Thank you! Will do!
Here's wishing you great sucess!
I did the same thing, coming back to chess in January. The Tactics Trainer here and elsewhere helped me the most.
I suggest memorizing the Tactics and Positional Motifs at these interactive sites:
https://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-tactics--definitions-and-examples
https://chesstempo.com/tactical-motifs.html
https://chesstempo.com/positional-motifs.html
Knowing the patterns and move sequences and positions by name places a "hook" in your brain that helps you recall them faster and better.
I was in your boat months back.....this site has great info.....a great starter book,don't be surprised because it's a truly wonderful read,is The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess.I followed it up with Discovering Chess Openings by Emms and have a few others lined up(Attacking The King and Simple Attacking Plans)....Btw,there is a fabulous "free" complete series of chess fundamentals by John Bartholomew,easily found on the web.....I hope the forumits who mentioned this to me reads this thread,because it's a wonderful/easy series to follow......I dropped to a meager 430(10 minute Blitz) when I started a few months back and have gone up well over 400 points by now....I know,nothing to brag about,but it has been an enjoyable journey.....Good luck.
Here's wishing you great sucess!
I did the same thing, coming back to chess in January. The Tactics Trainer here and elsewhere helped me the most.
I suggest memorizing the Tactics and Positional Motifs at these interactive sites:
https://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-tactics--definitions-and-examples
https://chesstempo.com/tactical-motifs.html
https://chesstempo.com/positional-motifs.html
Knowing the patterns and move sequences and positions by name places a "hook" in your brain that helps you recall them faster and better.
Thank you! I'll check those links out. 
I was in your boat months back.....this site has great info.....a great starter book,don't be surprised because it's a truly wonderful read,is The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess.I followed it up with Discovering Chess Openings by Emms and have a few others lined up(Attacking The King and Simple Attacking Plans)....Btw,there is a fabulous "free" complete series of chess fundamentals by John Bartholomew,easily found on the web.....I hope the forumits who mentioned this to me reads this thread,because it's a wonderful/easy series to follow......I dropped to a meager 430(10 minute Blitz) when I started a few months back and have gone up well over 400 points by now....I know,nothing to brag about,but it has been an enjoyable journey.....Good luck.
Ah, I think I own that book actually... I'll go look for it, thank you! And even if it isn't something to brag about, it's still awesome that you've managed to increase your rating by that much. Good job!
if you're looking for practice games feel free to hit me up ^^
Thank you for the offer, I'll keep this in mind.
if you're looking for practice games feel free to hit me up ^^
I was a little puzzled as to why stuzzicadenti was taking special interest in this member, then looked at OP's profile picture. Makes sense now.
if you're looking for practice games feel free to hit me up ^^
I was a little puzzled as to why stuzzicadenti was taking special interest in this member, then looked at OP's profile picture. Makes sense now.
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Hey everyone, sorry if this isn't the correct place to post this. I'm new and just made this acc so I'm not sure how this site works yet.
As the title says I'm just now getting back into chess after being on a hiatus for a couple years. In my state tournaments start up again in the Fall and I'd like to attend the first one (which is in September) for fun, but unfortunately I've kinda forgotten everything I learned. I know the basics of chess, like the rules and simple/well-known openings, but other than that I'm not sure how should I improve.
Is just playing and learning from mistakes okay or should I focus on something else and then start playing? Any recommended openings or tips and tricks? Stuff I should look up or research?
Sorry for the long-ish post. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!
Seek and Destroy. It works for me!
I'll try lol, thank you for the advice! Also, I like your profile pic of Harley Quinn.
Play some training games to get in the mindset and concentration you need to do your best in real live Over-the-Board chess games. If possible, have your training games at the same time control as the upcoming tournament. Get practice writing down the moves.
Just remember to play for fun and not to get to stressed when you lose, or to get mad at the game when you get a headache after a tournament....
Other than what has already been said here, study your games, you don't have waste a lot of time doing so, just review your games so that you can know what you did wrong and where you can improve so that you know what to work on.
Good luck in your tournaments!
Hey everyone, sorry if this isn't the correct place to post this. I'm new and just made this acc so I'm not sure how this site works yet.
As the title says I'm just now getting back into chess after being on a hiatus for a couple years. In my state tournaments start up again in the Fall and I'd like to attend the first one (which is in September) for fun, but unfortunately I've kinda forgotten everything I learned. I know the basics of chess, like the rules and simple/well-known openings, but other than that I'm not sure how should I improve.
Is just playing and learning from mistakes okay or should I focus on something else and then start playing? Any recommended openings or tips and tricks? Stuff I should look up or research?
Sorry for the long-ish post. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!