Where Should I Begin?
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I'm really new at chess and I'm not really sure where to start. There were so many things to learn in chess, and I don't really know what to learn first. I want to get better, specifically in analyzing the board and get rid of my tunnel vision, so that I don’t get blunder a lot loll.
Extra: I'm 18 rn, one of my friends who also into chess said that it's too late to learn chess in the very beginning when I'm already 18. Is it true?
6 hrs ago
0
#2
Learn exactly how to think in the opening, middlegame and endgame — this is what I teach.
Always blunder-check your moves.
Solve tactics in the right way.
Analyze your games.
Study games of strong players.
Learn how to be more psychologically resilient.
Work on your time management skills.
Get a coach if you can.
6 hrs ago
0
#3
No. That's not true. If that were true, no one would stay in school at age 18.
4 hrs ago
0
#4
No it's not true. Starting as an adult it's less likely you will become a grand master, but it's still very likely with some work you can get into the top 1%.
My advice is to be patient with yourself and play more games. I'm seeing 22 games when I look at your profile. So keep playing, review your games afterwards to see where you went wrong and make mental notes. Good youtube resources for you might be Chessbruh's Habits series where he walks you through good habits to win games starting at beginner level and working his way up. I'd also take a look at any of Daniel Naroditsky's speed runs - he does a really good job explaining his thought process.
Watch GothamChess' How to Win and How to Lose at chess series, along with Hikaru's Master Slowkaru Speedrun. I recommend the Caro Kann Defense against e4 (GothamChess covers this, I like bf5 standard instead of c5 botvinnik carls/gotham caro kann) and Indian Game against d4. As White, I would play the London System at your level. Always look for checks, captures, and attacks in each position; look for hanging pieces and pawns, and don't hang these yourself. You can get to 1000 just by taking advantage of free pieces/checkmates and not giving away free pieces/checkmates yourself. Use chess.com puzzles, or lichess unlimited puzzles. After each game, deeply analyze, either with game review or self analyze. In the future, when you pass 1000, start looking at the engine's recommendations; see what you would play, and examine why that was not correct. I personally use this method; the engine can teach you some important lessons. You should also study pawn play; study and implement pawn breaks to your advantage. Lastly, study endgames; get your king active in endgames. Try to calculate in your games to avoid blunders, and to even develop a strategy. Use chess.com's free engine to learn openings. Learn the variations of the Caro Kann/Indian Game. Still, openings do not matter that much at the beginner's level. Play one quality 15+10 game per day, use the above plans, and you should improve. Good luck with your chess journey! (Also note that as you improve and your play evolves, you should try different methods and openings that work best for you. Chess is a game of exceptions as well! Although we tell beginners to castle and develop, you may be able to break those rules in the future. For now, play solid chess!)