Thanks
A few ideas to help improve at Fog of War
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alg142 wrote:
Thanks
You're welcome! Hope it's helpful
Nice solid advice! Here are some things to add to what you said:
Basically I think that the most common beginner mistakes are the following:
1. Not keeping track of opponents known piece locations
2. Taking unnecessary risks/not being patient enough
3. Playing bad openings where they don't see enough squares
4. Not watching out for the d8/1-a4/5 diagonal and the f2/7 squares in the opening, which seem to be the most common targets for "opening traps" (but then some beginner players also overuse these opening traps and are easy to counter because they are predictable and give up or start gambling when their opening trap does not work).
5. Not varying openings or sides of castling if playing the same player many times (do this to avoid becoming too predictable)
IMO for white the moves 1.e4/d4/c4 (or maybe even 1.f4 sometimes) are probably generally best, you want to take control of the center and prevent black from easily doing so themselves (you usually have more sight by taking the center). As black my most common first moves are probably 1.c5 and 1.Nf6, sometimes 1. d5 or 1.g6 or other moves.
If you have a chance to exchange a piece, you should usually do it (aka be the one to capture) because you will gain more info than you opponent, and sometimes rarely the piece will be unprotected.
Against better players it's a good idea to work in some reasonable bluffs, and also having a few concealed counter-intuitive elements in your setup sometimes to trick them can be useful.
Great point about the "intel moves", shuffling pieces around on protected squares in some cases to gain intel is very useful, though sometimes being passive for too long will backfire (it's necessary to take some calculated risks sometimes to gain initiative).
In the end game I would usually rather have just one knight than just one bishop (facing one bishop the other color complex is relatively safe).
My rating is generally 1900 +/- some, so certainly there are some much better players in the pool still who probably have even better advice!
rakso98 wrote:
Nice solid advice! Here are some things to add to what you said:
Excellent additions, thank you for adding your insight!
Just what I've picked up on...
1.) Bishops > Knights, but use your knights early. They can be useful tracking pawns in the center of the board early in development
2.) Play solid openings that don't immediately open up your king.
For instance, as Black, the King's Indian is solid - develops a bishop, keeps king safe, and doesn't open up any diagonals for a quick accidental checkmate from a rogue bishop or queen.
As white, something like the Four Knights can work well.
3.) Piece protection is paramount. When in doubt, be cautious, and make sure at least one (and preferably two) other pieces are covering it.
I've won a handful of games when somebody thought they won an exchange that went 4-5 pieces, but I had something else covering the square they didn't imagine. Have gotten a few queens that way.
4.) Piece coordination / lines of sight is more powerful than a stronger piece alone.
5.) Don't be afraid to scout. Bishops / Rooks / Queen can track MANY squares at once. Don't be afraid to let them hang back and keep an eye on the action as it develops before risking them.
Basically, in summary ...
Play normal chess openings that keep pieces protected, develop knights / bishops quickly, and don't open up your king to any inadvertent diagonals for a quick checkmate.
Keep your pieces working in harmony (and don't take unnecessary risks of high-value pieces), and you should improve your ranking!
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I'm no master, but thought it might be helpful to share since I've seen multiple posts from people asking for advice (and not getting anything helpful).
Thanks!