I wasted too much time on openings. Now need to teach myself e4/e5 tactics.
Sort:
robertsmattb
Nov 2, 2015
0
#1
[COMMENT DELETED]
robertsmattb wrote:
I think that it would also be a good idea to go back to basics and play the e4/e5 openings until I am better at tactics, but I would like some input on how to approach those games. I DON'T want to study more opening theory, but I DO want to have some general ideas that can guide me through the first few moves after the King Pawns come to the center.
My questions for the forum:
1. Is there a good continuation for learning tactics in the open games? Ruy Lopez looks too theoretical for now. Would Scotch Game be a good place to start?
2. What are some basic plans for black after 1. e5 that will help me improve tactical play?
3. What are the key priorities in these e4/e5 games, both for black and for white?
Those are the very questions that would be answered in an opening book.
There is no alternative to reading an opening book other than trial and error.
Nov 2, 2015
0
#3
robertsmattb wrote:
My questions for the forum:
1. Is there a good continuation for learning tactics in the open games? Ruy Lopez looks too theoretical for now. Would Scotch Game be a good place to start?
2. What are some basic plans for black after 1. e5 that will help me improve tactical play?
3. What are the key priorities in these e4/e5 games, both for black and for white?
(1)(2) I've been watching a lot of chess videos on YouTube recently and I was surprised at how many traps exist in the openings I'd been encountering over the years, especially the Scandinavian Defense and Four Knights Game. If you consider traps to be tactics, then those are very educational videos, and certainly there are some clever tactics involved in those traps: queen forks I didn't see, trapped queens, won pawns, pieces pinned against the king, and so on. For example, this guy in the following videos talks about plans in the Scandinavian Defense, which consist mostly of piece placement and general expansion, and he also talks about key moves to watch for as common means to punish mistakes. Those are good, general pieces of knowledge that most books and videos don't have, in contrast to sheer memorization, so that information can be used in all your games with that opening.
Handling Various Scandinavian Defenses (Part-1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp3QZIkKP_c
Handling Various Scandinavian Defenses (Part-2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhZdilW_cOU
Each opening has its own characteristic *types* of traps. The Scandinavian Defense often runs into Black's queen getting trapped on the queenside, and double e-pawn openings often run into the traps of: (1) a piece pinned against the king via R-K1, or (2) an attack on a pinned knight at KB3.
Videos are more more pleasant alternative to books, of course.
(3) In case you didn't already know, in addition to the usual priorities of most openings (control the center, develop pieces, get castled), the priority in an e4 opening is to play d4 as soon as one can do so without losing a tempo from retreating a piece from the center. In contrast, the priority in a d4 opening is to play e4, with similar qualifications.
For that reason, the Center Game (1. e4 e5 2. d4) and Scotch Opening (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4) are considered weak: White ends up needing to retreat a piece, as well as having the tension being eased too early to hope for an advantage. It sounds like you might like the Four Knights Game, which is intermediate difficulty between those two second rate openings I just mentioned, and the theory-heavy Ruy Lopez. As I mentioned, I found some good YouTube videos on the Four Knights Game, too.
P.S.--I forgot about the super tactical e4 openings: The King's Gambit, Latvian Gambit, Elephant Gambit, From Gambit, etc. Those openings are characterized by being mostly tactics rather than strategy, so those would definitely give you tactics practice!
For a start on learning about 1 e4 e5, one might try
Starting Out: Open Games by Glenn Flear (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626232452/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen134.pdf
Starting Out: Ruy Lopez by John Shaw (2003)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627024240/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen53.pdf
Scotch Opening considered weak? Not since Kasparov reintroduced it to GM chess.
Be careful on wasting time.
I strongly recommend you read this thread:
MAYBE YOU DO NOT REALIZE THAT CHESS IS YOUR MENTAL TRAUMA!
http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/maybe-you-do-not-realize-that-chess-is-your-mental-trauma
Fiveofswords wrote:
i think all new players should learn the italian game. the tactics there are quite fundamental.
Can't agree more. Italian game is the place to start. Tactics there completely basic.
robertsmattb wrote:
My questions for the forum:
1. Is there a good continuation for learning tactics in the open games? Ruy Lopez looks too theoretical for now. Would Scotch Game be a good place to start?
2. What are some basic plans for black after 1. e5 that will help me improve tactical play?
3. What are the key priorities in these e4/e5 games, both for black and for white?
1. Scotch game is also very basic. Scotch and Italian.
2. After 1. e4 e5, white has the initiative. So black is basically trying to equalize. Tactical alertness is required otherwise white will win a pawn quickly or something. Defending accurately is important for black. Keep playing the black side of this until you learn all the tricks and traps that white has in store in actual play. After a while, you'll have learnt all the tactics.
3. Develop quickly and efficiently. Win a pawn if you can. Watch the f2/f7 square which is the weakest square for king safety. Castle early.
P.S. Irving Chernev, Logical Chess Move by Move walks the reader through a hundred e4 e5 games in increasing order of complexity. And then he walks the reader through a hundred d4 d5 games. He covers both tactics and strategy seamlessly. If you like simple explanations, this book is good. (Those who like complicated explanations may not like this book.)
I do not have this book, but it can't be bad. Good recommendations, and the authors are very good players/teachers.
https://www.newinchess.com/Tactics_in_the_Chess_Opening_2-p-136.html
... Irving Chernev, Logical Chess Move by Move walks the reader through a hundred e4 e5 games in increasing order of complexity. And then he walks the reader through a hundred d4 d5 games. ...
Perhaps thinking of the wrong book. The whole Logical Chess book has 33 games and they are not organized by opening although, if I remember correctly, there is a portion with a focus on 1 d4.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
For many sample 1 e4 e5 games, organized by opening (including Scotch, Italian, etc.), one can go to Starting Out: Open Games by GM Glenn Flear (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626232452/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen134.pdf
and Starting Out: Ruy Lopez by IM John Shaw (2003).
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627024240/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen53.pdf
Here is a review of Tactics in the Chess Opening 2: Open Games by A.C. van der Tak & Friso Nijboer (2004):
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626172028/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen65.pdf
If you want to stay right in the 1300 range, keep reading the Reinfeld books ;).
I wasted to much time at bullet, and only now realised that it is very much a waste of time
btickler wrote:
If you want to stay right in the 1300 range, keep reading the Reinfeld books ;).
For this sort of material, I think that authors like GM Glenn Flear and IM John Shaw are better choices. For one thing, they have been alive in the last half-a-century.
Errr, John Shaw became a GM nine years ago!
Also, I do not think his books are suitable for that particular level.
IM pfren wrote:
Errr, John Shaw became a GM nine years ago!
Also, I do not think his books are suitable for that particular level.
Starting Out: Ruy Lopez by John Shaw was written about TWELVE years ago. Also, I did not suggest "his books". I suggested ONE book that he wrote for the Starting Out series.
"If you want to learn the basics of this interesting opening, there isn't a better book on the market right now." - FM Carsten Hansen (2003)
Ummm, I just beat you when you were 1141. It was a good game and I'm no higher rating than you. But if you were languising in the 1300s before you started reading all the openings books you might want to stop reading the openings books and just focus on fundemaentals. Good luck in whatever you decide - I'm looking forward to ournext game. Focus on the fundamentals, then end-games. Openings come last. If you have good fundamentals the openings will look after themselves.
