help me improve !
Sort:
been playing for around a month and am at around 750 elo. long story short i want to get better !! but how do i do so ? i know a few basic opeings but struggle with remembering all the variations and replys. any sujestions on how to improve my game ?
Ah bless
Feb 16, 2017
0
#4
Work tactics problems, preferably an hour or more per day, either for pay here or free at chesstempo.com (I like their format best). Memorize all of the tactical motifs here: http://chesstempo.com/tactical-motifs.html
Read AND STUDY a decent all-around book like Dan Heisman's Everyone's 2nd Chess Book.
Tactics Tactics Tactics. A book on tactics like Heisman's Back to Basics: Tactics or Seirawan's Winning Chess Tactics helps you remember the patterns and techniques.
Silman's Complete Endgame Course from Beginner to Master is an excellent way to learn a little at a time.
Evans et al's old How to Open a Chess Game is a great intro to opening principles.
If you don't want to shell out money for books, there are videos here (a limited number a day for free and a huge collection of free ones on YouTube - look for collections of several videos that are essentially courses. For example there is a series of 9 "Chess Cognition" videos by International Master John Bartholomew on YouTube where he goes over the "nuts and bolts" of thinking during games. He also provides pgn files in case you want to follow along on another program and explore variations of the positions and games he presents.
Good Luck!
i have the FCO fundamentals of chess openigs book because i like he idea of getting the best possible start in any game. what would be a good book for mid game tatics etc
Time is money
"... [Fundamental Chess Openings by GM Paul van der Sterren] is not particularly suited for players who are just starting out. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2010)
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/fundamental-chess-openings
"... For beginning players, [Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms] will offer an opportunity to start out on the right foot and really get a feel for what is happening on the board. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
"... Nearly 170 pages [of The Mammoth Book of Chess by Graham Burgess are] devoted to various chess openings. This is a section most players will skim over, but it provides a good overview of a large number of openings, with many game snippets demonstrating various traps. ..." - Steve Goldberg (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093123/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review756.pdf
BENJIBANDS wrote:
... what would be a good book for mid game tatics etc
Some possibilities at various levels:
Winning Chess Play, Tactics, and Strategies by Yasser Seirawan
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/Shop/Images/Pdfs/7192.pdf
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 (1949)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
50 Essential Chess Lessons by Steve Giddins
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708100833/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review534.pdf
Chess Strategy for Kids by Thomas Engqvist
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Strategy_for_Kids.pdf
Starting Out: Attacking Play by James Plaskett
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708101549/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review467.pdf
Simple Chess by Michael Stean
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104258/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review400.pdf
Amateur's Mind by Jeremy Silman
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094419/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/ammind.pdf
Chess Secrets: The Giants of Chess Strategy by Neil McDonald
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092313/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review620.pdf
Chess Strategy for Club Players by Herman Grooten
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708101926/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review696.pdf
Chess Training for Post-beginners by Yaroslav Srokovski
https://web.archive.org/web/20140712013538/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review945.pdf
Chess Strategy: Move by Move by Adam Hunt
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093249/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review890.pdf
How to Reassess Your Chess (4th ed.) by Jeremy Silman
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708095832/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review769.pdf
Understanding Chess Middlegames by GM John Nunn
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627012322/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen154.pdf
Winning Pawn Structures by GM Alexander Baburin (1998)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140718055446/http://chesscafe.com/text/wps.txt
Understanding Pawn Play in Chess by GM Drazen Marovic (2000)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708110136/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review249.pdf
Dynamic Pawn Play in Chess by GM Drazen Marovic (2001)
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/books-of-many-flavours
Winning Chess Middlegames, An Essential Guide to Pawn Structures by GM Ivan Sokolov (2009) https://web.archive.org/web/20140708091955/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review676.pdf
Pawn Structure Chess by GM Andrew Soltis (2013)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708101523/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review908.pdf
Chess Structures - A Grandmaster Guide by GM Mauricio Flores Rios (2015)
"There is also masses of stuff in the book that made me go 'Oooh!' and 'Aaah!' so I think it will have the same effect on you! In particular, I loved Rios' exposition of White's plan of exerting queenside pressure against Hedgehog systems. I'd seen one of the games he quotes in his chapter but I'd never remotely made any link to a structured way of fighting the Hedgehog structure, so this chapter was a real eye-opener for me ... In conclusion, warmly recommended. Lots to learn!" - GM Matthew Sadler
The Power of Pawns by GM Jörg Hickl (2016)
"The didactic concept of the book is admirable. Each chapter defines the structures, explains the typical characteristics and shows the plans for both White and Black. The reader participates by assessing positions and invariably receives useful tips for practical play." - FM Harry Schaack
Python Strategy by Tigran Petrosian
http://sagarteacheschess.blogspot.com/2015/09/python-strategy-book-review.html
Petrosian’s Legacy by Tigran Petrosian (1990)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708103409/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review309.pdf
Petrosian: Move by Move by Thomas Engqvist
"Engqvist gives us a rare treat and a genuine, sympathetic understanding of one of chess' greats who nowadays tends to gets lost in the shuffle!" - Michael Ciamarra (2014)
Grandmaster Chess Strategy by Jürgen Kaufeld & Guido Kern
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093410/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review812.pdf
MickinMD wrote:
... Silman's Complete Endgame Course from Beginner to Master is an excellent way to learn a little at a time. ...
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708103149/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review594.pdf
2Q1C wrote:
This book was the first one I read. It's simple and easy to understand. Go and get it.
The Idiot's Guide to Chess (by GM Patrick Wolff) is even better.
Feb 16, 2017
0
#11
ed1975 wrote:
2Q1C wrote:
This book was the first one I read. It's simple and easy to understand. Go and get it.
The Idiot's Guide to Chess (by GM Patrick Wolff) is even better.
Dummy sounds a bit nicer, in my opinion. Dummy implies ignorance, while Idiot implies stupidity ;/
MickinMD wrote:
... A book on tactics like Heisman's Back to Basics: Tactics or Seirawan's Winning Chess Tactics helps you remember the patterns and techniques. ...
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233537/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review585.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/Shop/Images/Pdfs/2722.pdf
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
ed1975 wrote:
... The Idiot's Guide to Chess (by GM Patrick Wolff) is even better.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708110052/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review587.pdf
Possibly of interest:
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
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
I like to browse through books. Not much good for my rating, but I enjoy it. For a few years, I was librarian for a club with a very large library.