I started playing chess at the age of 47

Apparently. I'm told it happens to everyone but that's certainly not something I'm prepared to believe. It's just that I've forgotten the formula for the Elixir of Life that I worked out from first principles when I was a toddler. Something to do with a golden guinea from the year 1799, ground up with .... but I forget. If it wasn't for being forgetful I'd be just like a ten year old, except I have less energy and, well, what was this conversation about again?

@marcosmas03 -

You may discover something helpful in these...

Chess Courses - Instructional Resources...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/beginners-chess-course-instructional-resources

Improving Your Chess - Resources for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/improving-your-chess-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell

gg

The biggest reason people struggle in lower-level chess is because of blunders. They make them in almost every game.

A mistake can instantly put you in a bad position, no matter how well you played earlier: if you had great opening knowledge, great positional skills, great endgame skills, whatever; a single mistake can change everything (you lose a piece or get checkmated).

So, how do you avoid blunders? Follow this simple algorithm:

While avoiding blunders is crucial, I also share a few basic principles with my students. These principles help them figure out what to do in each part of the game - the opening, the middlegame, and the endgame. Understanding these simple principles is like having a map for your moves. I provide my students with more advanced algorithms that incorporate these fundamental principles. When you use this knowledge along with being careful about blunders, you're not just getting better at defending. You're also learning a well-rounded approach to chess. Keep in mind, chess is not just about not making mistakes; it's about making smart and planned moves to outsmart your opponent.

Is this the site of compulsive writers?

@azzimir Nope. Just compulsive responders.

I do a good chess course. It includes inspirational prompting via electric shock treatment. It's called Pavlovian Prompting ... make your pet good at chess.

It just struck me that the OP is a USA History teacher, which is all about blacks and whites.

So chess makes sense, even if draughts is a more American game

Pavlovian training is usually about rewards, not punishment

No, both work because either conditions the mind.

Yes you have to have a simple solid starting strukturerad i.e. an opening. 1d42Bf43e3 is good. Nf3Be2Nbd2 and c3 when c5. As black 1e62d5Nf6Be7Nbd7b6Bb7 and castle early. A good check list after EVERY opponent move is 1.control all checks 2.control every possible take 3.try to see if there are and addition threats especially from the gueen and bishops. They are long range.

As you are a teacher and you can learn fast and easy you must learn e4 Rui Lopez with all his theory and d4 Queens Gambit with all his theory. There are many books that explain those oppenings in details so you will make not a blunder next time!

White's the one with the piece activity in the Budapest. It's really difficult for black. Maybe the Albin is better from that point of view.

Apparently Nh5 in the London has a good record but moving a piece twice in the opening to attack a bishop on the same colour squares as its own pawns is bound to be bad. It's like that move in the Caro-Kann Advance which became fashionable .... 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5, which is just silly but even GMs were winning with it against other GMs, which goes to show that a lot of them just play by rote and can't work out an opening for themselves. I mean really, losing as white to a move like that is pathetic.

Not convinced.

After White releases the tension with 3. e5 the situation in the center has changed completely.

Black's c7-c6 was a response to the earlier situation. Black's c6-c5 is a response to the new situation.

Do you ever play the KIA against the Caro-Kann? In the line where Black tries to set up a broad center:

1. e4 c6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 Nd7 4. Nf3 e5 White's best move might very well be 5. d4! even though it loses a whole tempo. The situation has changed, so of course the response changes.

Not exactly and surely it's too early to make a second move with the pawn? There are positions where white makes two moves with a centre pawn in quick succession. For instance, in that Slav variation (I've forgotten its name for the moment) where black plays a semi-Slav and white meets it with e3, if black then plays Bd6 instead of to e7, white is justified in moving the e pawn a second time in perhaps three moves because all of a sudden there's a target. There are other positions that are similar but nothing substantial has changed in the Caro-Kann position. Perhaps white would be justified in taking the pawn with 4. dc. I sometimes used to play the French Advance Variation with 4. dc, I don't mean in blitz but in club chess around the 1800 to 1900 FIDE level. It places black in an unfamiliar position where all the theory is useless. The differences are that there, black has played the extra move, e6. That may make black's position in the Caro worse than the same in the French by a whole move. If instead black plays Bf5, then white would have 5. Ne2, intending Ng3, hitting the B. It's an entirely different type of game.

Also, am I not correct in thinking that new lines have been developed against 3. ... c5 in the Advance Caro?

I just took a look at my idea with the analysis tool and it was completely unmoved. Didn't think much of it until white played Ng3. White also has Nd4 because unusually, the d pawn's gone. Then it liked it. Therefore, if that's better for white and so black plays e6 instead of Bf5, it means white has a free tempo. So the principled move for black may be e6 and not Bf5.

The engine has now learned that Ne2 is a good move against Bf5 and is giving white +0.6 for it, whereas it was giving it 0.0 when I first entered it. So looks like I was right and 3. ...c5 is weak.

Hi!

Have you tried with the help of a coach? Customized lessons will do a lot more for your improvement than going solo.

About how to avoid hanging pieces, I wrote a post on the subject it might interest you:

https://www.chess.com/blog/maafernan/instructive-games-ii-prevent-blunders-and-profit-from-your-opponents

Good luck!

Heaven help us! There's only one rule and that's to concentrate and get into the habit of checking moves for errors. That means playing slow time limits at first until it becomes automatic. Does it need a coach to learn that?