I don't want to learn because of this

Hi all, I'm very new to chess, but there is a thing that bothers me a lot and prevents me from learning to play chess - the Game explorer on this website (and other similar services and databases on other websites or in programs).

If you use it, why learning to play chess then, if you can just look which turns the game explorer offers to you and choose? And, on the other hand, why learning to play chess, if the game explorer moves will always be equal or better than the moves that you were planning by yourself? All the moves in chess already calculated until turn 20 or 30, so why even bother playing by yourself, if you can just use databases? I do not understand this.

Yep, you should play another game, bye.

Play 960 games if you don't like to study openings

try to play live chess instead - here you cannot and may not use opening explorer you are on your own. here you need to draw on your memory and your feel for a good move and basic opening principles.

besides you may have the worst position if you only use opening explorer for all moves in the opening without having a basic understanding of chess and pawn formation and what will you do as soon as the opening explorer runs out of moves?

If you don't like the Game Explorer itself, and it's not the fact that it's allowed in correspondence, then I'll give you some food for thought: The Game Explorer is meant to be used in two ways; namely, (a) accessed from the learn tab, to help you learn openings, and lines and continuations, or (b), accessed during a correspondence (online) chess game, for the same reason.

It's not meant to help you cheat, as it does not give you an unfair advantage.  Remember, the database is based off of grandmaster's games, and first of all, we're not grandmasters, as we make mistakes, and second, grandmasters also make mistakes.  We're all human. :-D

Many, many grandmaster games are played along the same lines. I think the Morphy defense to the Ruy Lopez is one of the more iconic examples of something where every move is choreographed in several variations until move 25 or so. But every move introduces more possibilities and therefore more opportunities for deviation, and, with the number of possibilities growing so exponentially with each subsequent move, every game - no matter how theoretical or 'by the book' - eventually acquires its own unique identity....an identity SO unique that it can truly be said that NO OTHER CHESS GAME has ever occurred along these lines.

as someone who plays a lot of theory, you can look at my rating and realize that just knowing what books say is the 'right move' guarantees you nothing.

Yeah.  Agree with post #8.  For instance, in a database, there could be a good win percentage and a majority of players with a move like a3, but it could be completely counter-productive in the position you have.

Thanks, but I've tried to find the rule you mentioned in 1., and I did not manage to. Where is it said that it is not allowed to use game databases in live games?

"Complicated mathematical calculations are a result of the synthesis of simple theories. The opposite is true of chess where theory is an abstraction, a generalization of experiences gained in the playing of actual games. The primary element is the living game which is the foundation of all chess theory." - Richard Reti

For your viewing pleasure, Reti's game while is was 'living'. Nine moves of theory (or, at least, respectable, database-approved opening play) followed by several moves of deviant calculation. It's a classic, and it proves that you can play the main line of something and STILL sac both rooks in the opening for an insanely dynamic checkmate. 

AlisonHart, I wish I had your penchant for theoretical study. Maybe I wouldn't have to think & work so hard in the openings if I had studied them. Most of the time I'm solving stuff right from the start. I'll have to learn them if I want to go up another level. Kamskys repertiore most likely.

NaviePokoy, there's a bright side to all this so you needn't worry too much, it won't ruin the fun. At your level & possibly all the way to class A or expert (some will tell you B or C level but it varies I guess) you actually don't have to learn any openings to do well & enjoy chess. Learn basic opening principles like quick development (getting your pieces off the back row & into the battle), try very hard to control the center (this means attack & occupy the central squares with more pieces than your opponent), castle early to protect your king & bring a rook into battle. If you learn pawn structures you'll be able to play all kinds of positions without memorizing anything or using a database.

If you think all you have to do to play chess is use the explorer database, then you do not understand the logic of chess. The database simply shows you what kinds of moves strong players play. It's up to you to try and understand why those moves are good. That is the point of the database. It is simply a learning tool. Just ignore it until you begin to understand what features make a move relatively better than others. Until you begin to understand what makes a good move, then the explorer database is literally meaningless for you.