess-your-chess-4th-edition/ this book is more geared towards intermediate than beginners. i have the 3rd edition, but i'm sure the 4th edition is better.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2023 14:25
|
|
|
Perry Mason Jar posted:If you had to recommend one chess book for a beginner - I haven't played ladder due to number fear, so I don't know - which one would you recommend? My first book was Winning Chess Strategies, which I loved as a kid. Play Winning Chess is the beginner-level book but WGS was my favorite..
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2023 16:56
|
|
|
lets go Max baby love da Max
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2023 16:59
|
|
|
You ever get a 2000 rated puzzle that seems like it should be 200?
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2023 18:35
|
|
|
Meanwhile, here's a 1400 that dinged me on puzzle rush today. I've been working harder on figuring out entire sequences before moving a piece and this one ... I did not get there. https://www.chess.com/puzzles/problem/1189858
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2023 19:40
|
|
|
ikanreed posted:You ever get a 2000 rated puzzle that seems like it should be 200? Nd4 is soooo tempting
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2023 20:49
|
|
|
Dirty Frank posted:Nd4 is soooo tempting I'm positive I'm playing nd4 unless I have like 15 minutes on the clock and am like, eh just think about it, what's the harm.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 01:16
|
|
|
ikanreed posted:You ever get a 2000 rated puzzle that seems like it should be 200? White was an IM and they lost that game 
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 01:40
|
|
|
stockfish says black has only one good move here. i saw it, but i didn't play it, because it looks very unsafe, so i played a safer looking move that loses. find the only good move for black! black is in a pickle, but has a material advantage, so the goal here is survive without giving the material back. the rook on a8 is hanging the knight on e7 is pinned the pawn on f7 is getting taken with check the only good move makes all these problems go away by the way, do you enjoy these little puzzles from my disastrous blitz games? Helianthus Annuus fucked around with this message at 03:49 on Sep 19, 2023 |
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 03:43
|
|
|
Helianthus Annuus posted:stockfish says black has only one good move here. i saw it, but i didn't play it, because it looks very unsafe, so i played a safer looking move that loses. Is it O-O? Threats are Qxf7+ and Bxa8; castling is the only way to prevent both e: wait, no, that still hangs the rook. ...O-O-O? Better to hang a pawn I suppose!
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 03:54
|
|
|
fisting by many posted:Is it O-O? Threats are Qxf7+ and Bxa8; castling is the only way to prevent both I don't think the pawn hangs. Qxf7 is followed with Nxd5, while Bxf7 is followed by Rhf8 pinning the bishop.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 04:03
|
|
|
fisting by many posted:Is it O-O? Threats are Qxf7+ and Bxa8; castling is the only way to prevent both it's not O-O but your second guess is correct EDIT: and what's funny about the resulting position is that no matter what white plays next (within reason), stockfish insists that black's next move has to be Kb8 like "holy poo poo i just noticed black's king is incredibly unsafe!" lol Helianthus Annuus fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Sep 19, 2023 |
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 04:04
|
|
|
I think ooo actually works because taking the pawn hangs the Bishop to the now-unpinned Knight.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 04:05
|
|
|
Huxley posted:I think ooo actually works because taking the pawn hangs the Bishop to the now-unpinned Knight. thats right, the bishop has to move Arrhythmia posted:I don't think the pawn hangs. Qxf7 is followed with Nxd5, while Bxf7 is followed by Rhf8 pinning the bishop. you're right about Qxf7 being no good, but Bxf7 is OK for white. black can't play Rhf8 because Qa8+ is too strong -- black has to ignore everything to play Kb8
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 04:10
|
|
|
Here's a similar chess puzzle from a 3+0 game I played the other day. I had many chances to notice but its just different in a game!
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 18:56
|
|
|
Salt Fish posted:Here's a similar chess puzzle from a 3+0 game I played the other day. I had many chances to notice but its just different in a game! Oof. I missed that exact move in a game once and now I check for it constantly. You probably will, too. I guess that's what improvement is made of. I really have to find a way to take the next step of finding these kinds of two-movers in games. I feel like if this were a puzzle I would have gotten it in about 15 seconds, but I took 5 seconds in the game (a 5+3 with 3 minutes left) and didn't spot it.  Yes, chopping the Knight brings his Queen out while my King is uncastled, and yes that is theoretically not the best. But that's not a great excuse to stop thinking about the line ... Huxley fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Sep 19, 2023 |
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 19:09
|
|
|
My issue with moves like that is that I spend way too much trying to reason if it’s better to exchange and then skewer, or pin the Knight and try to win it outright. Either way I’d have an advantage…which is pissed away by taking too much time.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 20:16
|
|
|
If you take your opponent gives you the knight or you just get a full rook/exchanges a queen for a bishop right? Seems clearly better in this case.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 20:50
|
|
|
Pinnig makes no sense as white will just position their light squared bishop to be able to partake in the exchange right?
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 21:00
|
|
|
after 1. ... Nxf3+ 2. Qxf3 Bc6 You can move the queen, I take the Rook and if you try to trap my Bishop with Bg2 I just win another Bishop. If you f3 he's trapped, but I'm just going to keep on developing up a rook. You're either going to have to let him loose eventually or I'm going to get that pawn and be +4 on the whole thing plus whatever tempo you spend on making that happen. For the record, the (bad) move I played was b5 (the idea was either we trade and my rook is free or he lets me have b4 and I stuff his Knight in a locker. In retrospect ... further sidelining a Knight that's already on a3 is probably not a productive use of time. The 2nd and 3rd best computer moves here are Qf6 and Bc6, both just stacking up attackers on his already opened kingside. Like, at some point in here I need to be asking myself, "where is my attack more likely, the Kingside where he's already pushed 2 pawns or the Queenside where my only moves, at best give him an opportunity to close the structure further?" Huxley fucked around with this message at 21:17 on Sep 19, 2023 |
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2023 21:14
|
|
|
Daniel Naroditsky talks constantly in his videos about "Type-1" undefended pieces e.g. literally undefended and "Type-2" which are pieces only defended by one other piece (not a pawn). Looking at your opponents set up and seeing where the type one and type two pieces are is a good way to formulate an attacking plan. First, look at all checks and captures (of course you should do this before every move). The knight trade is the most obvious move to analyse. When I quickly saw the knight is only defended by the queen, it was pretty simple to figure out the tactic. But you have to train yourself to look for things like that.
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2023 00:37
|
|
|
How to come up with a plan: just pick any target at random and go for it. "It is the greatest importance to accustom ourselves to carry out operations ... in such a manner that we have from the start some settled, definite objective. It is characteristic of the less practiced player that he chooses an opposite course, in fact he wanders about, looking first to the right, then to the left without any fixed plan. No, settle on your objective is the rule. Such an objective, as we have learned, may be a pawn or a point. Which one, it matters not. But aimlessly drifting from one to another, this will expose you to a strategical disgrace. - Aron Nimzowitsch
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2023 01:16
|
|
|
Huxley posted:Yes, chopping the Knight brings his Queen out while my King is uncastled, and yes that is theoretically not the best. But that's not a great excuse to stop thinking about the line ... Disregarding tactics, in this scenario the opponent would have no pieces other than the Queen positioned to do anything, so there's not much need to even consider this. King safety considerations are relative to development.
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2023 05:23
|
|
|
Salt Fish posted:Here's a similar chess puzzle from a 3+0 game I played the other day. I had many chances to notice but its just different in a game! This is absolutely the kind of position you happily solve in a puzzle but just don't spot in a game! That would have been beautiful. Also, like someone else said above, you're now almost guaranteed to spot it next time it happens.
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2023 22:24
|
|
|
It finally happened!
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2023 01:57
|
|
|
Huxley posted:It finally happened! Nice! all that training finally paying off
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2023 09:46
|
|
|
Similar but different for me yesterday Puzzles work!
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2023 12:55
|
|
|
I'm hype to see Carlsen v Nakamura in speed chess championship today, while I procrastinate on college poo poo. Any predictions on winner? My money is on Carlsen despite Naka being a bullet god. Are there any goon chess clubs on lichess or chesscom? I wanna lose to some of you nerds. I see "GOON FRIEND SQUAD" on chesscom and lichess so I put in a request for those. Idk if they're active though.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2023 13:00
|
|
|
I'm Blunder-Years on lichess.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2023 13:39
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 4, 2024 06:43 |
|
|
Bruce Hussein Daddy posted:I'm Blunder-Years on lichess. Sent you a follow--I'm dear_sirs
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2023 14:02
|
|