Wikipedia

Hi guys and gals,

Im new to this site but enjoy chess and i'm keen to improve my game.

My question is -

Is wikipedia a good place to read up on chess theory? I've looked up some openings and it seems to be pretty straight to the point. If i google chess theory i come up with loads of results, and i wonder about picking a site at random.

Thanks,

Sam

My answer would be yes for introduction purposes, texts on wikipedia are almost always correct, but one should not trust them exclusively.

And the theory is also limited, so for deeper understanding some book would be necessary.

The wikibook Chess Opening Theory has its weaknesses; it tries to cover each move individually but only has actual full information the move in places. It's more spotty. For many openings I actually think the Wikipedia article itself will give you a better overview, and collected in one article rather than forcing you to click through the moves.

This might be slightly controversial, but I think Wikipedia information - as it covers the basic ideas of all the openings and opening principles themselves, and even some of the common pitfalls and tricks - might be just about enough for lower rated players to successfully handle the opening while they improve on their tactics, using the on-site tactics trainer or other resources or simply playing, playing, playing. There's enough chess enthusiasts running around on Wikipedia to make for a lot of interesting and possibly instructive articles (on endgame technique, for instance). Of course, they can't possibly achieve the depth of a good book on the subject, and you should always keep a grain of salt handy if you read Wikipedia on anything.

Cool, thanks. I've read some good reviews of a book called "Play Winning Chess", by Yasser Seirewan so might have a look at that too.

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Being a Wikipedia editor I highly reccomend it :) .