study main concepts, then openings, then middle game, then endgame. Openings teach you concepts leading into middle, middle teaches you concepts leading into end
What "order" to study in?
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if I may sound completely stupid, by main concepts, do you mean tactics (forking, pinning etc)?
If you want to advance as a serious player you'll start with the endgame. That's the part of the game where you finish your opponent off. Endgames kill, and you'll need to learn this, the earlier the better. When you know how to finish them off, you'll have better ideas in the middlegame and opening as to what pieces you want to keep on the board and what you want to exchange, which files you want to open or keep closed, etc. After the endings, learn basic tactics--like the Bxh7+ sac (mostly seen in the French), the double-Bishop sac from Lasker--and go over Morphy's games, especially the N-odds and blindfold games. He'll show you how good activity can destroy weak defenses, and you'll probably see the same or similar defenses played by players at your level. The opening is the last part you'll need to address--if you understand middlegames and endgames, good openings moves seem to come naturally. Being expert at the opening is only required when you reach a very high level. But whatever you choose to start with, work hard at it--the hard work will pay it's own rewards.
Could you point me in the right direction to start studying endgame?
Smartyy, you're a diamond member. There are plenty of endgame videos on this site. Start with king and pawn, then rook and pawn--you'll be glad you did. Oh, and don't play blitz--it'll really hurt your game, especially at your level.
If you start with anything but tactics then it will be a waste of time. Not knowing tactics is like not knowing how the pieces move. Studying openings and endgames won't help if you don't know tactics. After tactics I would suggest studying the proper thought process. There are a lot of novice nook articles on that.
I would suggest basic endgames. And some tactics (forking, pinning, etc).
And just play a lot, mainly slow time controls or online chess.
Blitz is okay. It's not as quick as bullet. It gives you enough time to think but still have a short time limitation.
Basic checkmates first. Then tactics. Then openings. Finally endgames.
Westron wrote:
study main concepts, then openings, then middle game, then endgame. Openings teach you concepts leading into middle, middle teaches you concepts leading into end
no.
Basic checkmates. Of course this is essential and learning endgames before this would be pointless (you must be able to checkmate K+Q and K+R).
Go into basic endgames I suggest capablancas chess fundamentals.
I teach my beginner students K+P v K, square of pawn, 'Untouchable' pawn structures, and creating past pawns.
Mix this with learning some tactics, I suggest polgars chess tactics for champions, so you learn all the different types of tactics.
Once you have a hold of basic tactics start solving puzzles online, try to do 5 a day, more if you really want.
Learn some basic positional ideas. Such as the value of each piece, importnce of development and castling. Open files. Outposts etc.
Lookover some master games, I suggest morphys for their simplicity to see how to effectively use all your pieces to attack.
having a handle on this stuff is enough to get 1300 imo.
Forget openings for now, they do not matter, and noone you play will likely follow a mainline anyway, just develop your pieces.
Begin with endgames to understands why the other aspects are important.
Endgames don't matter if you don't know tactics and basic checkmates.
Follow the sequence in José Capablanca, Chess Fundamentals. First, basic checkmates. Then, basic pawn endings. Followed by tactics with emphasis on common checkmate patterns, and then general opening principles. Cabablanca follows that with more endings, more middle game tactics, further opening ideas, and so on.
There is no sequence better than found in Capablanca's classic text.
It just like the way that authors write books--they start at the ending, then work backwards to write the story. Chess is not different. Karpov, Capablanca, and others have recommended starting with the endings, with Capablanca justifying it by stating that while the opening must be studied in relation to the middlegame, and the middlegame must be studied in relation to the ending, the ending is the only one that can be studied alone, by itself. If you can't kill a lone king, all the tactics in the world won't help--you have to know how to win first. And as far as blitz goes, get good first, then get fast. But, regardless of what is studied when, if hard effort isn't put into it, results will be lacking. And, no matter what is studied when, you're going to lose a lot of games before you learn to play well. Good luck.
dashkee94 wrote:
But, regardless of what is studied when, if hard effort isn't put into it, results will be lacking. And, no matter what is studied when, you're going to lose a lot of games before you learn to play well. Good luck.
This +100.
Even mediocre effort will yield some results (not a lot, and you will hit a wall more quickly), but you need to put in the effort. And don't worry about losing games/rating points. If you stop worrying about your rating it will rise more consistently than if you concetrate on your rating.
Enjoy the journey and the experience, don't get stressed because your rating isn't rising as fast as you want it to.
dashkee94 wrote:
If you want to advance as a serious player you'll start with the endgame. That's the part of the game where you finish your opponent off. Endgames kill, and you'll need to learn this, the earlier the better. When you know how to finish them off, you'll have better ideas in the middlegame and opening as to what pieces you want to keep on the board and what you want to exchange, which files you want to open or keep closed, etc. After the endings, learn basic tactics--like the Bxh7+ sac (mostly seen in the French), the double-Bishop sac from Lasker--and go over Morphy's games, especially the N-odds and blindfold games. He'll show you how good activity can destroy weak defenses, and you'll probably see the same or similar defenses played by players at your level. The opening is the last part you'll need to address--if you understand middlegames and endgames, good openings moves seem to come naturally. Being expert at the opening is only required when you reach a very high level. But whatever you choose to start with, work hard at it--the hard work will pay it's own rewards.
Got to say I must disagree with this guy...
I'm 1900+ OTb. I've played a decent number of otb games against pretty strong opposition, most recently 1800s-2100.
Only in 2 games were competitive endgames actually reached. I lost one and outplayed my opponent and won in the other one. Point is, most of the games didn't stay competitive until the endgame phase. I'm poor at endgame play, but I still managed to get to my level without seriously studying any endgames at all! Just the most basic principles are needed and I only have knowledge of 2 theoretical positions in an endgame: the king+pawn opposition and pawn baiting. I was a pawn up in a game vs A.Shusterman, a pretty strong player. I simply calculated that the simplification to an endgame would let me win by one tempo: middlegame calc skills there...
Smartyy, since you're a platinum member, take good advantage of what's in the Study Plans here. Bear in mind that since you're a platinum member, things like the Chess Mentor are open to you, as well as a significant number of videos and tactics training opportunities that are well worth taking advantage of. The resources here are terrific -- use them!
Pick your choice:
1. endgame : Boring
2. Tactics and Middle game : Complicated.
3. Opening : Not so important at your level.
4. Checkmate: 1 or 2 moves. If you can try 3 or 4 moves.
5. Positional: Boring and dull.
My pick No. 4 and 5.
I've gotten mixed information on my own research and wanted a more direct question: for someone who's just started out (about a 900 player), what is the best "order" to study chess in? Endgames first, basic checkmates etc? Then middle game/tactics, then openings? Or openings first? Tactics first?
I've seen sources that say all of these to learn first, so what are your thought's on the subject?