Tips for a beginner please!
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MiaUnicorn
Nov 21, 2016
0
#1
[COMMENT DELETED]
I'm a beginner myself, but the best tip is use the tactics trainer and lessons offered here on Chess.com. Learn the basics like development, tactics, keeping your king safe, and then just play. Preferably a time control where you have time to think your moves through. But mainly one you enjoy playing, some like fast games, some slow.
Some good chess books for those who have not yet added "Master" to their chess title....
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond
Possibly helpful:
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
Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://www.mongoosepress.com/excerpts/OpeningsForAmateurs%20sample.pdf
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
They best book for you right now would be
1. "Winning chess strategys for kids" by Jeff Coakley. (It might seem like a cheesy title but it's very helpful for a new player)
2. "Play winning chess" by Yessar Seiriwan. You should be able to get this book free in a pdf download.
3. "How to reasses your chess" by Jeremy Silman (might be a little advanced for you right now but in the future it's a good book to have)
Nov 21, 2016
0
#11
Play Daily chess. When you are able to play chess without making terrible blunders, you could start playing faster time control.
MiaUnicorn wrote:
That's great you are a star thank you RussBell!! x
Welcome. Study the fundamentals and you will surely improve. Good luck!
bong711 wrote:
Play Daily chess. When you are able to play chess without making terrible blunders, you could start playing faster time control.
Playing fast time controls (e.g., Bullet, Blitz) will not help you to get better at chess. Employing good fundamentals and taking time to think about what you are doing will....
This thread may interest you...about "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess" (the book).....
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/bobby-fischer-teaches-chessa-review?page=1
Hello Mia,
During the past year, I was teaching chess (including to complete beginners) as a part-time job alongside my studies and I have following advice for you based on this experience.
- Get a good chess book for beginners. Aside from the elementary stuff (i.e. how pieces move, what is their value, basic checkmating techniques, etc.) good chess book for beginners should definitely have the following topics: opening principles (i.e. development, fight for centre, etc.), basic tactical patterns (forks, skewers, pins, etc.), basic attacking patterns (against f7/f2, king in the centre, same castling, opposite castling) and some basic endgame strategy (pawn endgames, simple light pieces endgames and simple rook endgames). Furthermore, good chess book should focus on understanding chess, rather than on memorising. So when purchasing a chess book, look first whether it includes these things. Unfortunately, I cannot give you advice on which book in particular would be the best, as I am not familiar with English-written beginner's books.
- Tactics training. As soon as you go through the basic tactical patterns, you should start with tactics training. Personally, I am not overly fond of the tactics trainer on Chess.com, mainly because it includes a time-limit for solving the problems. In my opinion, this is not a good thing for beginners, as it forces you to try to find the solution/play the move fast, which is a bad habit especially for over-the-board games. I would suggest using Chesstempo.com for this purpose as it's both free and contains no time limit. It is advisable to do tactics on everyday basis (approximately 3-5 problems per day are the best amount) as this will make your tactical vision increase considerably in the long term.
- Game playing & analysis. You should play regularly, but keep in mind the following things. First, you should play longer time controls; short ones are not going to make you improve much - they're mainly for fun. For improvement, you should play games with time control of at least 30 minutes per game or equivalent). In any case, the best thing would be to find a local chess club near your place of residence and find out whether they play any tournaments there, or just find someone to play with there. In case that you are unable to find a chess club near the place you live, then you still can play online, but really try to play longer time controls and do not rush. You should write down records of your games and analyze them later, especially those you've lost, as that will help you to eliminate the mistakes you do the most. It is especially important to be able to determine the causes of your losses, as this will be very beneficial in eliminating the problems in your play. In case that you are unable to understand why you are losing, then it would be a good idea to get some coach who will be able to analyse your games for you and explain what went wrong. I would advise against using a chess program, as program will tell you what moves you did wrong, but doesn't explain why - which is not particularly helpful.
I hope my advice is not too intimidating.
Vit