What makes a good player?

I have become increasingly frustrated with the game of chess after another loss and just wanted to open this post to find what others feel make a good player in order to look at my own game and possibly come up with new methods/tactics. My frustration comes in the form of the fact im a very competitive person and that my level of improvement does not seem to warrant the time I give the game. I have studied numerous texts video's and analysed many GM matches and have come to the conclusion that perhaps Im just not naturally good at it.

What mistifies me the most about chess is that I understand there are many thousand of possible outcomes/moves after but a few player turns however the game has some general fundamentals and some do's and dont's. Generally I am ranked at about the 1450 mark but have beaten players ranked at the 1700+ mark and lost to players below 1000.

Now before people start to blast me for releasing a post of this nature just understand that as I said this is born out of frustration and the will to win...after all, although we all enjoy this sport the aim is ultimately to win. I dont expect to win...however if I put in the wrench time....why should I not improve?

So to all who read this post let me hear your views...release your chess frustrations. Or perhaps suggest a few different books/dvd's I can view, because it feels like at the moment nothing will help me. 

shifts wrote:

I have become increasingly frustrated with the game of chess after another loss and just wanted to open this post to find what others feel make a good player in order to look at my own game and possibly come up with new methods/tactics. My frustration comes in the form of the fact im a very competitive person and that my level of improvement does not seem to warrant the time I give the game. I have studied numerous texts video's and analysed many GM matches and have come to the conclusion that perhaps Im just not naturally good at it.

What mistifies me the most about chess is that I understand there are many thousand of possible outcomes/moves after but a few player turns however the game has some general fundamentals and some do's and dont's. Generally I am ranked at about the 1450 mark but have beaten players ranked at the 1700+ mark and lost to players below 1000.

Now before people start to blast me for releasing a post of this nature just understand that as I said this is born out of frustration and the will to win...after all, although we all enjoy this sport the aim is ultimately to win. I dont expect to win...however if I put in the wrench time....why should I not improve?

So to all who read this post let me hear your views...release your chess frustrations. Or perhaps suggest a few different books/dvd's I can view, because it feels like at the moment nothing will help me. 

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 What makes a good or even a great player?

My answer is 1. Talent

                   2. Hard work (as in studying) 

                   3. Extreme will to win! 

Now on talent(natural) either one has it or not!

However numbers two and three can be created,  nurtured and brought forth to very high levels. That in itself shows much hope and promise.

Just decide how much you desire to put into two and three. Then go

for it.-SIX 

I believe talent, creativity, having an open-mind and determination are keys to success in chess.

I think if you begin to think of chess as more of a game and not a sport this might help your results :) ....but on a serious note, I think the hard work element is much more important to becoming a good chess player than the talent part.  That being said, your not going to reach the master or GM level without a great deal of talent, but I think someone with the drive and determination can improve a great deal.   with a rating in the 1400's I think its more important for you to focus on tactics and planning than to go over GM games.  The moves they make will sometimes be out of your range of comprehension at this point (out of the range of most people for that matter) and not be the most useful use of your time.  I think reading a book like "how to reassess your chess" by Jermey Silman could do a lot for you game.  Going over a GM game and having it annotated has its place and time, but it doesnt show you how the players came up with those moves or what their though process was.  Silman's book will help you understand the chess board better, how the pieces interact, the imbalances during a game, and how to analyze a position to come up with a plan and how to carry it out.  Other than that, use tactics trainer, and try to look at the position and as quickly as possibly figure out whats going on in that position, who has a material advantage, are their any obvious tactics (ungarded pieces, forks, obvious mating threats, skewers, open files for rooks, weak 7th rank, passed pawns) or threats from the opposingsides? The more you play the more these themes of the board will show themselves and the more frequently you will be able to take advantage of them.   Thats my best advice. 

Adrian, are you playing specific opening lines/systems?  Your openings seem a little erratic to me.  I'm pretty new, myself.  I could be wrong.

 

What areas have you studied? 

Well to be honest I think the erratic openings are coming from the fact that Im now going through new idea's as a trial and error method of play. In fact perhaps my study of players and games more sophisticated than that of my own has somehow confused my view of the game and that a back to basic approach might be a better option for me right now.

"blast me for releasing a post of this nature"

Brother, we've all been there.

 

First, ease up on yourself.  Second, if you beat 1700s and lose to 1000s with any regularity then one problem is pretty obvious - you are totally inconsistent (or the ratings are meaningless but I'll assume otherwise.)  Clearly your 'computing engine' is good or you wouldn't be defeating 1700s.  So it would seem that if you get your inconsistency under control your rating will begin to move upward.

Why do you lose to 1000s?  Do you drop pieces? Get outplayed tactically? Run out of time?  Are you overconfident?  Get aced in the opening? Find out why you lose to people 300+ points below you and take steps to fix those problems.

 

go to groups look for ChiP chess improvment and there is some good information on improving your chess game. the group invtes you to join us and learn and share.

It is important to have lots of book knowledge. Going into a chess game cold without knowing how to counter the opening or defense employed by your opponent will most likely result in a loss. Don't get caught up trying to study too much all at once, though, you'll only confuse yourself. Learn the most common openings and their variants first as those are the ones you will most likely encounter even at very high levels of the game. Stay away from the exotic openings and defenses at first. Without experience you will end up hanging yourself. 

 

Learn to see the forest through the trees. Don't focus on individual pieces. Focus on the board as a whole. When you lock your mind into playing a particular line you can easily get thrown off by an unexpected move or overlook avenues of attack that your opponent can exploit. Before you even raise your hand to make a move you should be thinking how that move affects how the game will play out. You should also be thinking how your opponents moves will affect the game. Playing chess in some ways can be compared to seeing into the future. If you are blind to future consequences you will most likely fail to win. 

 

Learn to be on the alert for traps in the openings. Most of the time when less experienced players find themselves down a pawn, two pawns, or a minor piece in the opening it is because they failed to see a trap their opponent laid and stepped right into it.

 

Learn to recognize when you have a mating line available to you. Sometimes you have checkmate staring you right in the face and don't realize it. This works both ways. Recognize when your opponent also has a checkmating line because he may not overlook it. Sometimes you'll miss a checkmate because the position is oriented to a different side of the board than what is shown in your books. You can deliver a 'back rank' mate, for example, just as easily along the a or h files as you can along the 1st or 8th ranks. 

 

Do chess puzzles. Do them online, find a book, do them in the newspaper, but do them. Chess puzzles teach you a lot about finding those overlooked checkmates or how to get a material advantage in just a few moves. They are invaluable for sharpening your chess skills.

 

The last thing I can think of is give it time. You can't learn everything overnight. If you are a 1200 player today, you won't be playing like Kramnik or Anand in a week. It's not going to happen. If you are serious and stick with it your rating will climb naturally over time as you acquire more experience and learn more. Even the most brilliant prodigies can be beaten by a more experienced player so don't feel bad when you lose. Take the time to analyze your games to see where you went wrong and where your opponent went right so that you'll be prepared for the future. 

honest and ardour enought.

I agree with Marshal.  It sounds like the problem is more knowledge than skill.  There are a lot of ideas in chess that are not easily self evident by studying games alone.   Perhaps more so for the genius, but I read that even Fisher at a young age read all of the chess books he could get his hands on. 

 

I suspect you know a fair amount about tactics: fork, pin, skewer, discovered attacks.  But there are layers of additional knowledge (I'm just thinking out loud.  Not trying to be preachy.  I think it was smart of you to open yourself up to suggestions.):

 

Opening principles.  Move by move ideas behind specific opening systems.

 

Pawn structures:  Isolated pawns, backward pawns, doubled pawns, passed pawns. Pawn islands.  Pawn chains.  Minority attacks.   Relative strength of minor pieces based on the position.  How to create good squares for your knights and prevent good squares for you opponent's kights.   How to activate your bishops and inhibit your opponent's bishops.

 

Space.  Force.  Tempo.  Art of the exchange.  Liquidation.  Attack and defense.  

i think you should work on your tactics, i havent studied the opening at all and my rating as around 1600, i have also studied the end game a bit. ( just as a warning, i get destroyed in the opening by ratings 300+ then me lol) i plan to study other parts of the game when my tactics improve. my suggestion is to study one thing at a time until you get it to where u want before moving on.

August 8, 2008

Hello  Shifts;

I know how you feel. A Chess player with LOW ratings... is GENERALLY shunned by other good players... because of the RATINGS GAME. Remember this, a player in the ratings of 1700s' will NEVER play another player with, say, a RATINGS of 1400 +

WHY?... simple. The player with a 1700s' rating will LOSE a BIG portion of his RATING and STANDING with the community... were he to LOSE against a 1400s' player. Likewise, a player with a 1700s' rating... LOSING for instance to another player with a 2000+ ratings.. WILL NOT lose that many  points... Even IF HE LOSES.

That's the way the FORMULA works in the RATINGS GAME. Unfortunately, this world is NOT an EVEN playing field. In so many words... it's a "Dog eat Dog" world of what people call..."competition."

I hate to be BRUTALLY HONEST about this, but that is the way the "cookie crumbles". If you don't have the TALENT...... be ready to "take a back seat."

Thanks,

slim6744

Pratice

The question is put forward...WHAT MAKES A GOOD PLAYER?

Well, a good player is a COMBINATION of different TRAITS. One of these is PATIENCE. If you don't have the patience to "stick it out", how can you win? Chess is NOT a game where you can FORCE victories at will. I tried that and it doesn't work. It can lead to frustration.

Another factor in what makes a good player is TALENT. Some people have "it", and some people don't have it. Another factor is LOVE of the game itself. If you need PRACTICE... play against the computer. Don't play the "easy" route...choose the "hard" games. And then, I noticed that boards that have the colors GREEN and WHITE, and BLUE and WHITE.. have very tough games.

If you choose the colors "wood", you will most likely BEAT the computer. That would be too easy. You can't learn how to play Chess, if you continually like to play easy games. But, most important when playing games, for GOD'S sake... be PATIENT. DON'T force ISSUES. They never work. And don't be in a FRUSTRATED mood when you play. This "attitude" eventually will work against you... trust me.

Games are only won through a CORRECT analysis of the game in progress. There can be thousands of possible moves in Chess. If you feel OVERWHELMED in any one game. Take  a TIME OUT. Look at your position in the game THE NEXT DAY. I guarrantee you will see something DIFFERENT that you didn't see yesterday.

So here are the ways to win:

1. Patience.

2. Avoid FRUSTRATION.

3. Feel OVERWHELMED? Leave your game for TOMORROW. You'll see something you didn't see yesterday. That's why we are given DAYS just to figure out a simple move.

4. Play against the computer if you have the time. You can be more RELAXED... playing against the computer. The computer will NOT grade you.

5. NEVER, ever.... TRY to win a game of Chess. But DO play a well ANALIZED, careful game. Winning will take care of itself, if your moves are well thought out. Remember, don't FORCE issues. Because if you do, you could lose the game. Also, don't play Chess if you are under PRESSURE because of problems in your life. You simply WON'T be able to give the game...your BEST.

Just a thought about Chess.

Slim6744

keep dreaming

Enjoying the game and being willing to look for the best move EVERY SINGLE MOVE, always having the dedication to be attentive for the entire game and vigorously calculate as many positions as possible. In order to find the best move, solving tactical puzzles and reviewing and understanding master level games greatly helps. Something that really helped me improve when I was just a beginner was going over any game I just played and finding at least 3 things I could have done better, and keeping a record of my mistakes, going over them from time to time to make sure I was repeating any concepts (playing too passively, spending too much clock time on unsound sacrifices, etc.) but give it time and dont let frustration get the best of you

The most effective ways to improve for you are learning planning (How to Reassess your chess is an excellent book for this) and practice many tactics. Know some endgame knowledge, but it doesn't have to be too much, just be able to win pawn up endings consistently. Also, pick an opening that suits your style. By studying the openings you can pick the one which has the middlegames you like.

This is basically what I did along with applying this to my games and learning from when I did not make use of my chess knowledge in the actual game. Analyze what you're doing wrong, and you can naturally always improve from those since removing those mistakes will make you play better moves.

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I am in the same boat and I'm also frustrated, albeit I'm at a lower rating level than you and was on a 25yr. hiatus.  I am also listening attentively to the suggestions here but there seems to be some consistency in the advise given here and in my thread.

I understand your frustration but I think you really need to join a chess club and start playing over the board chess to improve. Write down your games and have someone better then you, or your chessprogram, analyse them and start working on your weak spots as soon as you know what they are. If you are new, get basic books on tactics, openings and endgame. Good luck.