seeking a good chess book
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This is all too much I formation. Just try to connect your rooks by move 10. This will achieve two goals: it will force everybody out of the back rank, and in order to do that you must move at least one or both of the center pawns to K4/Q4. Do this within 10 moves and you'll see how fast you develop and bring everybody to the party. The other part is improving your tactical eye. It can be used as a defensive weapon. If you see your opponent's trick, you should be able to sidestep disaster.
When the opening phase is complete, the real chess begins.
Can anyone give me some advice on a good chess book to learn openings from, I would like to improve my game and I know by strengthing my knowledge of openings will give me a better chance of winning. So if anyone can tell me some good books to buy, I would appreciate it very much.
I floundered at this game for quite a while playing other chess novices. Always I seemed to be in trouble by the 5th move, and no way to defend myself. I would try to mimic other "layouts" I had seen on the chess board, but I did not understand the purpose behind the posisitions of the pieces. Many people recommended books on specific defenses, and a trip to the book store confirmed that there were at least 15 titles on chess.
I decided to purchase the cheapest book, and it also happened to be the easiest book to read.
"Chess Openings: Traps and Zaps" http://www.amazon.com/Chess-Openings-Traps-Fireside-Library/dp/0671656902/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327980095&sr=8-1-fkmr0
I believe it is out of print now, but worth ordering from Amazon or borrowing from your local library. IIRC, there are 202 chess openings, and I was able to read 150 of them in 3 weeks before I grew bored of the book.
I would read 10 openings, go back to work, and come out fighting like a champ. Unfortunately, even though I might be up 1 or 2 pieces, I still would lose the game in the end. It took me about a year of playing multiple players, and a Radio Shack Chess computer (1992) before I could finish a game like a compentent player.
Like "TheIsolatedKing" said: "It would be good for you to learn Tatics, and not focus on openings", I agree to a point. As I said, I still couldn't play the middle and end game for almost a year, but if you make terrible mistakes in the beginning, you feel like you are fighting for your life the entire match.
"Chess Openings: Traps & Zaps" contains good openings, questionable openings, and Bad openings in it's pages. I was told to avoid the book, but very glad I read it. I presented a bad defense, told you why it was bad, and Now when someone moves in that manner, it immediately catches my attention. For $10, I don't think you'll go wrong. Each opening covers between 3 and 5 moves, with explanations and a diagram of the opening after those moves.
FireSide Chess Library also has some other books in the series that covers the middle game, and strategies. They are very easy to read, not a lot of lecture, and if you are the type of person that learns by watching, then move the pieces on the board as the book calls them out, and you'll begin to see the moves in your head.
The only other book I bought was Traps and Zaps 2 - but I never read it, I was bored with reading about chess, and it just seemed like more of the same. #1 started out with simple openings, and wide open centers, and progessed to tightly locked games. #2 seemed to jump around a lot on me, so while it showed me good openings, it didn't present 10 variations like #1 did.
I once ran in to a guy tutoring young kids at chess. I was attending a 10 week class, and it was just too far away to take my kids for lessons. During his 1/2 break between students, I sat and played, chatted and he gave me some pointers so that I could teach my children how to be good chess players. It starts with getting a checkmate, moving your pieces - not an opening. Don't get me wrong, I learned by reading a book on openings first, then banged my head for a year trying to learn the rest of the game. As you can see, I'm nothing more than an average player today, but I enjoy the game 23 years later.
Good luck in your quest!