Don't be too ambitious early on. White has the advantage of moving first so try to equalise, develop fully, get your king safe etc before anything else.
Learning to play black?
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Should I learn more black openings than white, since black has to start reactively? What are some strong black openings you recommend?
For relevant perspective on the topic, search for the word 'repertoire' in the following article....and check out the indicated links...
Chess Openings Resources for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/openings-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell
Mar 30, 2020
0
#5
As noted above, opening principles are extremely important. How do you learn to play Black? By reading about openings, tactics and strategy then finding a defence you like. You learn to play Black the same way you learn to play White, study and practice. Strive to understand basic principles, start each game with a plan/goal and look for ways to improve your position with each move.
At higher levels, White has an advantage by moving first. However, at our lower and beginning levels this can actually be a disadvantage. Many beginners do not have a plan when starting a game and they have not read any books about openings, tactics or strategy. By playing Black and having studied these things (right?), you are in a great position to take advantage of their mistakes. When I started playing chess and when playing the computer, I preferred playing Black for these reasons. I won most games not because of my "brilliant" play, but by staying out of trouble and letting White make all the mistakes.
Good luck.
Thank you all. i just need to set up a double check rule for myself each time i make a move. its usually 5 seconds later i realize that i blundered heavily.
I would ask for some books about chess, but people say that here all the time. I'm sure i can find one.
Mar 30, 2020
0
#7
Reading a few good books is always a good idea and would likely help a lot. I would recommend several books by GM Yasser Seirawan: Play Winning Chess, Winning Chess Openings, Winning Chess Tactics, Winning Chess Strategies and Winning Chess Endings. Easy to read and covering all of the basics for beginners and intermediate players. I found them a great help and still review them from time to time. I think they would be a great help for you - for anyone.
Yes, always take a second look (to find an even better move). Start each game with a plan, but be ready to adjust it. Take the time to review each position, to really see how contemplated moves would help or hurt your position. Are you hanging a piece? Leaving yourself open to a fork or pin? Can you take advantage of a weak move by your opponent? These books show you how to look out for these situations and also how to set them up.
You might also check out some of the Black openings & repertoires courses offered on Chessable. In particular, I suggest to initially check out their course based on Vincent Moret's book "My First Chess Opening Repertoire for Black". There is also a very popular corresponding repertoire for White by Moret. Of course there is no way for me to know whether the repertoire will appeal to your style, but Moret's approach is to focus on openings that offer dynamic play, with active positions, which are easy to learn by focusing the instruction on the themes and plans of the openings as opposed to memorizing lots of variations, so that the player can be up and running, playing them relatively quickly.
https://www.newinchess.com/for-beginners?authors=627
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnmhwF0M70M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f41ZbPq9OpE
https://www.chessable.com/chess-openings/s/repertoire
Perhaps it would be a good idea to start with Discovering Chess Openings, a book about opening principles.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
For White, you might try the suggestions in My First Chess Opening Repertoire for White.
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9033.pdf
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/vincent-moret/
or Opening Repertoire 1 e4.
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7819.pdf
"... As Black, I think that [players with very limited experience] would do well … playing 1...e5 versus 1 e4 and 1...d5 versus 1 d4. … [After 1 d4 d5, if] White plays the most important move, 2 c4, inexperienced players might want to begin classically with 2...e6 followed by ...Nf6 and ...Be7 …" - IM John Watson (2010)
If that advice sounds good to you, you could look at First Steps: 1 e4 e5 and First Steps: the Queen's Gambit.
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7790.pdf
https://chesscafe.com/book-reviews/first-steps-1-e4-e5-by-john-emms/
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7652.pdf
Be sure to try to use the openings in games in between sessions of learning. Most of the time, one faces a position with no knowledge of a specific move indicated in a book. One has to accept that as part of chess, and think of opening knowledge as a sometimes helpful aid. After a game, it makes sense to try to look up the moves in a book and see if it has some indication of how one might have played better in the opening. Many opening books are part explanation and part reference material. The reference material is included in the text with the idea that one mostly skips it on a first reading, and looks at an individual item when it applies to a game that one has just played. Resist the temptation to try to turn a book into a mass memorization project. There are many important subjects that one should not neglect because of too much time on opening study.
https://www.chess.com/article/view/learning-an-opening-to-memorize-or-understand
"... Overall, I would advise most players to stick to a fairly limited range of openings, and not to worry about learning too much by heart. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
"... I feel that the main reasons to buy an opening book are to give a good overview of the opening, and to explain general plans and ideas. ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... If the book contains illustrative games, it is worth playing these over first ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... the average player only needs to know a limited amount about the openings he plays. Providing he understands the main aims of the opening, a few typical plans and a handful of basic variations, that is enough. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
"... Everyman Chess has started a new series aimed at those who want to understand the basics of an opening, i.e., the not-yet-so-strong players. ... I imagine [there] will be a long series based on the premise of bringing the basic ideas of an opening to the reader through plenty of introductory text, game annotations, hints, plans and much more. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627055734/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen38.pdf
"The way I suggest you study this book is to play through the main games once, relatively quickly, and then start playing the variation in actual games. Playing an opening in real games is of vital importance - without this kind of live practice it is impossible to get a 'feel' for the kind of game it leads to. There is time enough later for involvement with the details, after playing your games it is good to look up the line." - GM Nigel Davies (2005)
"... Review each of your games, identifying opening (and other) mistakes with the goal of not repeatedly making the same mistake. ... It is especially critical not to continually fall into opening traps – or even lines that result in difficult positions ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627062646/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman81.pdf
Thanks guys! God bless you all. I have been improving exponentially thanks to you guys!
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I’ve been playing chess for awhile (I don’t use Chess.com for online), maybe a year semiseriously, and I’ve always play White. I’m not really sure how to play as black, or all the differences between black and white. What are some good ways to get stronger at black?