Beginners Pain – We’ve all been there and we can all conquer it….

Thought I would share some of my challenges and plan of attack as an amateur chess player who is developing his chess game. 

The challenge when starting out is where to begin and how to become better. Blunders will happen, the main thing is to learn from them.   

I suggest the following: 

-Choose a Grand Master to learn from, someone who delivers their training in way that suits your learning needs so you can follow their lead. Watch some sample videos then invest some money to purchase the relevant training DVDs.

-Start researching openings and start building a repertoire. This will take time and effort. Like the saying goes "Nothing easy is worth having". Buy a copy of Chess Positional Trainer and build your repertoire in this software.

-Do at least 15-25 tactics per day. Become religious about this! Every day! No excuses!

-Analyse every game you play. This is the only way you learn from your mistakes.

-Buy a book on chess end games and learn about them. You end game knowledge will help you gain wins against stronger players.

-Don't move too fast during your games. Only fools rush in!

-Tenacity and persistence. Never give up and you can never lose. Just because you lose a few games doesn't mean you can't improve and give your opponent a beating in the next round.

-Eat healthy, sleep eight hours and exercise at least three times a week. You physical body and mind cannot perform at its peak if you aren't taking care of yourself. 

Finally, be prepared to change with times (based on the expert's advice). If something isn't working then adapt and flow with the wind of change. You can’t change the past but you can be the master of your future!