newbie..

hi all..

i am new to the this site and to chess... i played vs comp today at the hard level and after a few tries i won a game.. since i do not have any theoretical knowledge of chess i wanted to know how it was (coz i think comp plays on calculations and theoretical moves so this may not be as good a game as i might think) the notations are given below... thanks

[Result "*"]

1.e4 c5 2.Qh5 Nf6 3.Qxc5 Nxe4 4.Qe3 d5 5.d4 Nc6 6.Bd3 e5 7.Nf3 exd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.c3 O-O 10.O-O Re8 11.Nd2 Bxd4 12.cxd4 Nc5 13.Qg3 Nxd4 14.Nf3 Bf5 15.Bh6 Nxf3+ 16.gxf3 Nxd3 17.Qxg7# 

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Oh I forgot to elaborate on why e5 was such a good move.  Well opening the e file was beneficial because both the e file and the a7-g1 diagonal were opened to attack your queen, which were exploited with Re8 and Bc5.  Sometimes people avoid making moves like e5 because it leaves it so the d pawn can only be defended by pieces (what is called an isolated queens pawn structure), a big weakness, but here it was absolutely correct because of your misplaced queen.

I apologize if I'm speaking at too low or high of a level, I'm not quite sure how strong of a chess player you are yet.  But frankly I don't think you played that well in this game.

Its been a while since I tested the computers, but if I recall correctly, the hard computer is good enough to drub most beginners.  You happened to get lucky, in that it randomly decided to blunder on the most critical turn possible.  While it does purposefully blunder from time to time, on hard level its blunders are not normally failure to defend against 1 move mates. 

I think you'll have a tough time winning consistently against the computer on hard, and may need to dial it down a level even, but you will learn a lot trying.

Anyway, pretty short game, Mike said most of what can be said.  Post your next game if you want more tips. 

Thanks guys for the replying and thanks Mike for the awesome analysis.... actully i first played the medium and won a few games back to back so thought i should move up .. then i was getting kicked and in poker terms i went on tilt and played that wierd opening ..lol.....anyway as i pointed out earlier that i dont have much theoretical knowledge about the postitions, moves and styles of play, which is evident from the game..so waht do you think would be a good starting point to learn..thanks again for the reply..

Good starting point to learn... hmm...

Well of course the most important thing to do is play lots and lots of chess games!  You can't learn without doing!  I think human players are a bit more fun then computer players, they're more creative, and more consistant.  A computer seems to switch between a complete genius one move and a complete idiot another move trying to handicap itself (like evidenced in this game, when it allowed checkmate in one), where humans are slightly idiotic all the time :).

After the game try and figure out where you went right and where you went wrong, and ask others for their input as well.

If you want to study, try looking up a beginners book on chess, unfortunately I skipped this part of chess study (because I played a lot) so I don't have any recommendations.  I have had good luck with the "Winning chess" series by yasser seirawan, but I never read his beginners book.  Prehaps you should make a new thread about this?

P.S: I'm always on tilt when playing poker.  Mostly because something like this happens to me every time I have pocket kings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xh-KJ2tdmk

thanks for the input mate.. and for the poker i can complety understand the pain of going in with the nuts on the flop and get a kick in the nutts on the river..lol..

I agree with Mike that playing a lot and analyzing what went right/wrong is the best way to learn.  You will need help on that from someone, or post here. 

Many beginners think they need to study the first 5-10 moves that the best use, the standard or "book" openings, that have various names.  Its not that doing so can hurt you, but it doesnt help much either.  A book on basic principles like Mike suggests would be much more useful then an opening book.

Another great way to improve is to practice tactics problems.  If you are not a payed member on this site, then tactics trainer is limited to 3 problems a day, which is not enough.  Therefore, get a free membership at chesstempo.com right away.  In addition to being great learning, its also so much fun to see your rating climb fast as you master more advanced tactics.  Many beginners can improve VERY rapidly over the first 3-4 weeks of practice there (before slowing down). 

Thanks Art for the inputs.. will register for the site...here is another game which is even shorter than the previous one but i think its better than previous (i am sure wont be as good from standard of you guys..lol) i guess it would have been better if i had played h4 before Bxh7... i guess the comp blundered again oops..

[Result "*"]

1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bd2 Bxc3 6.Bxc3 Nxe4 7.Bd3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 d5 9.Qe2 O-O 10.Bxh7+ Kxh7 11.h4 Kg8 12.Ng5 e5 13.Qh5 exd4 14.Qh7#
*

It's a "new" computer opponent (just a few days in the job) with lots of bugs, see how you do on hard in a couple of weeks.

lol..that explains it..i am just a beginner so anyways i did not expect to beat it..now also it kicks my butt more often than not....anyway no offense meant or taken.. cheers..