Q+A for beginners(and everyone else)

Too many questions. If some of these questions are already answered then just point to the post number.

How to exploit opponet's doubled pawns in front of enemy king?

Is just pushing my pawns into the face of enemy king a good idea? If not, then what things make a "pawn" move better than other candidate moves?

I have always heard this: castle your king to safety. What to do when my opponet doesn't castle. Or If I haven't castled then how to protect my own king?

How beneficial is solving mate in x moves puzzles?

Hey Ryan, how do you feel about Italian Opening or Scotch ( the opening, not the drink, lol) 

What Ruy Lopez variation do you recommend to Intermediate players?

A. Berlin

B. Scheliemman 

C. Steinitz

D. Fianchetto

E. Open

F. Arkangel

E. Breyer

F. Chigorin

G. Zaitzev

H. Marshall

I. Smyslov

Excluded are Exchange and Delayed Exchange variation which are must studied.

For Black

You have a number of variations on your list you might never get to play depending on what White decides to do. A better first question might be, What should my third move be as Black when White plays the Ruy Lopez? Once you get an answer, you can look up what White's likely replies are and ask or study how to proceed against each of them.

There are 11 third moves for Black that are named defenses. The only ones that are played much are the Morphy (a6), the Berlin (Nf6), the Schliemann (f5), and the Cordel (Bc5). Some players like to use oddballs like the Barnes (g6) or the Cozio (Nge7) to avoid having to learn a lot of theory, but those often don't turn out well against strong players.

That's why I don't reply 1... e5 against 1. e4. I wonder why it is recommended to play e5 against e4. 

Because it's a good move. You will have to learn some opening theory whichever good first move you chose.

I have no training at all, have not taken any of the lessons here. I just know how the pieces move and very basic openings. Having played around 300 games my rating is stuck in 850s. What aspects of my game should work on first?

Also why does the rating system punish one so severely on losing the first few games? 

rychessmaster1 is a strong player and can give you some good suggestions when he gets back. Some things I tell students at the chess school where I'm a volunteer coach are, don't play too fast, don't give your pieces away, don't ignore your opponent's moves, ask yourself what your opponent's most likely reply will be before making your move, don't touch anything on the board before deciding on your move, and remember your goals in the opening of controlling the center, developing your knights and bishops, and castling your king.

It doesn't "punish" you. 

When you join chess.com, you are assigned a rating arbitrarily. Let's say... an 800 rating. But who says you are really an 800 player? In real life, you might be a 550 player, or a 1550 player.

So in addition to assigning you an 800 rating, it also assigns you a very high RD (Rating Deviation variable). This ensures that the first few games you play will make huge changes in your rating... gaining lots of points if you win, or losing lots of points if you lose. As you play more games, your RD steadily shrinks and the number of points gained (with a victory) or lost (with a defeat) gets smaller and smaller.

The point is that your rating will rapidly rise or sink towards your true playing strength, after which it will more or less stabilize.

Nobody is being punished. You didn't EARN that 800 rating. Taking it away from you is not a punishment. It's a correction.

Tactics. Also, simple endgames.

There is an argument for studying the game in reverse order... studying endgames first, then middle-games, and openings last of all. This is because it's hard to play the middle-game properly if you don't know what a won endgame looks like; and it's hard to play the opening properly if you don't know what a favorable middle-game looks like.

But tactics will help you in all three phases of the game... opening, middle and endgame.

https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-start-out-in-chess

https://www.chess.com/news/view/a-new-years-resolution-improve-your-chess-with-new-lessons

Zaitzev has the coolest name, for sure.

But now that your opponents know that you want to play the Zaitsev, can't they easily stop you from getting to it?

Can a king castle after having been in check?

Can a king castle passing through an attacked square?

Is a pawn allowed to make a non-capturing move when he could capture?

When I play chess using a chess clock, which hand do I have to use to hit the clock button?

Who decides at which side the clock has to be placed?