roadblock

How about videos instead of books? ChessNetwork had in the days a great series for beginner it's actually what got me into this game.

Highly recommend this Joseph Henry Blackburne video. A legend in the romantic period of chess, with crazy sacrifices. It's not an instructional video, but quite inspirational. Think you'll enjoy it, as much as I did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TCBa-en-fw&t=2034s

@dokerbohm

I just want to put this out there. Playing 1000 10 minute games plus more than 2 000 even shorter games in a year is not something that will help you get better too much. Some people can do it, but the majority of us are not like that.

Instead of that many games, you could play one 30 minute game per day for instance, or even a longer one, and really use your time (let's s say that 15|10 is the absolute minimum, but I would actually consider longer games than that).

On top of that, if improvement is really important, then you need to invest the rest of your free time in trying to learn chess stuff. So either books, or videos or something like that. On top of that, you need to get the most out of the games you are playing, and that means going through them.

For now, it wouldn't be much more than blunder checking, AKA trying to see why the evaluation shifts from 0.3 to 3.5. But if you combine it with trying to learn about chess concepts, and the more you do it, the better at analysis you will be.

I understand that perhaps you do not have the will for all that, and that is of course a valid reason not to do it.

In the end, if you actually enjoy playing, you could completely forget about improvement and just play.

Of course, if you don't feel like playing, sure, maybe something else is better for you. In that case, all the best to you.

@dokerbohm, I looked at your most recent game. It popped Emanuel Lasker, Common Sense in Chess into my head. You really need to read that book.

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/common-sense-in-chess

well i couldn't stay away much longer than a week -- i guess i am addicted to this game -- plus iam doing very badly at poker which is any vice i have -- so i will on this Saturday morning start back up here -- thanks for advice on the book - i have read a couple  of chess books but iam afraid they all are not making sense to me or are hard to read and comprehend  - they mostly talk what to look out for instead of giving me basic instructions and what to do -- i understand the concepts thinking parts - but what i need is actual wining thinking instructions to follow - the big picture thinking is beyond my old fixed brain -  so i will try a couple more books  after i sell these ones i have read first - i have a new tight budget since i lost at poker for a whole week -- so back to the games here i guess --  maybe something in those two books i read will kick in --who knows old dogs may a trick left in the bag 

doker bohm

played for 30 min. lost most - in five min games - off to another pursuit this morning might be back this afternnoon going to try web site here given see what it has to say

Welcome back Dokester!!! I knew you wouldn't leave us. A short break is good for the  psyche.

Books shmooks.  Chess videos on youtube are way more enjoyable.  I recommend Johnathan Schrantz vids on St. Louis Chess Club.

Give 'em hell Doke!

monday morning - nothing new  downward scope -- 2 wins three losses - depressing for sure 

well try again later this morning -  trying a none move strategy- but its not working at all -- will try it for rest of day to see if i can turn around 

new way of playing not working either  so back to original plan   try a few more games then  giving up for day 

Hey dokerbohm do you know any openings?

This game doesn't make sense:

https://www.chess.com/game/live/73695764969?username=dokerbohm

You should try to learn one opening, h6, a6 and the rooks moves are just terrible. At least try e6, d6 and play with your bishop and knights first if you want to win.

I see that you didn't toss in the towel, and still going at it. Doker style, but hey, primary thing is to enjoy playing.

nope not again another lossing night   and now to the bottom we go - maybe tomorrow- the towel i wish i could toss in but i guess its the punishment i enjoy loss after loss after loss   i can't just stop - addicted to pain i must be 

dismal mornings come and go - well they mainly just come and and stay another disappointed morning  well maybe this afternoon will be better off to poker now hope i do better there

thursday night again not so good - couple wins but more losses still at-very very bottom -  maybe things will be different tomorrow why? i don't know but i can hope -- like playing the lottery

Over the past year you've tested your own way of playing to destruction, and found it doesn't work. So you need to change your methods.

If you want to improve you need to take the excellent advice offered by many in this thread, especially Snookslayer who has been especially kind and patient. Take the advice offered and, most importantly, stick with it. Don't play a few games and then give up, going back to your normal way of playing because that's failed you.

The one bit of advice I would give is that before you make your moves don't be so invested in carrying out your own plan that you ignore what your opponent is up to. You should look at their last move and ask why did they do that and what are they threatening to do next, and how can you stop them.

Good luck.

Hi Doker, I've read your entire blog thread.

1. There is no magic key or trick opening to chess which will help you to win. You will never find one and it's greedy and stupid to try. The ONLY way to improve at chess is to improve at chess. It is not a game of luck, or a lottery. It feels that way to you because you are mostly randomly moving pieces since you have no idea what to do and you don't bother even looking for a good move. The person who is more patient, careful and thoughtful, who follows basic principles, will win.

2. As Kratuu just mentioned, the advice you have been given about how to move your pieces in the opening, playing longer time controls & more slowly to avoid blunders, not moving the pawns in front of your king exposing it to attack, etc, IS how to improve at chess. Those rules apply to everyone, including you. You are bad at chess because you refuse to follow these unwritten RULES of chess. You can either start doing those things and stick with it, or you can give up, go back to your old ways of coming up with unsound openings, premoving, etc, and be in the basement forever.

3. Stop using your age or temperament as an excuse for refusing to learn from your mistakes. Plenty of older people are able to learn to play chess decently, there is a retirement social club in my town specifically for it and the people who improve are the people who put in the effort to change the way they play based on good advice. There is nothing wrong with just playing for fun and not caring about learning anything, but you claim to want to learn. If you truly wanted to improve, you would start following the advice and stick with it. You're not an exception to the rules, it's not that they "don't work for you", it's that you're not following them. They're not difficult to remember.

DO move your centre pawns forwards, then move your knights (not onto the edge), then your bishops, then castle, then move your queen. The only time you may do something out of this sequence, is if they put a valuable piece diagonally in front of one of your pawns, in which case you may capture the piece with your pawn, and then immediately return to completing the sequence.

Castle, and then DO NOT move any of the three pawns in front of your king at any point, unless you are about to put a bishop on the space directly in front of your king- this is called a fiancetto (in which case you may move only the central pawn in front of your king, and only 1 square forwards).

DO NOT play any time controls faster than 10 minute rapid, DO NOT premove anything ever, including an opening, and DO NOT fail to actually USE your time to find a good move/avoid a blunder. I have seen you play 10 minute games and lose terribly within 3 minutes. The whole point of a slower game is to STOP and THINK before you move. LOOK at your pieces to see if any of them are being attacked. LOOK at their pieces to see if you can capture any of them. Check to see if a square is under attack by any enemy piece BEFORE moving your queen there. Do this before EVERY SINGLE MOVE.

Chess is a 2 player game and your opponent is a conscious human being who also wants to win. So LOOK at the move the opponent just played. DO NOT ignore what they are doing. Does it attack anything? Is the bishop now pointing directly at your queen? Is the thing they are attacking undefended? If so, then either move that piece, or use a low value piece such as a pawn to block their line of sight, or see if YOU can actually capture their piece which is now attacking. If they aren't attacking anything, you can THEN ignore their move and make your own GOOD move. Always remember that it is their turn next after you play yours- so are you putting one of your pieces right into harm's way? Before you play the move, LOOK to see if the square you are about to put something on is under attack by any of their pieces, because if it is, then they might capture your piece on their turn. Also LOOK to see whether the move you are about to make will expose one of your valuable pieces to an attack.

NEVER resign. Your win rate would go up dramatically if you stop resigning EVER. Do not resign out of frustration because you lost a piece or didn't get something you wanted. Do not resign because you assume the other player can beat you since they took advantage of your blunders. They're "bottom feeders" too, they will blunder next and you will be there waiting and ready to take advantage.

If I lived on the same continent as you, I would offer some beginner lessons in person, but I don't. If you want to, you can play a "daily" game with me, which is set to allow a maximum of 1 week for each move. In that game, you could talk to me in the chat and I can help you go through the entire checklist before every single move you play, so you can get into good habits.

I see that in your last games you applied my advice on the opening and it's actually pretty good, unfortunately you lost because of a blunder, tough, okay so my next advice would be to try to always protect your pieces and to castle as soon as humanly  possible.

So for instance only develop your pieces on one side of the board, after 1.e4 or 1.d4, for Nc3 and move one bishop out at a safe square so that you can castle. The goal is to have a safe king AND to not move too many pieces to minimize blunders.

It may be a little advanced you can instead do more tactics if it's easier for you.

I mean you do what you want obviously but it would be awesome if at the end of your notebook we see a positive improvement.

yes you are right i first  tried out right side development  only for a while then i  started losing a lot after winning alot -- so iam now completely confused as to middle development or side build up in defense mode -- 

sat morning won a few games but mainly won cause of the major blunders my opponents  made not because i did anything right -- cause they were worse than me --if that is possible -- that's the way it is here at the very bottom -- he who makes less blunders  wins --not doing something right-- but then i gotten so much helpful info here today my old man's head is spinning - will be back just before supper big storm coming in and i have to secure the deck stuff and make sure the backup sump pump  is working   off till then see you and thanks all for helpful advice 

doker bohm 

There's nothing for it, Doker is still insisting to me via DM that there is a hidden key to becoming good at chess without following any of the principles clarified through centuries of trial and error, @gothamchess I'm going to need you to make a video titled "The Tragedy of Doker Bohm".