First move

Hello!  I  learned to play chess the week before last so I'm not very experianced but I notice a lot of players start with e4 or d4 if white or c5 if black.  Why is this? 

It all has to do with center control and attacking the center. Read up on opening principles for some good information on why.

Here is one example article:

http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-principles-of-the-opening

For someone so inexperienced your ratings are remarkably high and you've lost only one game out of almost thirty (http://www.chess.com/home/game_archive?sortby=&show=live&member=SexySusan)  Why is that?

@mutualblundersociety, I play other strategy games like Stracraft and Dota.  Where both sides struggle against each other and there are imbalances  and "arguments".  I think that helps me with chess.  I'm good at being critical of stuff,  and doing an initiative.  trying to coordinate with an intent.   But I dont think I am very "Good" at chess.  I never feel like I consider all the possible moves and when I have a tactical situation, I try to do a move that I feel is compelling, trying to force my oppoment to do one of as few as possible replies because, admittingly, I cant really calculate many options.  :(

No world champion or grandmaster has ever reached 1700 rating two weeks after learning how to move the pieces.

Except, of course, stockfish/rybka/houdini/fritz.

So which is it?

@xman720  who are stockfish, rybka, houdini and fritz?

They are ancient Chinese chess players. Stockfish lived in 6th century, Rybka lived in 8th century, and Houdini and Fritz lived in the 9th century. They are famous for mastering chess faster than anyone else, and the chess games they played marvel us even to this day. In fact, we were able to use computer analysis of their chess games to "ressurect" them from the dead and now there are computer programs which will try to predit the move they would have made in any given position. However, the moves are so profound and extraordinary that often mere humans cannot even comprehend them. These four individuals are most famous as the only 100% undefeated chess players to ever live. Even from birth, they knew how to play chess better than the best grandmasters. Unfortunately, Houdinin and Fritz lived in separate parts of China which were at war in the 9th century and only played one game. Furthermore, the game was so incomprehensibly awesome that the scribe trying to write down the moves could not translate the moves being made into normal algebraic notation. The game ended when both players checkmated the other's king simultaneously, and to this day we still cannot figure out what the final position of the game was or how this happened.

It is a mystery for the ages.

They WERE "famous for mastering chess faster than anybody else".  Until SS came along. But she hasn't beaten anyone over 1400 yet.

+1

@AussieRookie  Why were they so good and how can I play as good (or better) as they do?

If you keep winning, then you'll be matched against higher rated players hopefully, unless you're just selecting whoever wants to play you. But you obviously haven't had much trouble so far, so it'd be better to play higher level players to gauge exactly where you're at.  

Stockfish, Rybka, and Houdini are chess engines, computers that play chess. Of course, you knew that. I'm sorry to accuse you (that is, if you're innocent),but you are either cheating or playing lower rating players intentionally (the evidence seems to support the idea that you are playing lower rated players).

How could they checkmate each other simultaneously? Only one person can move at a time so please explain.

It's a joke. No such chess players exist. They are chess engines.

xman.  It was a Nice yarn though. I LOVED it.

I hate these kinds of threads though.  we should Not be making accusations.  chess.com has the technology to check people out.  there's no need to second guess it.  

@prettysusan... with great tactical gifts come flexibility in the first move.  if you can find a way to make your peices active & capitalize on blunders- you can defy the opening principles.  (against most opponents).

its kind of cool.  

As I say whenever I see someone with skyhigh ratings SO quickly (as you can tell I always assume they are playing honestly)- you should play tournaments.  you truly should!  if you are doing this well, with no computer Help- what a mark you could make if you got coached and played serious USCF.  and you would find many of your critics dissapear when you can prove your strength (there's no way to do that online).

if you are a pranking teenaged boy; you are already laughing at me.  thats ok.  I'm old enuff I don't care.

@abrahampenrose  Many boys from poor,  unfortunate demographics are not happy nor satisfied.   These people failed to achieve what they want in life.   They might have had hopes or expectations and feel like they were denied something  That they lost.   They could consider themselves losers,  too weak and impotent to achieve stuff, or blame the world.   Many people become hold others in contempt, are very disdainful because of their own, personal jazz.  The world is bad,  or wrong but not themselves.  Again, it's very difficult for these "Runts of the litter that is society" to have any sense of self worth, let alone a sense of responsibility.   They have been routinely shafted for god knows how long which brings us to now.   White knight mutualblundersociety,  drawing attention to potential toxicities and abberations so that some man or leader might do something about them one day.  It's a nobel effort.  Maybe, instead of dismissing him as a troll,  we can consider him someone who tries to do a good thing in a reletively innocent way.  I really am sure he's doing the best he can :).  Besides, in his defense,  how could the persians have ever defeated King Leonidas and his 300 spartans without the thingy who "Called attention" the the hidden path?