http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkmate
I don't know how to play :(
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Checkmate is all about taking opportunities your opponent gives you, and as you get better, you can learn to create such opportunities yourself. Solving tactics will strongly help you pinpoint inaccuracies in your opponents' moves and capitalise on them!
However, if you're just starting out, I'd suggest to study advanced piece movements such as skewers, forks, pins, back-rank checkmate, and the like. These will vastly improve your game and give you increased attacking possibilities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skewer_%28chess%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork_%28chess%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pin_%28chess%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-rank_checkmate
Solving chess puzzles will help as well. Not only are they beneficial to improvement, but they're also (to me) quite fun.
Please feel free to challenge me in unrated games! Totally open to play.
Funny how helpful this community is when the OP possibly might be a girl
If it's a guy the flames would be uncontrollable about now
Feb 1, 2015
0
#5
Puzzles will help you learn the patterns, but there are no really amazing ways (other than experience) to immediately recognize checkmating ideas. Visualization is important (seeing where the king will go - or which piece will block - after each check) - just getting those ideas organized in your mind will set you ahead of many opponents. But there are also a ton of patterns to learn....hopefully this will help a little:
(1) Endgame checkmates - learn how to checkmate a lone king with only a rook or a queen (plus your own king, of course). If you can do this, you can even win very complicated pawn and king endings.
(2) The Queen's the thing - remember that mating in the middlegame (when most of the pieces are still on the board) is your queen's job, so if you're doubling with a bishop or a rook, put the queen in front when you're playing for checkmate. A protected queen sitting adjacent to its opposing king is often checkmate all by itself!
(3) Pinned pawns: Pinning the pawns that are supposed to be protecting your opponent's king will 'turn off' the defenses - start noticing which pawns are doing work for your opponent and which pawns only LOOK like they're working this will give you an idea of where to put your pieces in order to attack.
(4) Buzzards: Calculation is the lifeblood of chess, so I would *never* advise that you avoid calculating.....but, at the same time, you don't necessarily have to calculate to checkmate in order to start an attack - if you see an opportunity to safely put three or more pieces near your opponent's king, do it! If your opponent will allow a flock of buzzards to circle, the monarch will fall soon enough.
(5) Two of a kind: For whatever insane geometric reason, it's easier to checkmate with two bishops or two knights than it is with a bishop and a knight.....take that for whatever it's worth, and keep it in mind when you trade.
(6) Queen and knight: Finally, the very most general of all the ideas on this list, the old grandmaster combination of queen and knight - according to infinite years of chess study, queen and knight is superior to queen and bishop if you are trying to checkmate. The reason is that the knight can cover both color complexes as well as perform the only type of movement in chess that the queen cannot. Always consider concrete ideas over this squishy generalization, but, in general, remember that queen and knight is considered a winning combination.
I hope this helps. Send a challenge if you'd like to play :)
Feb 1, 2015
0
#6
Also, I looked at a couple of your games, and the fact that you play Alekhine's defense makes me feel warm and fuzzy....it's a favorite of mine (though I play Sicilian these days)
Feb 1, 2015
0
#7
AlisonHart wrote:
You have some really good tips there. A few things I haven't seen before.
Also, I looked at a couple of your games, and the fact that you play Alekhine's defense makes me feel warm and fuzzy....it's a favorite of mine (though I play Sicilian these days)
AlisonHart wrote:
(1) Endgame checkmates - learn how to checkmate a lone king with only a rook or a queen (plus your own king, of course). If you can do this, you can even win very complicated pawn and king endings.
Doesn't sound that complicated to me...
Oh you mean a king and pawn endgame where one side has an extra queen? 
pilotk9 wrote:
Funny how helpful this community is when the OP possibly might be a girl
If it's a guy the flames would be uncontrollable about now
True that!
Feb 1, 2015
0
#10
I'm glad I could make you feel big today, leiph....it's my purpose in life =P
Case and point
Alive will have some competition not being the only hot female poster anymore
pilotk9 wrote:
Funny how helpful this community is when the OP possibly might be a girl
If it's a guy the flames would be uncontrollable about now
Don't be so cynical. I've seen lots of new players and never seen one who was actually wanting to learn get flamed.
Feb 1, 2015
0
#13
As a super radical feminist, I have to wonder: Why do we need to make this thread about being (or not being) a girl?
Feb 1, 2015
0
#14
For the OP: I looked at your game and came up with some things....I'm not sure if it will help, but I hope so. Happy playing!
AlisonHart wrote:
I'm glad I could make you feel big today, leiph....it's my purpose in life =P
Haha, just being a dork, don't mind me.
Hello, I am sorry for not posting until now, I don't want to seem unappreciative or let the good advice here go to waste. I've been sick and not online much and I didn't notice notifications until now. Thank you everyone for posting and for your time and advice.
I have a lot to read so one second please...
Equiv - thank ayou for the link and chess game!
whichoneistheking - wow, so many terms! :s They should offer courses on this in college.... Thank you for the links, I'll be sendingyou a challenge after I get to studying.
AlisonHart - I want to practice endgame checkmates now! I am buying a board ASAP so I can put the pieces ready for end game. Thank you so much for all your great advice (which I will have to reread several times, it's like reading a foreign language and everytime I reread it I can better understand and learn from it). And for the annotations, I am very touched that you took the time to look at my match and break it down with pointers and suggestions! (: I feel like I owe you your next month of premium or something. I hope it's okay if I send you a friend request. I have two on going games at the moment but I hope your offer for a challenge is still available when I'm done getting my butt kicked (*ahem ahem* learning).
A_L_I_V_E - Wow, neat video, thank you, I will rewatch and keep telling myself those words. I just played a game and won thinking my opponent had resigned. It wasn't until my boyfriend took a look and told me I did a checkmate that I reviwed it and confirmed that my opponent's king had no where else to go. (I suspect my opponent let me win to end the game quickly because he or she cornered their king despite having lots of alternative moves available). I guess I'm not very clear on the conept yet because when I watch others play sometimes I either mind blown or puzzled that they were able to do a checkmate. Maybe my instinct confuses the game with checkers thinking the king can get eaten. But the video you linked me helps make it clear.
Best way to learn it to keep playing, and know what you are actually doing.
Merely moving pieces without any plan will not improve your game. "Failing to plan is planning to fail."
Initially stick to the basic stuff:
- opening : control the center, develop pieces and castle. Avoid moving pieces twice, avoid attacking.
- middle game: think of a plan, but usually that is near impossible for a beginner. Most important is do not make 1 move blunder. Do not play hope chess. Try to survive, as most <1000 games are decided by these 1 move blunders.
You can actually ask any ~1500 rated player what you are doing wrong, since the mistakes a <1000 make are most of the time obvious, and usually they can comprehend beginner's thoughts better than much higher rated players.
Feb 4, 2015
0
#19
You're very welcome - chess is a very thick jungle (it may even get thicker as you study more), and it's hard to know where to start. If I could go back in time and change one thing about how I started studying, it would be ENDGAMES....I thought they were 'boring', so I avoided them.
The fact that you want to study endings puts you way ahead of most beginners - because a ton of low-rated games are decided by a big material advantage, and the easiest way to win when you have any material advantage is to just trade everything and win the ending...it's pretty satisfying to bleed someone for 50 moves.
So, yes, try to find a basic endgame book - I bought Yasser Seirawan's 'Winning Chess Endings' in a bargain bin for $1, so this doesn't have to be a big investment in money as long as you're willing to invest a little time. Happy playing!
Feb 4, 2015
0
#20
Why is it that you guys send beginners other places to learn chess.
When it is right here in "LEARN" the second choise on the top line.
Click on it and then choose "Study PLANS"
You have many things you want to learn.
Follow the plans and you will be OKAY. Here is the link.
http://www.chess.com/article/view/study-plan-directory
Hi. So I don't really know how to play chess... well I know how the pieces move, I know how to castle, and I know the goal of the game. But I don't know how to checkmate. :(
Would anyone mind playing an unrated game with me or two and giving me some pointers? Also if you have any links helpful to a newbie I would very much appreciate that!