Are you all experienced chess players?

Hi just been wondering as so many of you have quite large collections of chess sets do you all play chess and are you experienced chess players?

I have a small collection and although have played chess on and off for many years I've never really studied it properly and so have never improved much. Which is fine as I still enjoy playing even poorly!

I have a small collection too. I am not an experienced chess player at all. I learned how to play in grade school by playing a computer game called chess88.exe which I found on a 5.25" bootable DOS floppy. I watched the computer make moves as white and I replicated the moves as black until I learned how all of the pieces moved and the rules of the game. I left the game in junior high and then did not come back to it until 2015/2016. I finally decided to study it in 2017.  I bought my first chess set in 2018/2019. I started with a 12" magnetic set from Chesshouse. I've been buy sets since. I use my sets to study. I always have one set out on my table. I rotate them every month or two. I love studying chess and trying to understand the logic behind it.

I'm trying to study too and didn't realise there was so much to the game. Feels quite daunting sometimes.

I try and leave a set up on the table to study with. Usually my plastic set and silicone mat as it's the only one that has notations on it.

I usually get no further than getting it set up, opening a book and then getting interrupted by a family then it's suddenly time to make the dinner and clear the table so it can be slow going!

Sometimes I play the computer and set my board up to make the moves as I find it easier to see what's going on rather than staring at a computer game plus it gives me the opportunity to use my chess sets.

I played as a kid, like many of us, but stopped playing for decades while life slipped in and absconded with so much time, haha.  I picked it up again in the early 2000's and found that, while I love game (and quite a few collected sets!) I'm just not very good.  My special "superpower" seems to be blundering at the most inopportune times!

And yes, actual study seems well nigh impossible here too - mostly due to laziness.

check it out...you may discover something helpful or of interest...

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

Thanks! I'll have a look. I find the most difficult part for me is the opening game. I know the 4 knights and then, bishops, castle etc but if the enemy plays a different game I quickly become unstuck. 

I'm often caught out by my men getting trapped in by their pawns as well.

Lots to learn!

ahhhh don't worry, a bit of work and maybe you can get to the rating of 1500

maybe learn some more openings, you can look at some in the lessons

I'm pretty sure you'll improve quick

I had trouble with the opening just a few months ago. I really did not know what I was doing. I just finished with Discovering Chess Openings by John Emms. It is a good book. I found this book through Russ' blog listed above. I also found chapters 1-3 very useful to me. These chapters talked about general soft rules and principles of openings. I took this material and learned how to apply them on my own. Now I don't get thrown off if my opponent plays an opening I don't know. I just use the same soft rules and principles explained in the book to any opening. I am by no means an expert but I feel very comfortable playing any opening as a result the book and some elbow grease so to speak.

I learned the game in grade school and played a lot, but never entered a tournament until the 1990s. I have a small collection of books and sets, play in a tournament here and there when I can - usually something that involves travel.   I played correspondence in the 90s as well and enjoyed that enough that it became a focus of my first book. I mostly play daily chess now - my rating in OTB tournies vs. daily chess on chess.com shows the clock is my enemy. Always fun though! 

Oh I'll have to check that book out sounds interesting although I'm not good with blocks of text as I'm more of a visual learner i guess. Does it have lots of visual examples?

Is this the book? Just read some reviews and it sounds very good 😊

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1857444191/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glc_fabc_QRFWRFE7PG6GK6MBXE5P

I have been playing chess since 1965 or so, when I was 8. My parents bought me one of those cheap game sets that had Checkers and Chess in the set.  Fell in love with chess. I played it often as a kid up through to mid high school, then got "distracted".  I still played, only less often.

Over the years, played on and off.  During the pandemic, got heavily addicted again. I own at least 6 chess sets, two of which are always close by.  I discovered Chess.com in December.  My best game so far was beating the first level 1500 computer player.   

I guess I am experienced, but I still make stupid mistakes. It took me at least 20 tries to beat the computer. Also, according to my analysis, I don't make a ton of "book moves". I am still getting a feel for this site.  I do play a live opponent quite often on my iPhone through game pigeon.

I still very much love this game. I also have a nice chess library and will often study old games by Grand Masters. I remember well, when Fisher and Spassky played in Iceland and followed that match keenly.

I learned how to move the pieces and most of the rules around the same time, 1965 when I was in elementary school. I lost every single game I played but I was so intrigued by the game and the pieces that I never gave up trying. It wasn't until I got to Junior High a couple of years later that I learned of Bobby Fischer and the chess craze that was sweeping the country at that time. It was also the same time I joined the chess club at my junior high. It was then I learned about having a plan, tactics and the basics of end game.  I became a decent player but never became a strong player. Then college, work and family took over my life. 

As a young married adult I began playing again with some friends and I began studying the history of the game (the history of chess is amazing). My kids were little at the time and they showed an interest and so I began studying the game, in detail and slowly became better. My kids competed and did well and I learned more and more by coaching them and learning more and more. One of them did eventually become state champion and my love for chess has never waned. I do own dozens of chess sets, some of them are soviet era, but many of them are sets I have owned over the years.  I consider myself fortunate to have had a love affair with the game, and the history of the game and to have brought along my kids for the ride. 

Yes.  That's the book.  It focuses on explaining fundamental principles of opening play.  As mentioned by MCH818 above, it's in my blog article list...

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

I think you would also enjoy and learn a lot from the following book, It's focus is on basic checkmating tactics.  It's almost totally visual (i.e., minimal text, and no chess notation used)...

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/bobby-fischer-teaches-chessa-book-review

(and notice how many positive reader reviews on Amazon!)

Learning & Playing chess is hard work ,

Started from around 7 years old ,A cheap plastic chess set from the 70's  for christmas , have been hooked on & off ever since .

@RussBell I want to thank you for your thoughtful recommendations. Based on your blog, I purchased Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide to Chess, John Emms' Discovering Chess Openings and Bobby Fisher Teaches Chess. The latter book was borrowed by my 8-year old grandson, who is now interested in the game after we played one afternoon. I just started Pandolfini's book and am wowed by his approach. Even the first chapter, which concerns the most basic elements, such as how pieces move, was instructive and helpful, something I did not expect.. 

Thank you for the thoughtful note.  That's great news.  The books you chose are excellent for their intended purposes.  They will get you started on the right path toward playing better chess.

By the way, regarding the Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess book; in case you haven't already seen it, you might check out my final comment at the bottom of this blog article where it says "if you are an adult with a child....."

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess...a book review...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/bobby-fischer-teaches-chessa-book-review

I wish you and your grandson the best of luck in your journey through chess.....the journey that never ends.  That's what makes it a special game...for a lifetime!