Recent Game I lost with my thoughts. Looking for advice on where to go from here. What to focus on
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"... for those that want to be as good as they can be, they'll have to work hard.
Play opponents who are better than you … . Learn basic endgames. Create a simple opening repertoire (understanding the moves are far more important than memorizing them). Study tactics. And pick up tons of patterns. That’s the drumbeat of success. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (December 27, 2018)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/little-things-that-help-your-game
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
"... In order to maximize the benefits of [theory and practice], these two should be approached in a balanced manner. ... Play as many slow games (60 5 or preferably slower) as possible, ... The other side of improvement is theory. ... This can be reading books, taking lessons, watching videos, doing problems on software, etc. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627084053/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman19.pdf
"... If it’s instruction, you look for an author that addresses players at your level (buying something that’s too advanced won’t help you at all). This means that a classic book that is revered by many people might not be useful for you. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2015)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-best-chess-books-ever
Here are some reading possibilities that I often mention:
Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
http://dev.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Simple-Attacking-Plans-77p3731.htm
Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1948)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
Back to Basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233537/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review585.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-back-to-basics-tactics
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5856bd64ff7c50433c3803db/t/5895fc0ca5790af7895297e4/1486224396755/btbtactics2excerpt.pdf
Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Chess Endgames for Kids by Karsten Müller (2015)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf
A Guide to Chess Improvement by Dan Heisman (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105628/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review781.pdf
Studying Chess Made Easy by Andrew Soltis (2009)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090448/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review750.pdf
Seirawan stuff:
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092617/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review560.pdf
noahmarkewitz11 wrote:
... Have never really studied the sicilian defense ... IS there any good recommendation on how to simply proceed from here without studying hours of theory? ...
For post 1 e4 c5 advice, maybe consider My First Chess Opening Repertoire for White,
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9033.pdf
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/vincent-moret/
Opening Repertoire 1 e4,
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7819.pdf
or Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014).
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Might want to look at Amateur's Mind by Jeremy Silman.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094419/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/ammind.pdf
https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/amateurs-mind-the-2nd-edition/
If you want to play against the Sicilian (as white), use the chess.com database to review some of Bobby Fischer's games. He played this opening a lot; you could probably find some ideas for the future.
Your problem was hardly opening related - yes you lost a pawn immediately out of the opening but that's not such a big deal. You made quite a few 1-2 move mistakes which is what really needs improvement (you have identified most of them: Nxe6??, Bd6?!, etc.)
Try doing some tactics regularly (tactics trainer on chess.com is good for you since you are premium!, otherwise I'd suggest chesstempo or lichess tactics and/or getting a tactics book). You will see far more improvement if you did say 10-20 tactics a day consistently for a month (this is also MUCH better than doing 300-400 tactics in one day but only doing it once a month) over studying openings (which is pointless at your level imo)
Playing over sample games is a commonly suggested improvement activity. Some books enable one to combine this activity with a little opening education.
nrtaylor210 wrote:
If you want to play against the Sicilian (as white), use the chess.com database to review some of Bobby Fischer's games. He played this opening a lot; ...
But I do not think that his approach could be described as what one could do "without studying hours of theory".
Jun 19, 2019
0
#9
noahmarkewitz11 wrote:
5...a6
Have never really studied the sicilian defense but was planning on developing and then castling queen side, and then pawn storm on king side. IS there any good recommendation on how to simply proceed from here without studying hours of theory.
If you play 3.d4 then you're going to need a pretty good amount of theory. Black has tons of different setups.
If you want less theory consider 3.Bb5 or 3.Nc3
6.Bc4 is usually not a good development square unless the opponent's pawn is on e5. Otherwise they can play e6 and even d5 to blunt / gain tempo on the bishop.
noahmarkewitz11 wrote:
10.Qd3
attacking his knight to move.
In the opening it's better to think in terms of putting your pieces on good squares. If you attack a piece at the same time, that's fine, but first you should be happy with the square it sits on. In the game you end up moving the queen 3 times in a row in the opening which isn't ideal.
noahmarkewitz11 wrote:
15.Nxc3
to be honest at this point I really did not have a plan just moved the pawn up to recapture with the knight to maybe try and bring the knight a little more into the game
Yeah, it's hard to pick a plan when you're behind. Making your pieces as active as possible is the only real guide, so trying to get the knight to c3 is fine.
noahmarkewitz11 wrote:
17...f6
I was looking for some kind of tactic to take the pawn with the knight and then open up a check with the queen where I double attack the king and the rook. I realize now If I had went with D5 that would worked. I went with E6 because I thought that was like the anchor pawn and if I take that his position would fall apart.
Avoiding losing material like this will have a better affect on your results than knowing 1000 lines of opening theory.
noahmarkewitz11 wrote:
23.Bd6
I knew this move was bad as soon as I played it. My thought was I should add attackers on the dark square bishop but I totally forgot he could just take it and since I am down material trades are not good for me.
Yeah.
Since you already know your big errors (and since this game had big errors) it's not very instructive to comment on. Kudos for presenting a game you lost, but I think a game that was a little closer, where you weren't sure of your mistakes would be better.
Jun 21, 2019
0
#10
Tactics generally involve some sort of double attack. You mentioned breaking up your opponent's center pawns and targeting the undefended rook. But you overlooked several ways that Black was able to defend the rook, so your tactic failed.
I agree with the suggestion that more tactics training will sharpen your game. Don't race through the problems. Do some calculation. Anticipate your opponent's replies. Verify that the tactic works.
You did have a tactic: