U have to use what u learn, like what adv said. Also i dont think there is really any shortcuts to learning. U have to understand what each move means. like 1. e4 e5 control the center. 2. Nf3 Nc6 attacks an defend the e pawn. 3. Bc4 Bc5 develops the bishop to enable castling. Take your time! :)
methods to study openings
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That's what I been doing applying them when I play live and online games which is my kings pawn openings, but only the mirrored versions. I really want to play against the french, sicilian, and caro kahn and many e4 variations, but I feel like I'm moving too slow. But also another problem is I'm having, how do I
improve my moves to be more sound like, for example when playing the vienna game the center gets quite congested how do I know when to sac and trade off material so I can be in better position. Like be more tacticle when the middle game comes.
I get a well annotated book on the opening I want to learn, and input the variations into stockfish by hand, so I can quickly thumb through them (with the annotations.)
Then, play several games of blitz with your opening (online, not against the computer) to see the lines you get the most, and spend some extra time on becoming extra-familiar with those variations.
Edit: Note that studying openings alone won't make you much stronger; as mentioned before, tactics tactics tactics. But, a solid opening reportoire in ADDITION to (not replacing) your tactical training is a good idea.
The human mind learned this based on patterns. So my advice is to learn openings based on structures and their basic plans. A good book in this respect is Pawn structure chess by Soltis. It lays out the Plan A and B ideas in the major structures.
After that I would pick an older opening Like the Guccio Piano, Italian game, 4 knights ,scotch etc and pick about 100 games that are won by white in 25 moves or less. Look for typical mistakes by Black. How pieces are developed etc. Review them at a fast pace about 1-3 second a move. ALL OF THE GAMES! Then do the samething for black. you will learn a lot about small improvements for each side. How white wins against typical mistakes and why certain moves are important for each side.
Once you get more adavanced Watsons chess opening book series follow this same pawn structural path of understanding.
There are some other good books too called read and play method (just look them up there are 3 different openings covered, the King's indian one is just amazing!)
I dont really know how to play the vienna game. but remember this,when your position is cramped, trying exchanging off pieces. When you have a space advantage, dont exchange off pieces. U can challenge me to a unrated online game. I could play the caro kann with u :)
How about kings pawns opening instead, there you can teach how to structure my game a bit I think ud kill me in the caro kahn opening I'm not quite there yet, but here's and example of a game I'm currently playing
I'm playing queens pawn opening experimenting with it
d4 Nf6
b3 e6
e3 d5
Be2 c6
Bd2 Bd6
Bf3 Bd7
g3 0-0
Ne2 c5
Bc3 Nc6
Bb2 cxd4
Nxd4 Nxd4
Bxd4 Ne4
Bxe4 dxe4
c4 Bb4
Bc3 you see I haven't castled in this game but I'm ready castle when needed to but blacks 2 rooks and queen is still in the 8th rank while both one of his knights are off cuz I felt that he might storm my kingside if I castled.
finalunpurez wrote:
I dont really know how to play the vienna game. but remember this,when your position is cramped, trying exchanging off pieces. When you have a space advantage, dont exchange off pieces. U can challenge me to a unrated online game. I could play the caro kann with u :)
oK Some questions about the caro Kann for you?
what is blacks purpose of playing it?
What are the problems with the caro Kann?
What are the main equalizing strategies for Black? (ie Pawn breaks) Which is the main one and which is the "secondary one?)
What are whites main attacking ideas in the Mainline and advanced?
As far as the game your playing... YOu really , really , really need to learn how to develop logically so you can prepare for the middlegame. read pawn structure chess by soltis and get your game organized for the middlegame. Your wasting time in the opening moving pieces multiple times. Your not grabbing space. your weakening squares for no reason.
please trust me read that book and it will open your eyes.
I will probably get the book since I reviewed it myself and its pretty damn good. I think it will help me develop my pieces logically
And questions about the caro well its one of the moves that does very well against the kings pawn opening.
You see when I played the caro cahn as black there are a number of problems the fact that it may leave your queen side open for an attack if you aren't properly prepared, I learned this cuz I kind of studied it.
But the other questions I don't know but I might have to look into.
TonyH wrote:
oK Some questions about the caro Kann for you?what is blacks purpose of playing it?
What are the problems with the caro Kann?What are the main equalizing strategies for Black? (ie Pawn breaks) Which is the main one and which is the "secondary one?)
What are whites main attacking ideas in the Mainline and advanced?
As far as the game your playing... YOu really , really , really need to learn how to develop logically so you can prepare for the middlegame. read pawn structure chess by soltis and get your game organized for the middlegame. Your wasting time in the opening moving pieces multiple times. Your not grabbing space. your weakening squares for no reason.
please trust me read that book and it will open your eyes.
the main problem with the caro kann is lack of space in the mainlines. This often results in a kingside attack not a queenside one. (it has to do with the c4 and d4 pawns for white vs the c6 and e6 pawns for black. White gets space black gets a solid position if white over reaches then things can implode.
When I was looking at it I seen the queen side was getting attacked when the black queen was busy attacking whites QR side and the black hasn't even castled yet that's when black going to get mated.
TonyH wrote:
the main problem with the caro kann is lack of space in the mainlines. This often results in a kingside attack not a queenside one. (it has to do with the c4 and d4 pawns for white vs the c6 and e6 pawns for black. White gets space black gets a solid position if white over reaches then things can implode.
:) queenside attacks occur but thats not the mainplan for white. Plan A if you will is not a queenside attack.
Thank you TonyH for your comments on this topic. Very helpful.
grandmasterxpchesser wrote:
Does anybody have any good methods to study openings faster. I have been studying openings like crazy, what I been studying is openings 1 by 1 like all the kings pawns opening vs d5 and vs e6, ect, by writing them down and memorizing them. But I feel like I'm moving real slow with my methods of openings, how I learned that, is that the late bobby fischer used to study openings like that by reading books. Is there any faster way to learn openings as white and black.
When Bobby Fischer built his opening tree in order to study openings, he had to build it by hand. I built my opening tree by hand. It took me 8 years.
Today computers build you opening tree automatically and very quickly. Once that is done you can begin to study openings by purchasing Chess Openings Wizard (Book Up) and Chessbase games database that has 5 million+ games.
However, at your rating it is much more important to begin building 3 memory banks in your mind:
1.A basic checkmate endgames mating net visualization pattern memory bank.
2. A tactics visualization pattern memory bank.
3. An endgame technique visualization pattern memory bank.
I will be glad to go into detail on all of it if you are interested
Please let me know.
Yes I'm very interested, I'm willing to learn anything that's been given to me yes at my rating is kind of average, that's my live game stats but my online game is hovering above 1400, you see I been playing chess about 4 years since 2008 out of that 3 years was off and on, but now its been a full year since I been playing chess, and almost a month I been actually studing openings, I gotten pretty good since 2008 and almost a full year I been playing and I got to admit I gotten good. But now I think I need to organize myself and practice some more.
transpo wrote:
grandmasterxpchesser wrote:
Does anybody have any good methods to study openings faster. I have been studying openings like crazy, what I been studying is openings 1 by 1 like all the kings pawns opening vs d5 and vs e6, ect, by writing them down and memorizing them. But I feel like I'm moving real slow with my methods of openings, how I learned that, is that the late bobby fischer used to study openings like that by reading books. Is there any faster way to learn openings as white and black.
When Bobby Fischer built his opening tree in order to study openings, he had to build it by hand. I built my opening tree by hand. It took me 8 years.
Today computers build you opening tree automatically and very quickly. Once that is done you can begin to study openings by purchasing Chess Openings Wizard (Book Up) and Chessbase games database that has 5 million+ games.
However, at your rating it is much more important to begin building 3 memory banks in your mind:
1.A basic checkmate endgames mating net visualization pattern memory bank.
2. A tactics visualization pattern memory bank.
3. An endgame technique visualization pattern memory bank.
I will be glad to go into detail on all of it if you are interested
Please let me know.
@grandmasterxpchesser
Do you have a 9-5 job or are you a student?
I sense alittle bit of the tortoise and the hare in you. You more hare than you are tortoise. Keep in mind that, from time to time, in the process of improving you will have plateaus in the increase in your playing strength. It is ok, that is normal. What is happening is your brain is having to reorganize the outline of chess information in your mind as you feed it more information.
Because of everything I have written above I am going to start slow and share with you only a couple of the beginning parts of your entire training regimen.
Play very close attention to the fact, I detail below, that chess is siege warfare in the form of a game. That perspective will save you thousands of hours in chess study.
Tactics: Work diagrams every day in order to build a bank of visualiztion patterns in your mind. Begin by purchasing, Irving Chernev's book, 1,001 Chess Sacrifices and Tactics."
Begin with the first diagram in the book. There is usually 9 diagrams per page. Sit down with a timer and the book. No chessboard or pieces. Do not set the position up on any physical board. Set the timer for 3min. When the time is up or if you choose a move prior to time running out, stop the timer. Check your answer in the back of the book. If you got it right put a check mark next to the diagram. If you got it wrong put an X next to the diagram. Reset the timer and move on to the next diagram. DO NOT linger on the diagram you just completed. You will come back to it at a later date. The diagram that you got wrong is simply a visual pattern that is not in your memory bank yet. Do 6 pages of 9 diagrams per page per day. Do the Chernev book diagrams 3 times all the way thru, paying special attention to the diagrams you got wrong.
Later on you can purchase or borrow books of diagrams of tactical positions from actual GM and IM tournament games.
This is known as doing your chess exercises so that like an athlete you can stay fit.
Endgame: Work diagrams every day in order to build a bank of checkmate visualization patterns in your mind.
Begin by practicing the basic checkmate endgames (K+Q v K, K+R v K, K+2Bs v K, and K+B+N v K) until you can do them in your sleep. You only need to know one endgame technique wih all the basic checkmate endgames. I call it 'corralling the enemy King.' The power of the piece(s) form a fence around the enemy K. With the help of your own K, step by step, you keep making the fenced in area smaller driving the enemy K into a corner of the board, and then you deliver checkmate. In the K+Q v K basic checkmate endgame caution needs to be exercised in order to not stalemate the enemy king. In the K+B+N v K, the enemy K has to be driven to one of the 2 corners that are the same color as your B. If the enemy K runs to either of the opposite color corners, there is a standard W pattern technique for extracting him from that corner and driving him along the edge of the board to the right color corner where you can deliver mate.
Practice these until you can do them in your sleep. I can guarantee you, after 3 months of practicing these you will see mating nets, in the game you are currently playing, because it will jump up off the board and smack you on the forehead in a flash. I know because it happens to me all the time.
A perspective that will save you thousands of hours. Chess is siege warfare in the form of a game. Siege warfare was practiced by human armies throughout history for centuries in many forms. The assault on a castle in medieval times in movies is the most iconic example for the general public. No matter what the form of siege warfare it employs three methododlogies: restrain, blockade, and execute the enemy.
Mr. Nimzowitch's book, "My System" is a detailed general instructional manual on restrain, blockade and execute the enemy on the chess board. It paraphrases an overarching principle in chess:
Winning chess is the strategically/tactically correct advance of the pawn mass.
The essential companion book to "My System" is Hans Kmoch's, "Pawn Power In Chess". It is the exhaustive manual on the details of pawn play employing the methodologies of restrain, blockade and execute the enemy. Mr. Kmoch's book, as a bonus, details, regarding the opening the following fact: Almost all openings result in 6 characteristic pawn structures. He shines a light on those 6 characteristic pawn structures, and details the prospective plans of attack for both sides (White and Black) based on the pawn structure (terrain of the battlefield on the chess board.) In other words, the pawn structure forms the hills, mountains and valleys of the battlefield on the chess board. Any plan of attack must conform to the pawn structure.
Your 1/2 hr. per day will make achieving a rating of USCF1800 within 2 yrs. possible. But, you will have to combine that 1/2 hr. with weekend rated over the board round robin tournaments which consume considerably more time (your entire weekend.) Playing 60-72 rated tournament games per year, which means you would playing chess 10 to 12 weekends per year. About one tournament per month. One weekend out of every month you would be dedicating to chess.
If one weekend per month would not fit in with your family's extracurricular activities. There is always correspondence chess which you can play from home in your spare time.
So, casual player with limited spare time. I hope this post helps you.
Good luck and hardwork/study in becoming a 'professional gunslinger (a very strong player.)
Does anybody have any good methods to study openings faster. I have been studying openings like crazy, what I been studying is openings 1 by 1 like all the kings pawns opening vs d5 and vs e6, ect, by writing them down and memorizing them. But I feel like I'm moving real slow with my methods of openings, how I learned that, is that the late bobby fischer used to study openings like that by reading books. Is there any faster way to learn openings as white and black.