Hi everyone here is 20 lessons i have learned along my path in chess...

1.) I learned to look before i leap! before i decide to make any real moves and again just before making it because sometimes i found i got so absorbed in the variations i forgot to check again and have lost pieces and pawns....

2.)To not play the first move that comes to mind all the time because often there are better moves if we take the time to look....

3.) To not just play whatever move thinking it doesn't make any difference because it really does i have lost games because i played the right moves in the wrong order and that can be a painful lesson believe me.... 

4.)That development was more important then attacking straight away unless u have got a real chance of winning then attack like crazy till they fall apart normally i only got that chance when they played a very bad opening idea ....

5.)That i shouldn't just play the opening because it looks good because sometimes u lose because u don't take the time to play the game not just play moves i have won and lost because of this....

6.)That the endgame really is important as important as the opening or even more so its worth the study again learned the hard way...

7.)Castle when needed not always because it looks good sometimes holding off is better....

8.)A bad plan is a lot better then no plan at all.with out a plan ur lost before u started.....

10.)A knight on the rim is indeed dim 90% of the time they are much better on the 5th and 6th rank in the middle where they control 8 squares instead of 4 and are like thorns in opponents sides and they are great close quarter defenders and attackers but not so good from distance much better in closed positions then open ones...

11.)Rooks work best on the open files or at least semi open and when doubled especially on the 7th ranks and bishops work best when positions are open at a distance especially when put together 2 bishops on and open game are far better then 2 knights.... 

12.)learned that when in trouble keep active always and make things complex when your down sometimes the fact that u didn't fall apart gets to them and they make a mistake and your back in the game, simplify when your up but not at the expense of your position....

13.)Always study the whole board not just apart of it or your side of it believe me u can forget ....

14.)Don't play Queen out to early and try silly attacks with her because she is worth so much and can be attacked in a big way against someone who knows what to do, think of the risk of losing her if u fail to break through....

15.)well coordinated pieces are very effective so don't play opening moves that inhibit that to much....

16.) Don't be intimidated by much higher rated players every one can lose even masters so play your best chess always no matter who it is.But do respect players get to cocky and u will lose even against players much lower then you...

17.)Study your games well as they are good teachers especialy the losses and its worth the time to do so......

18.)Quality over Quantity is much better i found if i played more then 20 games at a time i had trouble keeping track of them and lost to much....

19.)i learned not to panic if someone plays and opening novelty or strange move idea but just stay calm and try to work out what they could be doing and just play standard chess don't try and be to fancy with it and lose the focus on what really matters...

20.)winning isn't every thing sometimes this is a hard one to remember because i like winning i always play to win except if I'm teaching sometimes and that u learn from it get better not bitter and not to be a sore loser or sore winner either gloating is such and ugly thing and players will mock u back when u lose be graceful in victory as u r in defeat....

Hi littleman,

I really enjoyed reading your 20 lessons and will say that if we truely are students of chess, we should have learned most if not all of these lessons already; the trick is to realize, remember and apply them to the next game. As I read through them, one at a time,  I recalled my own experiences (lessons) with each lesson and you are right on.

I could comment on each lesson but for now #18 struck me as important because so many people are playing speed chess nowadays. My experience is that my play accuracy decreased when I started playing speed chess and I have to blame the lack of thoughtful moves for the trend. A few games of speed chess cannot hurt and is probably a good thing because you can see more patterns of chess positions than a slow game. However, as the old adage goes, you perform like you practice, so fast surface moves should be replaced by deep thoughtful moves as a rule.

hows this the chess mentor is paying off i finaly won a game and in the other two games i played ended in a draw because it was king on king

Very good! I am happy for u, keep up the good work mate!....

cheers you should have seen me i jumped up out of the chair and screamed like i won xlotto so funny

lol thats good thing. After all that effort u deserve to celebrate mate. So u going to show us ur game in the forum?

i would but it was played on the ds the first thing i did was take control off the centre and reinforce it then pecked away at they pieces brought out his king with a queen sacrifce then checkmate with my knight

Next time write it down ok as u make ur moves so u can share it, I know that since u beat it once u can do it again. Well done again mate!....

cheers will do

good lessons, some ive learned the hard way others i learned through advice...is there anything about never trust your opponent...been swindled because they said it was a stalemate and ,with only a few seconds on the clock and up a rook and 3 pawns, i shook hands and signed the scoresheet without question...there was no stalemate, i had mate in 2!  and when they make a sac or seeminly drop a piece dont trust em!  look for concrete variations that allow you to keep the material while avoiding whatever it is thier trying to accomplish

Yes when someone gives a piece away for nothing ask urself if its a trap of some kind. If its not then take it and u learn if it really was a mistake or not. Yes trust what u know when ur actually playing dont assume they are honest always. Fine points u made jpd303!...