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u/[deleted] · 3 pointsr/chess

Let me tell you what I've experienced. I'll list off the most important things in descending order: 1. Tactics 2. Positional understanding 3. Basic Endgame knowledge (King pawn endgames and some basic rook pawn endgames)and 4. Openings.-- Now, people think this means openings are unimportant. so wrong... When I play players rated around 2000-2100 we're both doing the same thing:

Basic, vague generalizations in the opening and we play the middle game while trying to decipher the optimal positional goals to create and achieve and we crunch the tactics on the way to it, meanwhile considering the endgame that will arise out of the position along the way and always waiting for a chance to convert to a won or two result (win or draw) endgame.

Now, if you want to play with the big boys, you have to have a solid opening repertoire. I go to a decently strong club, everybody is rated around 1700-2100 sometimes a few 2300-2400's show up. I've won at least one of these tournaments and several times been second place. I often will lose either 0 or 1 game out of 3 or 4. (I typically draw my disadvantaged endgames).


--- The one thing all these players lack is a legitimate Opening repertoire. Once you reach 1700-1900uscf strength, you need some serious opening knowledge. SERIOUS. Knowledge. you need to know tons of lines, you need to know WHY they have to follow the lines and what you're trying to achieve and what THEY are trying to achieve. You have to know why Black can't develop his light squared bishop in the QGD Exchange variation. And when he tries, you have to know how to punish him. The opening becomes the game, and it is the game; I like to say that chess is the opening. The opening defines your strategic goals in the middle game and the structure of the endgame. Sure, the opponent can deviate, but at a cost. You'll at least be equal, and with all the general plans you learn about that opening, you'll be able to CREATE weaknesses and positions from openings you're familiar with, or continue about your plan because he's not following a proper one. The only problem is that Openings are extremely hard work. Extremely. It takes a huge toll on the memory and if you don't have enough time in your day, all the other areas of your chess will decline as you acquire your opening knowledge: Tactics, positional play, endgame etc. These things have to be drilled constantly so that you can improve. Without doing chess full time or at least having several hours a day to commit to chess, you're going to have to slip somewhere. ---

TL;DR and conclusion: My recommendation is that you acquire enough opening for your rating; what I mean by that is, get some basic guidelines, VERY Basic, for instance, go to wikipedia. and look up the opening you want to play, check it out, go to www.chessgames.com watch some pros play the opening you want to play, then start playing it. at your rating of 1300-1400 on chess.com I'd suggest switching to longer games (at least 15 min, but 45 would be nice) and studying tactics, and VERY importantly, get a book like John Nunn's "Understanding Chess middle games" [http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Chess-Middlegames-John-Nunn/dp/1906454272/ref=pd_sim_b_5/192-4270710-0603025?ie=UTF8&refRID=124Y382AWAKY8YZW33B1] or a book like "Jeremy Silman's Reassess your chess 4th edition" [http://www.amazon.com/How-Reassess-Your-Chess-Fourth/dp/1890085138/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405369188&sr=1-1&keywords=reassess+your+chess+4th+edition] These books contain the information necessary for you to understand positional evaluations in a game of chess. Also there is Jeremy Silman's Reassess your chess workbook [http://www.amazon.com/Reassess-Your-Chess-Workbook/dp/1890085057/ref=sr_1_fkmr3_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405369544&sr=1-1-fkmr3&keywords=reassess+your+chess+4th+edition+workbook
] They are all positional puzzles. It's great, because he breaks down the 7 main imbalances and you simply drill them. Very nice.---

Studying master games on your own is good, but you won't understand like 90% of what they do honestly. You need someone to hold your hand. If you could just watch it and understand you'd be a GM already.

--

FYI. I have Reassess your chess 4th edition. It's a miracle jesus walking on water great chunk of information. However, I find myself almost completely incapable of reading it anymore. I am so tired of the banter and the jokes, I just want the dang information. It's cute and spunky and fun and whatever the hell when you first read it; a real great joy, but after reading the same dang joke like 5 6 7 8 9 times you really start to wish you had a more serious book, like John Nunn's (Which I admit I haven't read yet, but it looks more like no nonsense material).

u/bjh13 · 4 pointsr/chess

>Is FICS still the best place to play?

For free places, definitely. If you don't mind paying, either ICC or Playchess will give you more/better opponents with better behavior, but I still play on FICS quite a bit even with an ICC account. Other free ones, such as Chesscube, I have found really annoying flash heavy interfaces that cause browser problems and very rude players that would rather let the 20 minutes on the clock expire hoping you will accept a draw than resign gracefully.

>Is Babas Chess the best interface?

Definitely.

>What's a good chess engine to analyze games? I have old version of Fritz, Fritz 8 I believe and I think Chessmaster 10.

The best two free engines are Houdini 1.5 (Houdini 2 is not free, but only like a 50 ELO gain so for your purposes no different) and Komodo. Komodo is almost as strong yet only single core right now, and I have found the analysis more useful personally as often Houdini will suggest lines I would never even consider playing.

>Anything else you think would be helpful?

I'd recommend playing slow games to start with, at least 30 30. I would also recommend a book like Logical Chess Move by Move. You can play through the games pretty quickly, don't bother analyzing things. Should help you get back into the feel for the game, I know doing something like that after not playing for a while helps me.

u/bauski · 1 pointr/chess

I think I understand what you are trying to experiment. You are asking if 2 beginners start playing chess while reading different beginner books, how will their play styles and understanding of the game change? I think this is a very interesting idea, and although I hypothesize that "no matter how different the books are, the difference will be because of the players, not the books" I will gladly suggest some ideas for your experiment.

There are plenty of chess books that are written by classical GMs that many people still find amazingly helpful.

"Capablanca's Chess Fundamentals" is still a very good for learning strong end game and good idea of how pieces work together. His end games are still considered some of the cleanest. He was somebody who could take puzzling situations and make them simple. It's very satisfying to following his games.

"My System" by GM Nimzowitsch is a bit different. Where as Capablanca relied more on classical openings and simplified situations with strong piece control, Nizomwitisch was of the hypermodern school which focused more on challenging the old classical fundamental beliefs and positional superiority.

If both of you start with one of each book, it'd be interesting to see how both of you end up playing. But honestly as beginners, (I'm a low level asshole myself aka patzer) some of the higher level things we're talking about here may not even mean anything for a long time.

Honestly, everybody in life has a certain chess style. Some play for the tactics, some for positions, some for the calculations, while others for the pattern recognition, some play sharp while some play loose, some play meek while some play aggressively. It really depends on you as a player, and I think that in the end, no matter which book you start with, you will end up the player you are going to be anyway.

As for other books that may be of interest for both of you, as they always say in chess "tactics, tactics, tactics": it may be a good idea to supplement both of your books with a tactical book such as https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Tactics-Everyman/dp/1857443861 or https://www.amazon.com/Chess-Tactics-Champions-step-step/dp/081293671X or this https://www.amazon.com/Predator-At-Chessboard-Field-Tactics/dp/1430308001

and also supplement tactics with mating motifs like this: https://www.amazon.com/How-Beat-Your-Chess-Gambit/dp/1901983056

I hope you and your friend have a lot of fun playing and learning together. I have definitely enjoyed playing with my work mates. If you guys haven't chosen an online platform already, I suggest lichess.org or chess.com. Both are very great sites for playing chess for free. One is absolutely free and offers some very cool features for self analysis and community study material, while the other has paid premium memberships which offer a breadth of learning material in videos and articles.

u/junkthejunker · 13 pointsr/chess

If you're serious about it, you can find a coach on lichess.org/coach. A good one will guide your study and accelerate your learning.

Start solving tactical puzzles. A lot of them. All of them. As a total beginner, this is the best thing you can do to improve your game. It will take time, but it will yield results.

To learn basic tactics, check out Predator at the Chessboard which is a free online resource. Or get a book like Back to Basics: Tactics, or Judit Polgar's Chess Tactics for Champions, or Reinfeld's 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations. All of them will introduce the major motifs and give you practice with them. Pick one and get to work. You can also find free puzzles at chesstempo.com. Consider getting an app for your phone, like CT-ART 4.0, so you can practice on the go. Seriously, tactics are the big focus right now.

As you start learning about chess, you'll see a lot of people talking about openings. It'll seem like a lot of fun to learn a particular opening and talk about "Oh, I'm an Open Sicilian man," or "I always play the Petrov and here's why . . ." Don't worry about any of that. For now, just learn the basic principles of the opening and concentrate on actually practicing them in your games. Most beginner's books (see below) and lots of videos on youtube will be able to introduce these to you.

There's another book you should get: Chess Fundamentals by José Raúl Capablanca. It'll take you through the basics of the game and will give you a solid foundation on which to build. Make sure it's in algebraic notation. Go through the book slowly, methodically. Make a study for it at lichess.org/study and go over the moves digitally. Go over the positions on a physical board. Take notes. Only move forward when you truly understand what Capablanca is talking about.

Practice what you learn by playing slow time controls. 15+15 games (or longer!) will give you the time you need to think about the moves you and your opponent are making. 5-minute games are fun, but they're not the best way to learn to play well. I mean, play whatever you want--it's a game, and it's meant to be fun. But know that the longer the controls, the more you will learn from your games. For that matter, google "how to analyze a chess game" and then analyze your games after the fact. That way you'll learn to avoid traps and pitfalls into which you fell.

All of this is my opinion, but I'm just some patzer, right? Take or leave this as you like. Or just get a coach and do what you pay them to tell you. Good luck; have fun!

u/MyMindIsWhereILive · 5 pointsr/chess

When people first learn chess, they only learn the basic rules of the game. There is little positional or tactical understanding... (As it should be) There are many ways to get better at chess but all of them require work.

Some great players like Capablanca, insisted on learning the fundamental endings first. The problem is that, even if you know how to win with an extra pawn, you might not have the positional/tactical understanding to get to that pawn-up ending. So, I have found that you have to do a little bit of everything. I learned some endings, I learned some tactics and combinations, I learned some openings and so on.


I suggest that you study whatever is giving you the MOST problems first. Once you have taken steps to minimize and/or eliminate that problem, other problems will come up. Do the same and invest some time trying to get better in that area. Repeat until you get better. it is a simple concept but hard to do in practice.

Chess has a rich history. It is wonderful that we have access to the games of the past and all of its analysis. I recommend that you do not re-invent the wheel and that you read some books. The following should be helpful:

u/Kingshrink · 15 pointsr/chess

I don't know your level, but if you're a novice (as it sounds like you are) here's my advice:

  • Plan to play one long game per day. Find out the time controls you will be playing in, and create those challenges on Lichess or chess.com. I would suggest filtering the games to your rating +100. Don't waste time playing much weaker opponents or much stronger.

  • Find a coach/friend that is at least >500 rating points above you. Hell you can probably find one for free here that would find this challenge fun. Spend some time going over your games with them, or just playing while talking through games.

    As for the specific parts of the game, here are my suggestions. in order of importance:

    Endgames: Learn to your level, then practice them on Chesstempo/friend/computer.

  • I strongly suggest Silman's Complete Endgame Course and learn to where it get's complicated. You should be able to get through the first 3 parts.
  • Create an account on Chesstempo and do the endgame training. It's unlimited for the Gold plan which is cheap.
  • Keep in mind, when up in material, trade. I have been told countless times by computer analysis that trading pieces (especially queens) was not the best move, but when I was up a few pawns or the exchange, getting pieces off the board made the win so much clearer.

    Tactics: It's tactics all the way down!

  • I strongly suggest Seirawan's Winning Chess Tactics or Bain's Tactics for Students. You need to be familiar with the motifs
  • Get a ChessTempo membership, and do tactics. The price of membership gives you all the analysis lines of all the wrong moves.
  • Do both Blitz tactics and Standard tactics. You want the pattern recognition of lots of blitz tactics, but also the practice of calculating more difficult problems


    Openings: Play with the same openings. Don't spend too long on each, but maybe watch a few videos to get the ideas behind them.

  • White: 1.e4. These are more tactical in nature, and you should be playing them because you will be working on tactics. Your goal is to survive the opening without being down material, severely behind in development, compromising your king, or completely screwing up your pawn structure. Anyone at your level that memorizes deeper into black's responses to e4 is just memorizing lines and will soon be in a complex position (perhaps up half a pawn) but unable to hold that advantage when the tactics take over. Have something for 1...c5 (and I'd look at both the Najdorf and the Dragon, but again, don't memorize, just get a flavor), 1...e5 (I'd suggest the Ruy Lopez. And look at the Philidor, but it's pretty quiet), 1.e6 (the exchange is easy to play), and 1.c6 (again exchange is easy).
  • Black against 1.e4: Pick one of the above and play it exclusively. I suggest 1.e5 to start, but I also like 1...c5 and 1...c6.
  • Black against 1.d4: 1...d5. No need to get fancy. Both the QGA and QGD set up good play. 1...Nf3 is more useful, since you can play the QGD, Grunfeld, or KID, but since you aren't building a tournament repertoire, just survive the opening with a classical queenside response.
  • Black against anything else: Build a strong pawn center, get developed, get castled, and don't chase the enemy. And give an extra second to think about your opponents position. If they used a non-traditional opening, they are probably doing something wrong, but rushing will help them justify things like developing their queen to early or pushing all their pawns.

    Thought process:

  • Have fun
  • Utilize all your time. Hopefully you've been practicing at that time control as I said above)
  • Breathe. Sometimes just close your eyes, take a deep breath, assess where you think you are, and come up with a plan
  • Have a plan, always.

    That's all I got for now. Good luck!

u/DragonVariation · 7 pointsr/chess

The general consensus for novice chess players is to do a few things:

  • Play as much as possible (the slower the time control, the better) and analyze those games.
  • Study tactics (Hammer single motif tactics into your brain first. Over & over & over... Then you can move on to combinations.).
  • Develop your pieces using opening guidelines, rather than in-depth study/memorization-without-knowledge of openings.

    ---

    So let's look at each of those items quickly.

    Playing as much as possible.

    If you can't play OTB, you still have a billion options. Here are some online options:

  • chess.com
  • lichess.org
  • chess24.com

    Don't have wifi and still need a game? There are plenty of apps for your phone/tablet:

  • Play Magnus
  • DroidFish
  • Mobiala
  • SCID on the Go
  • Shredder

    Analyzing your games.

    This is crucial. When you are done with your games, go over them and analyze the moves yourself. Where did you/your opponent go wrong? What did you do right? Did you miss tactics or mates? Did your opponent play an opening you were unfamiliar with? Did you reach an uncomfortable endgame and not know how to proceed? If your opponent played the same moves again in a different game, what would you do differently? Answering questions like these on your own will help you in future games.

    After your initial analysis, you can then show it to a stronger player (you can submit your games to this subreddit to get criticisms, if you provide your initial analysis along with the PGN) and/or using a program to run a deeper analysis for you. Lichess provides free computer analysis on their site and I also made a quickie SCID/Stockfish tutorial a while back if you want more control over the depth of analysis.

    Studying tactics.

    "Tactics is almost undoubtedly the most productive single area that beginners and intermediates can study to improve their game - the more practice, the better." -- Dan Heisman (PDF)

    There are a ton of places to study tactics online and you should make use of them.

    Chess Tempo seems to be the gold standard when it comes to online tactics training. I would start with their standard set (Which means that time isn't a factor. You can stare at a board forever until you find the tactic, and the time won't affect your rating.) at first, but eventually play the other sets as well. I do a mix of each of them every day. Don't make it homework though, or you'll burn out, and chess will feel like a chore.

    Don't forget to make use of their endgame trainer. After the first 20, you can only do 2 per day, and I recommend making it a top priority. Studying endgames, even for just a few minutes per day, will be very beneficial to your play.

    Chess.com also has a tactics trainer, and for free users you get 5 tactics per day. At the very least, do the 5 chess.com tactics and the Chess Tempo endgames. You can find time for this every day, I assure you.

    As a side note, this isn't really tactics but lots of people like this Lichess Coordinates Trainer for learning the names of the squares. If you do this once a day, for both black & white, it will take you about 1 minute. Easy.

    Developing your pieces in the opening.

    Read Dan Heisman's Beginner Guidelines, which I copied into this thread. At this stage, you don't need to study opening lines. However, whenever you read a point in the opening that you are unfamiliar with, you should look it up in an opening book, database, or online to find the common moves in that position. This will help you spot errors in your play and will set you up for success when you play that line in the future.

    ---

    There are a ton of other resources that you should look into.

    For videos, I would recommend these channels:

  • Kingscrusher
  • ChessNetwork
  • St. Louis Chess Club (Their beginner level lectures should be on your must watch list.)
  • ChessExplained
  • Greg Shahade

    As for books, the ones that seem to be promoted for you level the most are:

  • Logical Chess: Move By Move - Irving Chernev
  • Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess
  • The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess - Patrick Wolff
  • Everyone's Second Chess Book - Dan Heisman

    There are a bunch of great chess columns out there, but I suggest starting with ChessCafe.com, and specifically Dan Heisman's Novice Nook.

    ---

    Well fuck. I thought I was just typing out something quick, but I turned it into a novel. Sorry about that.

    Time to eat some pumpkin bread and watch Sunday Night Football!
u/TolOfGreatness · 6 pointsr/chess

You've got to get yourself some good books and devour them. I have unconventional advice, but if whatever you've been doing isn't working, give it a shot.

My beginners routine
---

  • Do 10 tactics puzzles a day (use a free chesstempo account)

  • Get your hands on a copy of Silman's Amateur's Mind [Go through the book cover to cover] I usually follow along with a program instead of a real board b/c I can log in variations and whatnot.

  • Play one 15-minute game a day, if you can't find people who want 15-minutes, go to something like 10minutes or 10min+2seconds. Then, analyze your game. If you go to lichess you can make a free account and they have computer analysis. If you're playing on chess.com you can just take the pgn (game notation) and put it into the lichess computer and they'll analyze it for you. You can move the pieces around and bounce some ideas off the computer on there as well.

  • Develop an opening repertoire. This is not supposed to be the way a grandmaster does it.... not yet. You need to play the same thing because you can't learn and figure out mistakes if you're always switching openings, because the positions you get change too much. If you're playing random openings you'll get: Isolated queen pawn positions, French structure positions, caro-kann positions, central pawn structure vs c5/e5 pawn pushes, fianchetto positions that require h4-5-6 to attack etc.

    You need a consistent motif; so, if you want to play 1.e4 try to stick to that. For black choose 2 defenses: one against 1.e4 and one against 1.d4

    What you need to do here is learn the first few moves of the opening just so you can get yourself inside that structure... maybe the first 5 moves or so. And you're going to feel lost I promise you, but just do it, ok. When you win/lose, whatever, a part of your analysis is going to be to go to www.chessgames.com >set the year to >=2000 or 1980 something like that>set the openings to the opening you played or enter the ECO code>click search and you can watch Grandmasters play your opening. This will give you a good idea of what kind of moves are made and where you play on the board. You may even be able to extract some plans out of it.



  • I'm not a silman salesman but you also need to work on your endgame and I like Silman's Complete endgame course This books is divided by rating, which is really good; i worked up to the A class section and then moved on to Dvoretsky's endgame manual. Dvoretsky's is a dictionary though, and you definitely don't want that now.

u/dc_woods · 1 pointr/chess

I've been playing pretty religiously for roughly two years. I'm ~1600 on Chess.com.

ChessTempo is an incredibly valuable resource. With much persistence-- I try to do exercises on there at least an hour a day and sometimes more --my blitz/standard tactics and endgame ratings lie between 1500-1600 and continue to improve. Also, this book did wonders for my play.

In my playing, I've found "jumps" where I leap ~100 rating points which can probably be attributed to new discoveries in my tactical awareness and knowledge of theory (albeit being little in comparison to someone like Zibbit :-).

Obviously awesome people like Zibbit, Kingscrusher, Jerry (ChessNetwork), Christof (ChessExplained) and Greg (Greg Shahade) publish content frequently on YouTube and it's always interesting to revisit some of the material months after viewing as I often see the position more maturely than I had initially.

I hear so much talk from those around my rating of opening repertoire but so little about endgame theory, implications of the position, pawn structure & the notion of majority/minority, and key squares within a particular position -- these are ideas that often the big boys that I just referenced talk about and are ideas that I try to better understand through the analysis of my own games and when I do some "Guess the Move" with GM games. I'm liking the results.

We all were below 1000 at one point... it's about investing time and patience in what gives you the best results in your play. I think the staples of study are tactics and endgame theory but game analysis, best move, "guess the move", opening theory, and all that other fun stuff should be implemented in your study and you should pay close attention to which of those (if not all) are improving your play most.

Good luck.

u/edderiofer · 2 pointsr/chess

> I know the general rules of chess, but I am inexperienced in the different tactics and openings and what not.

Zeroth, make sure you know all the rules of chess. In particular, en passant, stalemate, pawn promotion, and castling, since these four rules are the four rules most misunderstood or not known by beginners.

First, don't concentrate on openings. Openings usually only give you a very small advantage, which beginners won't understand how to utilize.

Second, the only tactics you should really be focusing on are hanging piece tactics, ones where you can take a piece for free. They're as simple as tactics get, are a good way to train your board vision if you're a beginner, and are very simple to check for. Most games at your level will be decided by one player hanging a bunch of their pieces, so be prepared to punish your opponent for doing so. At the same time, make sure you don't hang your own pieces.

Augmenting this, you'll want to learn about the (rough) values of each piece. This will tell you what piece trades are favourable. It's no good trading a queen for a pawn since a pawn is worth less than a queen, for example.

Third, learn your basic endgame mates. Just the first three will do for now; if you think you're up to it, you can also learn KBBvK. It's no use being ahead two rooks and a queen if you can't finish your opponent off, because the goal of chess is to checkmate your opponent, not to get the most material. Like I said, most beginner games are decided by one person having lots of material, so you had better make sure you know how to win when you have lots of material (and how to make it as difficult as possible for your opponent should you be on the losing side!).

Finally, play as much as you can! Practice is very important; you can't just become a Grandmaster without ever having played a single game in the same way that you can't just get a PhD in mathematics without having ever actually proved any theorems (cough cough, /u/math238).

> Is there any resources or books you would recommend to someone trying to become good at chess?

Resources include ChessTempo (you should probably sign up, and you'll probably have to fail a lot of tactics before you're given the easy stuff) and ChessCademy. You can play chess against others on Lichess.org or Chess.com. (Chess.com also offers a good amount of resources but they're behind a paywall and can usually be found elsewhere.)

Books include How To Beat Your Dad At Chess (I've heard good things about it but haven't read it) and Logical Chess, Move By Move (which is a bit more advanced but explained very well).

u/mohishunder · 18 pointsr/chess

Ok, cutting and pasting my own post from early in the year. (Sorry about the formatting.) I originally composed this for a friend who claimed he was ready to work on chess for 20 hours/week. I don't think he's kept it up.

-----------------------------------------------------

Here's what I recently emailed someone in the same situation as you - well, his goal was year-end.

If you STUDY chess for 15-20 hours/week for a year, you should be 2000 strength by the end of the year, and 2200 (I expect - much better than me) by the end of next year. Studying is the same as for math and music - it does not include leisure time like playing blitz.

You can break down your chess study into five buckets:
Tactics (start now and continue forever)
Endings (start in April and continue)
Playing/competing (start in February / start reading in July)
Strategy/middlegame planning (start in August and continue)
Openings (start in November and continue)

I think you need to begin them in that order - overlapping, of course.

[1] Tactics - do these books in order. DO the problems, however long it takes - don't look up an answer until you have a solid solution. If the books offer clues on the page (e.g. this page is all pins and skewers), go through and black them out with a marker in advance.

u/CarpeCapra · 2 pointsr/chess

Here are some things that many people do to improve:

  • Read books targeted to your level. For beginners, I'd recommend Irving Chernev's Logical Chess Move by Move and others like it.
  • Play lots of chess! Any time control is good, but the longer the game, the more you can think, and the better you'll play.
  • Analyze your games - especially your losses. See what kinds of mistakes you're making, and use that to identify where you need more work. Falling for an opening trap? Learn one or two openings as white and as black. Dropping pieces to simple tactics? Do some Puzzle Rush on chess.com.
  • Look at games by top players, especially those that follow openings you play. Try to find annotated games so you have a guide through the complications. This is really helpful for problems like "I don't know how to make a plan in this position"
  • Try to "guess the move" when playing through games of other people. If you don't guess correctly, try to see a) if your move is also good, b) if their move is better, and c) if there is a refutation to your idea.
  • And finally, for many players, it is psychologically difficult to play a worse position or against an opponent to whom you feel like an underdog. Many amateur players, once they've made a small mistake, collapse completely. One of the biggest differences between the good and the great is the tenacity to play any position as best as you can.

    I hope all this helps, and welcome to the chess world!
u/TheMarshmallow · 5 pointsr/chess

If you're a beginner My System probably isn't the book you should be reading. Its aimed at much more advanced players (the r/chess faq puts it in the 1800-2000 rating bracket). Thats not to say you wouldn't learn anything, but there are almost certainly much more fundamental errors in your chess play and a lot of things Nimzowitsch will presume you are already familiar with will go over your head.


As for a good book to help, I'd recommend checking out Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev.


Endgame study is good, but I've seen a lot of beginners argue that being good at the endgame doesn't matter so much if the game is practically lost before you get there. Because of that I suggest you start with learning opening principles (control the centre, develop pieces, castling, don't move one piece too many times etc). There's plenty of stuff out there on this; if you really enjoy JBs videos then he talks about common opening mistakes a fair bit in his early "Climbing the Ratings Ladder" series, notably the under 1000 and 1000-1200 videos.

Note I don't recommend studying openings too much at this point, just the opening principles / ideas. Once you're familiar with those, move on to becoming comfortable with some standard endgames ( King+Queen vs King, King + Rook vs King, King + Pawn vs King)

As for watching John's game videos, I argue that if you're enjoying them then it doesn't matter too much if it's not the most efficient use of your time. Chess is about having fun, there's not much point to playing if you don't enjoy it.

Make sure you're focusing on his thought process and reasoning behind making the move rather than what the move actually is. Take time to pause the video in critical situations and think about what move you would make (similar to what Mato Jelic does in his videos) and then resume and see if you're right, or if he plays a different move again focus on his though process and reasoning behind it (i.e. why did you decide not to play that move whilst he did).

The most important thing when you're a beginner is to play lots and analyse your games. Once you know the opening principles and basic endgames, you should be spending most of your time playing and analysing your games (WITHOUT a computer).

u/ducksauce · 1 pointr/chess

There are many different kinds of endgames. King and pawn endings are the most basic. I guess rook endings is the next step above that.

I learned practical endings from this book which looks like it's out of print now, unfortunately. Silman has a book that's also supposed to be very good.

There are also specific books that dig into very particular aspects of endgame play, like this book on pawn endings that heavily focuses on "corresponding squares". That book helped me a lot.

For practice, I found this android app to be very helpful. I believe there is also a PC version and probably an iOS version as well.

Playing endings out against a computer can be helpful but there are big downsides, too. The computer will usually not find the most stubborn human defense, for example. If a position is objectively lost it will just play any trash move because it sees everything as equally losing.

In addition to all of this, there's always the psychological aspect of chess -- meaning, it helps to keep in mind what you're actually trying to accomplish and to learn mental tricks to make playing endings easier. For example, sometimes it helps to imagine rearranging the pieces or pawns into a winning position and then figuring out how to work backwards from that. Also, it helps to keep in mind that zugzwang is a common factor in endings. When you're trying to checkmate somebody, it helps to visualize a mating "net" around the king, like imagining the squares he can't move to as being highlighted. There are also specific tactics and patterns that come up over and over again in endings.

It's a big subject!

u/hicetnunc1972 · 6 pointsr/chess

I think for educational purposes, it's good to go over annotated master games even if they don't feature your current openings. First because, maybe you'll change them some day, but more importantly, because the lessons from the master games will have a positive impact on your overall play, even without you noticing it.

As a first game collection, I learnt a lot from Reti's Masters of the Chessboard : https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Chessboard-21st-Century-Richard/dp/1936490218. It features games from many different masters of the past, so you also get acquainted with various styles of play, which is nice. You may even find a chess hero, who knows ?

And yes, ChessTempo gold membership is really worth it !

u/ttigue · 2 pointsr/chess

My favorite 2 books:

  • Simple Chess - great for explaining fundamental positional goals in a game especially what to do with your pawns.
  • Logical Chess Move by Move - goes over the reason behind every move in historical chess games.

    I think both of these books are really good at mastering the moves that you should be making to reach a good position. I don't consider them too advanced, but they assume you know things like reading algebraic notation, basic tactics and motifs.

    Also agree with others that a good tactics book will provide with serious improvement in your game. But if you want to understand how to get a position that will provide tactical opportunities, these two books are great.
u/cobrakai11 · 3 pointsr/chess

Play Winning Chess Tactics by Yasser Seriawan (&Jeremy Silman)

A fantastic beginners book, and he's got a whole series out there that are very easy to read, filled with tests and practice and examples. Each chapter starts out with a different tactic, some personal story from Yasser, and then tests at the end of every chapter to reinforce what you learned.

The end of the books have biographies of famous tacticians and advanced tests where you put everything you have learned together. The answers and explanations are complete in the book. I found it a great book to begin learning with and have often recommended it to others. I have some of the Silman books recommended in this thread, and I don't think any of them are as good for beginners as Yasser's.

I also recommend in the same series Play Winning Chess Openings and Play Winnings Chess Strategies They are all on Amazon or ebay for purchase.

u/Spiritchaser84 · 4 pointsr/chess

When I was first learning, Logical Chess Move by Move was a huge eye opener for me. It explains every single move in the game in detail while going through full games. You get introduced to opening ideas, middle game planning, and endgame technique. The book is a very effective primer on a lot of key chess principles and it really teaches the beginner the importance of a single move since you get to read all of the ideas that go into every move.

When I was a low intermediate level player (I'd guess around 1300-1400), I read Silman's How to Reassess Your Chess and that had a huge impact on my playing level once I start to assimilate the knowledge. His coverage of the thought processes for middle game planning, move selection, and looking at material imbalances really opened my eyes to how I should be thinking about positions.

I've read probably 15-30 books in part or entirely over the years. Those two stand out the most to me. Beyond those instructional books, I think books of games collections are good to go through. My favorite were How Karpov Wins by Edmar Mednis (I am a Karpov fan) and Bronstein's Zurich 1953 book (one of the most highly regarded books of all time). Alekhine's Best Games was also a fun read, but it used old style notation I believe, which was a chore for me to learn and go through at the time.

Other special nods from me:

  • Pawn Power in Chess is a good book to learn about pawn structures. I only skimmed the chapters on openings I was playing at the time, but I liked the content.

  • Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy is a more modern book on chess strategy. Not as impactful to me as Silman's book, but it's more advanced and I remember it helping me go from 1800ish level to 2000+
u/catson43 · 2 pointsr/chess

I spent a great deal of time looking for the "perfect chess set". The ones that are quite popular on amazon I rejected for the reason that the color f the pieces is quite similar to the color of the squares of the board, and I didn't like that. But the sets in our local chess club are perfect, in my opinion, and very cheap as well. The pieces are sufficiently heavy (this is important, you do not want to have light pieces which fall easily). So I bought the same one and am very happy with the purchase. The white pieces are clearly visible and so are the black. Here is the link, enjoy !

u/Ibrey · 3 pointsr/chess

Lichess has a coordinates trainer where you're just given a square on the board in algebraic notation, and you find it as quickly as you can. The notation is easier to grasp once you're not taking a few seconds carefully counting through the files and then counting through the ranks to hunt for each square. Other than that, it's just practice. The more you see it, the easier it will be to read. Lichess also has some basic tactics training. Their puzzles are good too because after you've found the solution, it's easy to study the problem further on an analysis board and see why your first guess was wrong by playing it and seeing what the computer would do next.

On YouTube, IM John Bartholomew's videos are very helpful, especially the "Chess Fundamentals" series and "Climbing the Rating Ladder." ChessNetwork has a good series for beginners also.

A good book for beginners is Logical Chess: Move By Move by Irving Chernev. Chernev annotates 33 games to explain what the purpose of each move was. Chernev wrote before masters were able to double check all their analysis with computers, so there is the occasional questionable judgement, and some people think he puts too much emphasis on general rules you should follow without enough on nuances and exceptions to those rules. However, it is probably still the best book of this kind that is truly aimed at beginners, and it will be helpful if it at least drives home the idea that every move ought to serve a purpose.

u/apetresc · 7 pointsr/chess

Ray Cheng's book Practical Chess Exercises is exactly what you want. I'll just paste an excerpt from my copy (basically most of the introduction):

> Each exercise consists of a diagrammed chess position, and your task is to find the best move. For each position you are told only which side is to move; there is no further set-up. For example, you will not find a caption under the diagram such as “White to mate in 3,” or “How can Black exploit the undefended rook on a1?” The intention is to furnish only the information that you would have during a real game, when no such hints are expected or permitted. Indeed, any kind of training tends to be more effective to the extent that it simulates the conditions of actual competition. That is one of the core principles of this book. For similar reasons, the exercise positions are not grouped by theme or labeled by level of difficulty. Again, the idea is that in a real game, no one is going to whisper in your ear “Hey, you have a killer knight fork,” or “You’d better spend a little extra time on this move, because it rates four stars in difficulty.”
>
> Most chess puzzle books consist entirely of tactical exercises, but there is a downside to this. Knowing at the outset that there is a tactic to be found dilutes the value of the exercise. Indeed, it encourages the reader to adopt an abridged thought process—jumping right into calculating outrageous sacrifices, for instance, without being led toward the solution by skillfully reading the clues in the position. Just as often, this reader might prematurely stop calculating once a plausible tactic has been found (and affirmed by the solution in the back of the book), without bothering to double-check whether it really works. For that reason I included a number of positions where there is a tempting tactical try that fails for some reason, and the best move is something else entirely. In real life, many (and perhaps most) tactical possibilities turn out to be flawed, and thus the habit of double-checking them is well worth cultivating. Likewise, I included positions in which it is your opponent who has the tactical threat; your job is then to identify the threat and take any appropriate defensive measures.
> Many of the exercises in this book cover tactical themes, while others need not have a tactical resolution at all. There are exercises built upon positional ideas, such as outposts, weak squares, pawn structure, superior minor piece, and positional sacrifices. Other exercises are concerned with basic theoretical endgames that every chess player should know, or they feature interesting endgame positions that have occurred in practice. Many of them will illustrate important endgame concepts, including the active king, opposition, rooks behind passed pawns, and the outside passed pawn. As far as openings go, you will not be tested for your specific knowledge of theoretical “book” moves. You will, however, need to handle opening positions based on fundamental principles, such as those concerning the center, development, and castling. Of course, there will also be opening tactics and blunders to contend with.
>
> The exercises in this book appear in random order, not only by theme, but also by level of difficulty. After all, being able to judge how much time and energy to devote to a particular position is a valuable skill during actual competition. The exercises range from very simple to very difficult, with most falling into the middle categories. For the sake of reference I have labeled the solutions (but not the exercise positions themselves, of course) with up to four stars to indicate their approximate difficulty.
>
> Because they are not accompanied by artificial hints, working through these exercises will instill a more complete and realistic move selection process. They present opportunities to utilize and strengthen your tactical vision, positional understanding, theoretical knowledge, and intuitive judgment in an integrated and holistic manner. In addition, they will enhance your ability to anticipate your opponent’s ideas, calculate variations, and evaluate the resulting positions accurately.

I personally have found the problems to be interesting and of high quality :)

u/chefr89 · 11 pointsr/chess

you're right man. has anyone here actually played OTB chess at a club or tournament? lol

OP sounds like he's looking exactly for something like this. That way, you can also get a clock either to include or add later on. I know it doesn't look like 'cool gift material' but it's probably what everyone else at the club is using. Maybe in the future though you can find a cool set to use at home!

u/DWrevilO is a great parent for not only looking to get their son a good gift, but getting some input from a relevant subreddit!

u/JeffB1517 · 2 pointsr/chess

Arguably what teaches you what makes a move good or bad at 1300 leve are the tactics puzzles and endgames. The standard for this type of learning is: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1890085138/ and its the standard for good reason. If you don't want a course but more a good book of chess aphorisms and rules of thumb: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936490323 and somewhat harder: https://www.amazon.com/Wisest-Things-About-Chess-Batsford/dp/1906388008. A good book on theory that will have you learn theory as it develops and is fun to read if you like great games is: https://smile.amazon.com/Masters-Chessboard-Richard-Reti-ebook/dp/B006ZQISDY/





u/Nosher · 2 pointsr/chess

You're in for a lot of fun kbphoto, welcome to chess.

For an adult beginner I'd recommend two things to start off with:

  1. Get yourself a board and pieces and buy this book and play through the games. Every move in each game is explained and this is a great way to get up and running quickly even if some of the openings are a little old fashioned.

  2. Watch these "Chess Fundamentals videos (1 to 5) by International Master John Bartholomew - It's like having your own highly rated tutor guide you through your first steps in chess and has some great tips and practices to follow.

    Both these together will get you off to a flying start and then later on you can take a look at some more resources listed in the FAQ in the sidebar.

    Good luck!

u/gnuvince · 3 pointsr/chess

Reading a book on tactical patterns could help you; the free Chess Tactics Explained or Yasser Seirawan's Winning Chess Tactics aretwo good options.

Another thing that helped me recently was taking some time off, and when I came back, taking more time to solve each puzzles. Instead of playing the first move that looks good and reacting to the computer's move, figure out in advance what the computer can play and how you can keep on going. It makes problem solving longer, can make you pull out your hair, but is extremely rewarding when after 20 minutes you figure out the complete sequence of moves.

Good luck!

u/Atlas_Danced · 2 pointsr/chess

Chess is hard. To be honest I don't really remember how I got over that initial hump in the learning curve myself where things started to make sense to me, but I'll link you a video that will probably be somewhat helpful to you.


It's a deep game though, don't think that you can just watch some videos and get good. You need practice and study. Practice chess tactics and learn some basic opening principles. The first chess book I ever got was this one.

If I recall correctly it is pretty beginner friendly. Once you know the rules and how the game works knowing basic tactical patterns will help you.

When you play games, longer time controls will be better for a beginner. It gives you more time to think and plan. If you are playing blitz or bullet games, there is not much instructional value to be gleaned from them, especially for a beginner. I'd say 15 minutes +.

u/yeknom02 · 2 pointsr/chess

First off, your best bet is indeed practicing tactics problems on Chesstempo.com. The great thing about that site is that it will give you problems at your appropriate difficulty, and you can keep solving problems as long as you want (no daily limits like there are on Chess.com). It's just like lifting weights or anything - the more you practice, the stronger you will get.

Meanwhile, a consensus seems to be that the first thing you should study are checkmate patterns and endgames in general. I personally like Jeremy Silman's Complete Endgame Course, which goes from beginner-level endgames to far more advanced endgames. And although many discourage simply memorizing opening lines, find some that work for you and memorize a handful. Maybe five or so. More importantly than the memorization is understanding the reasoning behind the moves. For example, are the moves designed to grab a strong presence in the center, or is it specifically geared towards an attack on the opponent's queen-side for example? Don't just memorize openings without understanding why the moves are what they are and what they hope to accomplish. Surprisingly, I think the Wikipedia Chess Opening Theory Wikibook is a fantastic resource for all this.

u/60_Second_Assassin · 2 pointsr/chess

I've only read a couple chess books, but I found both of them very helpful as a beginning player. I find Jeremy Silman very good at explaining strategy, tactics, and openings in a way that's easy to comprehend. I got Modern Chess Strategy, by Ludek Pachman, from my grandfather's library. This book is much more dense, but it breaks down chess strategy very well and is organized better than Silman's in my opinion (Opening, Midgame (Tactics + Strategy), Piece by piece strengths + weaknesses, Endgame, Mental game, etc.).

u/DDarrko45 · 8 pointsr/chess

I believe it was Philidor who said "Pawns are the soul of chess," and that is definitely true. As for knowing how they work, that's a bit tricky.

There are a lot of books out there on pawn structure chess (such as this one: http://www.amazon.com/Pawn-Structure-Chess-Andrew-Soltis/dp/1849940703)

But in my opinion, I think you have to understand the pieces very well before you should start tackling pawn movements. For instance, does the position call for to rip open the center by trading pawns (in situations where you are ahead in development or have bishops vs knights), or should I lock up the center and not trade the pawns off there (in a situation of knights vs bishops)? Or on another level, does this pawn move negate the possibility for him to get a defender to this square B that would defend square A?

But back to the pieces. I think a solid understanding on bishops vs knights games, developmental advantages, knowing when to pawn storm, etc. will allow you someone to better understand when pawn moves may be beneficial or harmful to their position. A good book for learning this kind of info is Reassess Your Chess by IM Jeremy Silman. It's not solely about pawns, but you learn a lot of indirect knowledge about pawns through reading it that allows for the understanding of certain pawn moves. After that I would possibly move to pawn specific books if you want to further your knowledge.

TL;DR - make sure you understand the pieces/positions and you can derive if a pawn move might be beneficial or harmful

u/TheJoyfulMediator · 2 pointsr/chess

From my personal experience I have always found chess books to be boring in the very least. I have only read 1 or 2 books that have managed to keep me interested and one of them is Silman's Complete Endgame Course.

I thought this book was good for a few reasons.

  1. It is split into rating categories, which gives the reader a goal to aim for.
  2. The book starts with very basic principles such as mating with a queen, then queen and rook, two rooks... etc.
  3. The writing itself is interesting and motivating. The writing was not always dead serious analysis, in fact, it presented problems in an interesting manner. There are end of chapter tests that help you decide whether or not you understand the material within the chapter. The puzzles are given and then solutions are quite thorough because not only do they give you the answer, but they also incorporate common misconceptions that may come across a player's mind.

    In regards to immediately practical advice:

    If you're having trouble with game situations and nerves, I would suggest playing out positions with a friend. For example, if you are learning how to mate with a Queen and King vs King, you can set up a position over the board and play with a friend. This way you can practice and there is no pressure because you can take back incorrect moves. (Or if finding someone to play with is difficult, I recommend playing against an engine. Although that may be intimidating, you can always reduce its strength so that it shouldn't be a problem.)

    I hope my advice has been helpful!
u/bakedCake · 4 pointsr/chess

I'm also a beginner, and this book has been absolutely perfect so far. It's not bogged down with advanced detail and theory, and it does a great job of getting across the fundamental ideas from historical GM games.

http://www.amazon.com/Logical-Chess-Every-Explained-Algebraic/dp/0713484640

Tell him to bring out a chess board, or open up an analysis board, and play each move along with the author. It really helps the lessons sink in easier.

u/twf46 · 1 pointr/chess

I noticed that you mentioned nothing about endgame studies. You should probably shift your focus more from openings & middle games to middle games & endgames. Buy this if you truly want to improve your game.

Fast time controls like bullet and blitz won't help you get better at playing chess until you can understand the mistakes you're making. They're fun and great for working through openings, however that should be one of your lowest priorities at this stage.

In addition to using the tactics trainer, try to play through some endgames on chesstempo.com.

u/Pawnbrake · 1 pointr/chess

If you want the best stuff, then two books should be your foundation

First, Silman's Complete Endgame Course is strong. Silman is known for explaining things in an easy-to-digest manner. His book covers endgame ideas from beginner level up to ~2200 rating level. Despite the fact that you may not get much out of it (and so it will be a quick read), it is important to have all of his ideas understood before moving on, because the ideas he writes about are essentially basic.

Then, move on to Mark Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual. It's important to note that this book is not written by some patzer or some GM who knows how to play but not how to teach. Mark Dvoretsky is a well-known elite chess trainer who has trained some of the best players in the world, so you know that his writing is strong. The purpose of Silman's book becomes clear when this book is recommended: this book is for turning ~2100+ players into elite endgame masters. This book probably should not be read or understood until essentially basic endgames are understood.

u/whowantstoknow11 · 2 pointsr/chess

Yeah, I've got my head around it now. I'm not finding it TOO difficult but definitely slows my reading down a bit. The funny thing is that the book still uses normal notation as we know it when referring to specific squares (f2 square, c3 square etc), so it is surprising that it uses a different format when referring to moves.

Aside from that I'm really enjoying the book so far https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Chess-Strategy-Ludek-Pachman/dp/0486202909

u/KingEdwardXII · 2 pointsr/chess

The advice given by most decent chess players is to learn the basic rules (which you've done) and then focus on tactics. I see you have used chesstempo, which is excellent. I'd say to focus on that. Recognizing common tactical patterns really is the best way to improve and there are many, many sources for this sort of training. This book by Laszlo Polgar (for many basic mate examples) and this one (to explore the various tactical ideas) by his daughter are quite good imho.

u/drdvna · 2 pointsr/chess

Agreed that learning the logic of tactics and strategy are essential to playing good chess. Playing faster should never be a goal. Blitz chess etc. are just a way of challenging yourself and keeping the game interesting in my opinion, but not at all a learning tool. I would really focus on learning more about the classic openings and the classic endgame patterns. Horowitz's book Chess Openings and Polgar's book on recognizing endgame mating patterns are a great place to start. Once you are familiar with the common patterns that occur in chess, you play through those at lightning speed, and you can take your time when it comes to the middle game.

u/anything2x · 15 pointsr/chess

Congrats on your win!. Try this book https://www.amazon.com/Bobby-Fischer-Teaches-Chess/dp/0553263153/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481030940&sr=1-1&keywords=bobby+fischer+teaches+chess

It basically starts with one move to win, then two moves to win, then 3, etc. You'll start to notice patterns and see tactics. Write in the book and do everything in order. After I did this I was able to beat the computer easily and noticed my playing went up drastically online. However you have to keep it up so do the puzzles every day and when you're done with the book get more chess puzzles.

u/remembertosmilebot · 7 pointsr/chess

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games

Understanding Chess Move by Move

Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953

Tal-Botvinnik 1960

Alekhine My Best Games of Chess, 1908-1937

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

u/Rocksteady2R · 6 pointsr/chess

hah.

yeah. let me point out something you said... " I've been trying to get better for a couple of days" & " I would assume ... a huge improvement spike"...

not so man. not so. you can do this self-taught to a fair degree, but you're still going to have to read and practice. hundreds of games, not a few days worths.

There are some base concepts and tactics that can help, once you see them in use. it's kinda like any other interest, there is a language and skill-set all it's own. I highly suggest Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. It hits home 3 very important concepts. Some of it is overly simple, but it does hit home those 3 big tools. You'll also read through it, get done, and not ever see the need to og re-read it. I suggest it only because you seem to be having some basic-level troubles. Here's a PDF Version.

u/drkodos · 4 pointsr/chess

Agreement. This may be a better book for tactics at the OP level.

https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Tactics-Everyman/dp/1857443861

Seirawan books deserve more love. Much better than the oft lauded Silman tomes.

u/HorseNamedAppetite · 8 pointsr/chess

Solving for mate and studying pawn/rook endgames should be studied from day one. Both of them help immensely with visualization, and will make your entire game stronger. The Polgar book with 5334 problems is a classic, and I strongly recommend it, because it goes from easy mate in ones to harder mate in threes and so on:

https://www.amazon.com/Chess-5334-Problems-Combinations-Games/dp/1579125549

It's a monster volume at 1,100+ pages, and will put some strain on your bookshelf, but it's only $21 at Amazon. You're not going to find better value as a beginner.

u/richiecherry · 1 pointr/chess

Great AMA! Two questions:

  1. After getting tactics down well enough to compete on the 1800-1900 level would you recommend getting into a) endgame strategy (i.e. books on Capa) or b) pawn structures/plans (i.e. like this)?

  2. In your opinion, does watching video analysis of GM games qualify as "studying master games" or is it more like "chesstainment"?
u/ialsohaveadobro · 4 pointsr/chess

Don't worry about openings for now. You can have perfect opening knowledge and still get killed by weak players with a basic grasp of tactics and an ability to find threats. Those areas are the starting point.

To that end, assuming you know the rules already, and can read chess notation, start with a VERY simple book on tactics. Go through "Simple Checkmates" by A. J. Gilliam (Amazon link) seriously at least seven times--preferably about 10 to 20 times--until you can instantly see the right move in each diagram.

Learning chess is all about building up your knowledge of basic patterns, and I've yet to find a book that gives such a good grounding in the most fundamental and important of these basic patterns.

More advanced (but still cheap) books that are good for learning to see patters in chess would be 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate, by Fred Reinfeld (ignore any books of his that don't consist of just diagrams, though) and the excellent Chess Training Pocket Book: 300 Most Important Positions, by Lev Alburt.

I found Winning Chess Strategies, by Yasser Seirawan helpful as an introduction to strategy when I first started out, but some people think his writing style is more suitable for kids.

How to Reassess Your Chess: The Complete Chess-Mastery Course, by Jeremy Silman or The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions into Chess Mastery, also by Silman are big touchstones for chess learners in the late-beginner phase. A less-known author that I highly recommend is C. J. S. Purdy. He wrote quite a while ago, but he's incredibly insightful in teaching amateurs to break bad chess habits and generally understand how to think in chess. Here's an Amazon search result for his books. (By the way, I don't necessarily endorse Amazon as the best place to buy chess books, but the links are convenient.)

Main thing is, get the basics down. Build up the basic patterns. Go over the simpler diagrams over and over until you know them cold. Then move on to strategy, more advanced tactics and endgames, then worry about openings.

u/BabyPoker · 1 pointr/chess

By mastering the tactics I'm assuming you mean learn the strategy? The phrase is ambiguous because 'tactic' has a special meaning within chess.

To be honest, my first exposure with 'real chess' was with one of Jeremy Silman's books, The Amatuer's Mind. I was rated ~1200 at that point, and used to just shuffling my pieces around and hoping my opponent blundered. The Amatuer's Mind taught me about the basics of planning, and that's something I've been learning about ever since.

Annotated game collections are an amazing way to learn.

u/mullanaphy · 1 pointr/chess

Here's some suggestions to start with.

Dvoretsky's Analytical Manual: Practical Training for the Ambitious Chessplayer
Great all around.

Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner To Master
Some great endgame work for you.

Can't go wrong with Silman or Dvoretsky. Suggestion looking through their works and seeing what would work for you.

u/tshuman7 · 1 pointr/chess

Kudos to all the commenters for recommending [Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master] (http://www.amazon.com/Silmans-Complete-Endgame-Course-Beginner/dp/1890085103/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375204281&sr=8-1&keywords=Jeremy+Silman). If you do as Silman suggests, and don't start the next chapter until you have fully mastered the previous one, it will do wonders for your endgame playing strength.

That said, much will depend on what sort of time controls you play. The shorter the time control, the less likely that you will be able to convert solid endgame advantages into full points...

u/unhingedpsychopath · 3 pointsr/chess

First of all, never say 'opening tactics' again. I think you mean 'openings', 'opening principles' or 'opening strategy'. Strategy and tactics are a different thing, and in chess the difference is huge.


Endgames can be beautifully complicated even when they might appear simple at first. Chesstempo.com has an endgame trainer that is useful. You can also learn a lot from books (example) and youtube (example).


Playing a lot is essential to improvement. But so is analysing your games, studying material and tactics training.

u/theino · 3 pointsr/chess

Openings: The Scandanavian will be fine for the rest of your chess career. Learn c5 if you feel like it, not because you think its 'better'.

Midgame: Tactics will be the first thing to help you improve your chess. I think its a good idea to add a little positional study in there, but focus on the tactics.

Endgame: This is a helpful thing to study. However, I don't have any good book recommendations for you on this one. Hopefully it is something someone else can help you with.

Christmas recommendations:

Gold membership on Chess Tempo for tactics.

Also the book Logical Chess Move by Move for some positional study.

u/JediLibrarian · 1 pointr/chess

I am about 1600 USCF, with about 100 chess books. However, most of mine are biographies/historical.

My favorites are:

Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953 by David Bronstein

Soviet Chess, 1917-1991 by Andrew Soltis

Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall - from America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness by Frank Brady

Aron Nimzowitsch: On the Road to Chess Mastery, 1886-1924 by Per Skjoldager and Jorn Erik Nielsen

Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov (3 volumes) by Garry Kasparov.

u/blue_garlic · 1 pointr/chess

My first chess books and they laid a great foundation IMO.

Winning Chess Tactics (Winning Chess - Everyman Chess) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1857443861/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_6cxuyb72M9N01


Winning Chess Strategies (Winning Chess - Everyman Chess) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1857443853/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Kdxuyb38ZVT8B

u/TessaCr · 4 pointsr/chess

My new years "chessalutions" (if you will) was to do more study and play more. Unfortunately I have not done the latter as much due to work but I am hitting the books more and enjoying reading through Understanding Chess Move by Move by GM Dr. John Nunn. May look to do more tournaments but for the time being I am focusing on my job (I am a hotel manager so it is pretty busy all the time 24/7) and once I get that under control I can focus my attention on chessing.

u/fischerandchips · 11 pointsr/chess

i highly recommend this book for beginners: [Logical Chess Move By Move by Irving Chernev] (https://www.amazon.com/Logical-Chess-Every-Explained-Algebraic/dp/0713484640)

Here's an excerpt after the moves 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3:

At this point you will note that black must defend his e-pawn before going about his business.
There are several ways to protect the pawn. He must evaluate and choose from these possibilities:

f6, Qf6, Qe7, Bd6, d6, and Nc6

How does black decide on the right move? Must he analyze countless combinations and try to visualize every sort of attack and defense for the next 10 or 15 moves? Let me hasten to assure you that a master does not waste valuable time on futile speculation. Instead, he makes use of a potent secret weapon - positional judgement. Applying it enables him to eliminate from consideration inferior moves, to which the average player devotes much thought. He hardly glances at moves that are obviously violations of principle!

Here is what might go through his mind as he selects the right move:

2. ... f6: Terrible! My f-pawn occupies a square that should be reserved for the knight and it also blocks the queen's path along the diagonal. And I've moved a pawn when I should be developing pieces.<br /> <br /> 2. ... Qf6: Bad, since my knight belongs at f6, not the queen. Also, I'm wasting the power of my strongest piece to defend a pawn.

2. ... Qe7: This shuts the f8 bishop in, while my queen is doing the job which a lesser piece could handle.<br /> <br /> 2. ... Bd6: I've developed a piece, but the d-pawn is obstructed, and my c8 bishop may be buried alive

2. ... d6: Not bad, since it gives the c8 bishop an outlet. But wait - it limits the range of the f8 bishop, and again i've moved a pawn when I should be putting pieces to work.<br /> <br /> 2. ... Nc6: Eureka! this must be best, as I have developed a piece to its most suitable square and protected the e pawn at the same time

u/Megatron_McLargeHuge · 1 pointr/chess

For an extra $10 you can get the standard tournament set basically everyone uses. The pieces are weighted and have a solid bottom so you can hit the clock with them. The green dark squared vinyl is popular because it contrasts with the black pieces.

Playing lines from books out on the board can help you visualize things better than just making the moves on the computer, and it gets rid of the temptation to turn on engine analysis when things get tough. If you sit in a coffee shop with the board, someone will come along and offer to play more often than not.

u/DarthFrog · 2 pointsr/chess

Simplest would be to phone first and ask. Or just go and see. If the players are expected to bring sets &amp; clocks, only half the players need bring them. :-)

Also, if you are a beginner or a low rated player, there's a strong chance your opponents won't want to play with a clock. If you're going to play in a tournament, this is the equipment I have:

https://www.chesshouse.com/collections/club-chess-sets/products/heavy-club-chess-set

https://www.chesshouse.com/products/24-x-8-x-3-deluxe-chess-bag

https://www.amazon.com/DGT-North-American-Chess-Clock/dp/B00312D2OU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1543274913&amp;amp;sr=8-3&amp;amp;keywords=dgt+north+american+chess+clock

The "board" I have is vinyl and is by far the most common one you'll see OTB. Tournaments may provide a paper "board". There's nothing wrong with vinyl boards as long as you look after them - always roll them up with the playing surface facing outwards so they'll lay flat. "Boards" made of mousepad or flex material are also popular. Silicon ones are either a love or hate proposition, as they won't allow chess pieces to slide over them. I also have a leather roll-up board, which is my favourite.

The colours of roll-up "boards" are up to you; I'm not aware of any regulations regarding them. You'll most commonly see green and buff "boards" but brown or blue and buff is also common. Use your common sense and get one that isn't distracting or hard on the eyes.

You'll want a board at least 20" square with 2.25" squares. The chess pieces should have at least a 3.75" king. An extra queen in both colours is nice.

u/OldWolf2 · 5 pointsr/chess

&gt; I’m learning chess with a few books from the library and there is one book called 5534 chess variations or something like that and it’s all just hundreds of puzzles mainly for the endgame like checkmate in 2 moves, checkmate in 3 moves etc.

It sounds like you're describing CHESS by Polgar. This is calculation training, it is nothing to do with endgame play . Even though some of the positions may occur during an endgame.

The purpose of solving these problems is to train yourself in being able to perfectly calculate short variations (1, 3 or 5 moves for M1, M2 or M3 problems respectively). Which is an essential skill if you ever want to get out of the "beginner" stage.

u/n3utrino · 3 pointsr/chess

Buy this book (any edition) and read through it. It's the best book (imo) for your level. You'll learn a lot playing through these games. As for notation, it takes a bit of practice... you can try to read through these games in your head, but I strongly recommend playing them out on a physical board in front of you (or on a computer program board).

u/MarkHathaway1 · 2 pointsr/chess

Middlegame: There aren't so many middle-game books, but I liked Ludek Pachman's books. There were originally 3, but when they were translated to English they made it a 2-volume set. There are others like Yusupov or Dvoretsky or Romanovsky, but you could probably pick a couple randomly and get good ones.

&amp;#x200B;

Endgame: Again, there's a lot of variety. I like a very large one done by a German Mueller and Lamprecht.

https://www.amazon.com/Fundamental-Chess-Endings-Karsten-M%C3%BCller/dp/1901983536/ref=sr_1_14?keywords=chess+endgame&amp;qid=1567215435&amp;s=gateway&amp;sr=8-14

&amp;#x200B;

Unfortunately for me I have none of these today. I sold and loaned some books some time ago and I especially miss the endgame book.

u/4m4z1ng · 2 pointsr/chess

My point is that if he's truly trying to grasp the basics, the names of all these openings shouldn't matter. Just play basic, solid chess. Follow the opening principles.

Also, you might check out Silman's book [How to Reassess Your Chess] (http://www.amazon.com/How-Reassess-Your-Chess-Fourth/dp/1890085138)
as it may be helpful.

Edit: Oh yeah, that's right. That is the Scandinavian. Thanks.

u/D314 · 7 pointsr/chess

Lots of tactics.

This book is good for beginners

https://www.amazon.com/Chess-5334-Problems-Combinations-Games/dp/1579125549

This one is also very good (and better IMO), a bit more advanced but still good for beginners.

https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Exercises-Kids-Coakley/dp/1895525101

u/noir_lord · 7 pointsr/chess

The Chernev book is awesome, one of my favourites.

In a similar vein Nunn's Understanding Chess Move by Move is brilliant.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Chess-Move-John-Nunn/dp/1901983412

Also CT-ART 4.0 (android and iOS) is cheap and imo the gold standard for thematic tactics training :).

Other books I own and like.

Fundamental Chess Openings (covers a lot of ground explaining the goals of each without reams of variations).

Laskers manual of chess (oldie but goodie - get the new edition).

Positional Decision Making in Chess Gelfand).

Try not to buy too many books until you've read and got what you can from each, also revisit them once in a while because as you improve you'll find stuff you didn't see/understand first time around.

u/feynarun · 2 pointsr/chess

You can sign up and play on these websites.

1.chess.com

2.lichess.org

3.chess24.com

&amp;#x200B;

Watch beginner videos on youtube. You can subscribe to these channels and watch their videos regularly. Many of these channels are not entirely aimed at beginners. You can watch them for entertainment and learn chess history too.

1.https://www.youtube.com/user/AGADMATOR

2.https://www.youtube.com/user/ChessNetwork

3.https://www.youtube.com/user/STLChessClub

4.https://www.youtube.com/user/wwwChesscom

5.https://www.youtube.com/user/RosenChess

6.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqLLqbclDQ6IQg39Wsgy-4w

7.https://www.youtube.com/user/PowerPlayChess

8.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWRXqVXhkHYp9HU9gJATgJA

Check out these books that are great for beginners and intermediate players.

1.https://www.amazon.com/Bobby-Fischer-Teaches-Chess/dp/0553263153/

2.https://www.amazon.com/Chess-Tactics-Champions-step-step/dp/081293671X/

u/ambivalentacademic · 2 pointsr/chess

Question for you or anyone: What is the best chess puzzle app? I'm a huge fan of Ray Cheng's book. Any phone app equivalent?

u/Kaluki · 2 pointsr/chess

How to Reasses your Chess by Silman is essentially what you're looking for. It goes over the process of finding imbalances in a position and creating a plan around these imbalances. Examples of typical imbalances would be:

  1. More or less space
  2. Bishop vs Knights
  3. Pawn Structure
  4. Material difference
  5. Quality of piece placement
  6. King Safety
  7. Initiative

    My suggestion would be to go over games by masters in the openings you play. Look for imbalances and take note of how the master uses them to create plans. I would also suggest not changing openings much if at all since plans can differ drastically based on the opening and you don't want to lose any experience you've accrued.
u/Carson_McComas · 2 pointsr/chess

Honestly, get a tactics book. Start with a beginner one and do the puzzles. All of them. Make sure you understand them, especially the ones you get wrong. This will easily put you above 1000. Then you can get a more advanced one.

Here is a good one that covers the basic tactical motifs and then some:

https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Tactics-Everyman/dp/1857443861

Seriously, don't ignore tactics.

u/JamesCavendish · 1 pointr/chess

I have really enjoyed the book how to beat your dad at chess as a departure from the "norm" of chess books. This book is much more focused on teaching you pattern recognition than just drilling you over and over and over, which you can get from any tactics trainer online or one of those giant puzzle books. Don't let the title fool you, it's not a book aimed at children (obviously would be fine for an ambitious youth, just mean that it's not a "kids" chess book per se).

u/PepperJohn · 3 pointsr/chess

I gave you some advice for each book at each level. Of course all of these books can be switched around and if you want to read Dvoretsky (A very advanced author) at your level you're welcome to. Although a 1300 rating on lichess.org is still at a beginner level so I suggest you start from that section.

---

Beginner:

Play Winning Chess By: Yasser Seirawan

Logical Chess Move by Move By: Irving Chernev

How to Reasses Your Chess By: Jeremy Silman

---
Intermediate:

Practical Chess Exercises By: Ray cheng


The Art of Defense in Chess By: Andrew Soltis

Pawn Structure Chess By: Andrew Soltis

---

Master:



Fundamental Chess Endings By: Karsten-Müller and Frank Lamprecht.

Art of Attack in Chess By: Vladimir Vukovic

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual By: Mark Dvoretsky

u/MisterGone5 · 15 pointsr/chess

I might suggest some reading material that may help out your chess thinking process.

Silman's The Amateur's Mind and How to Reassess your Chess are both great for any beginner to moderate strength player, as they focus on understandable concepts and fixing common problems in many people's game.

u/TensionMask · 7 pointsr/chess

I hope the responses you get put you on the right track. But there are books on this topic such as this excellent one which is 650+ pages. I only say this to point out that anything you read here is only scratching the surface. It just depends how deeply you want to learn.

u/r-habdoglaux · 2 pointsr/chess

This. I'm the same way--I slay at tactical puzzles, but haven't put in the time to learn positional analysis and memorize historical games in a way that would get me anywhere worth mentioning. I can't exactly say I've had stellar experiences around competitive chess players, either...let's just say it's not my scene and leave it at that.

If you don't have it yet, get Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games and you'll be glad you did. If I had choose to a handful of "desert island books", this one would definitely be in there.

u/jez2718 · 1 pointr/chess

One of the Books that got me back into chess was How to beat your Dad at Chess, which is just a great book of 50 checkmating patterns really clearly explained.

u/tobiasvl · 2 pointsr/chess

Not the book you're after, but I think Chess: The Art of Logical Thinking: From the First Move to the Last is a good book for you. It goes through 30 games (grouped by opening) by annotating every move, so you don't have to read through long sequences of moves without help.

Logical Chess: Move By Move: Every Move Explained is similar and probably good too (Chernev is cool) but I haven't read it.

u/gilescorey10 · 4 pointsr/chess

amateurs mind is very good

also you should probably get CT-ART for tactics, since all games starting out will be won though tactics

u/See_More_Glass · 1 pointr/chess

I haven't used the DGT North American that I can remember, so I can't compare the two. You're right though, they are similarly priced and the DGT does look nicer. It is something the OP should definitely check out.

DGT NA: http://www.amazon.com/DGT-North-American-Chess-Clock/dp/B00312D2OU

I was just basing my response on my personal experience. We've used about 20 of the Saiteks with elementary students, and while they may not feel as solid as some of the others, they have stood up very well to the beatings that kids can deliver. Just my .02.

u/drfoqui · 2 pointsr/chess

Besides everything that is being said, analyzing annotated games from the masters is usually very useful and entertaining. This book is great if you want to do that.

u/chinstrap · 3 pointsr/chess

This book, "Practical Chess Exercises", has a mixture of tactical and positional solutions, all mixed together: it's up to you to assess each position and determine what the best move is; it doesn't say "hey there are/aren't any tactics in this problem". So it is not 100% what you are looking for, but it may be helpful.

u/Sicilian-Dragon · 5 pointsr/chess

My absolutely favorite clock, the DGT North American. Would highly recommend!

u/Pawngrubber · 2 pointsr/chess

If you're just starting, silman's endgame course is the best book. Silman's endgame course starts from absolute beginner up to ~2000. If you go through silman's endgame manual and dvoretsky's endgame manual, should be the only books you need for endgames until ~2400

Dvoretsky's endgame manual is universally known as the gold standard for what a player needs to know about the endgame. But it's hard to understand, so take time to ease into it.

u/ThoughtfullyReckless · 2 pointsr/chess

Have you read "Logical Chess: Move By Move" - Irving Chernev? It might help you! It deals a lot with the other aspect of the game, strategy (and openings etc)... Well worth a read!

http://www.amazon.com/Logical-Chess-Every-Explained-Batsford/dp/0713484640

u/WhenIntegralsAttack · 1 pointr/chess

I'm a bit embarrassed to have missed that pawn.

I would like to finish reading The Game of Chess simply so that I don't just hop from book to book all the while getting nowhere in particular. However, after that I will definitely study some positional chess. Tarrasch focuses almost purely on tactics in his middle game section. Also, keep in mind that I posted a game that I lost in. I've had plenty of games where I've built successful attacks out of tactics that Tarrasch teaches. I'll defend that book because it helped me grow from where I was, but I agree that I have almost no positional understanding right now.

I already own Pachman's Modern Chess Strategy. Is this sufficient as a positional book, or is Silman's book that much better to warrant buying it?

u/FredNorman · 7 pointsr/chess

Logical Chess Move by Move is a great one. I recommend buying a premium membership on chesstempo for custom problem sets and to find where you're tactically weak. Not blundering pieces at your level should be your biggest concern and chesstempo is great for that.

u/chemistry_teacher · 1 pointr/chess

Agree on Silman (link provided). I read Reinfeld first, but this book uses older notation, not the modern algebraic style (think "BxN", rather than "Bxf6"). Silman is a good followup to Reinfeld in my case, but not so much as a first book.

u/chuckwagon14 · 5 pointsr/chess

Modern Chess Strategy by Ludek Pachman is fantastic for gaining a basic understanding of many general positional themes in chess. Many illustrative games relevant to each theme with great insight and analysis provided by Pachman. It is in descriptive notation, but that's not too hard to learn.

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Chess-Strategy-Ludek-Pachman/dp/0486202909

u/JayPlay69 · 3 pointsr/chess

How to beat your Dad at chess - Murray Chandler is the book I have used to learn a bunch of common mating patterns, I've still not got all the way through the book but it's certainly helping a lot.

u/potifar · 6 pointsr/chess

&gt; watching high rated games does nothing just like watching olympics doesn't make you faster runner or better at javelin

I disagree, depending on what "watching" means in this context. I believe actively working through well annotated master games can be very instructive. See for example the oft recommended Logical Chess: Move By Move: Every Move Explained.

The key difference between chess and athletics here is that you can watch actively, constantly coming up with your own candidate moves and calculations while "watching". Passively watching chess like you would watch running won't do much for you.

u/Drink_More_Beer · 2 pointsr/chess

From what I have seen chess clock apps are best suited to straight time controls with no delays or increments. Not saying its not out there but I haven't seen it.

This is what I use and its undoubtedly much more suited to tournament play than any app.

DGT North American http://www.amazon.com/DGT-North-American-Chess-Clock/dp/B00312D2OU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1397285396&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=dgt+north+american

The DGT 2010 SG is more suited for FIDE time controls.

u/rompenstein · 2 pointsr/chess

I bought the DGT North American a while back (2 actually) and have been very happy with it. I was a bit unsure before buying it, but now having owned it I'd definitely buy the same one again.

u/ThisGodlessEndeavor · 1 pointr/chess

I was recently gifted a DGT North American as a second clock for bughouse purposes. I like the design and build quality so far, and appreciate that the lever on top is less obnoxiously loud than the Saitek Mephisto (now discontinued, link is to its replacement) that I have. Both are fine clocks!

u/blackferne · 2 pointsr/chess

If you are looking for a chess book that doesn't require you to have a board out. I would suggest something that is more tactics related. Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess is a bunch of mate in X type problems, but he also goes over tactical basics. If you feel really industrious you can work through this monster Chess by Lazlo Polgar. It shows how each piece moves then just throws you into chess problems.

Most chess books benefit from the use of a board. One that I read in college was Chess Fundamentals by Jose Capablanca. He gives good explanations to the core principles in chess and at the time I think it helped me as a player.

u/OKImHere · 3 pointsr/chess

It's such a canonical book that in chess circles, it gets its own abbreviation, HTRYC. I'd check your local library first, though, because it's so popular that they're bound to have a copy of it.

It's a good book for learning basic strategy, but I recommend you pair it up with this book so you can look for the themes without the crutch of context.

u/CalmChessWizard · 3 pointsr/chess

Chess is a hard game! If you are a serious player, I recommend buying and studying The Amateur's Mind. You need to break down the game and understand the abilities and weaknesses of each piece. Silman helps explains these concepts by exposing the faulty logic in his students' analysis. (Hence, The Amateur's Mind!) It's an amazing book, and I really suggest you try it out!

u/eaphilipp · 3 pointsr/chess

I have this set and I am really happy with it:

ChessSet

u/114121019 · 3 pointsr/chess

https://www.amazon.com/Amateurs-Mind-Turning-Misconceptions-Mastery/dp/1890085022/

Jeremy Silman is a good chess author. I own...

The Complete Book of Chess Strategy

The Amateurs Mind

How to Reassess your Chess

Silmans Complete Endgame Course

...all are recommended

u/ralph-moeritz · 3 pointsr/chess

FWIW I've been there and know exactly how feel. Unless you do suffer from dyslexia or are mentally retarded (and based on your writing style I doubt that!) by playing and doing regular tactics training you will eventually begin to see improvement in your game. That being said, here are some things to consider:

You say you've read a chess book; which one? Esp. for beginner/intermediate players it's important to read the right books. e.g. a book covering a specific opening wouldn't be helpful. I learnt this the hard way: my bookshelf is full of books that are far too advanced/specific for me! (I'm still a class C player but I've gone from 1100 to 1500 in the last two years). I found the following books helped me to understand how to evaluate and plan, which also helped me to figure what my opponents are up to:

  • Logical Chess Move by Move by Irving Chernev
  • Chess Strategy by Edward Lasker

    There's also a great video series by IM Lawrence Trent on Chess24 called Planning Unveiled.

    Getting destroyed over and over is just a normal part of improving and you should come to terms with it. Analyse your games afterwards. First without an engine and then turn the engine on since it will help you find more accurate moves and expose flaws in your own analysis. Using the engine to find tactics you and/or your opponent missed is especially instructive and I do it all the time.

    Just my 2c.
u/Bstochastic · 1 pointr/chess

Cool, I'll be sure to include this. I already do this as part of my studying.

Right now I am picking games out of http://www.amazon.com/Mammoth-Worlds-Greatest-Chess-Games/dp/0762439955
and - after move 10 or so - taking the role of W or B and guessing the moves...I also write down my thinking process.

u/BongCloudCrew · 6 pointsr/chess

https://www.amazon.com/Fundamental-Chess-Endings-Karsten-M%C3%BCller/dp/1901983536

This is the book that Carlsen had in his too weak too slow video.

Its actually really good, better than Silman's book.

u/GTChessplayer · 1 pointr/chess

study tactics man. get a book or 2 off of amazon and go through the whole thing.. problems and all.

http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Tactics-Everyman/dp/1857443861/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1407472357&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=winning+chess+tactics

This book will help you understand common tactical themes and when to look for them.

then after this one, get a more advanced one. ask if you want more suggestions.

u/goltrpoat · 6 pointsr/chess

Bronstein, Zurich 1953. Easily one of the top five chess books ever written.

u/botena · 1 pointr/chess

I thought that this book was very good.

u/bassist_human · 1 pointr/chess

If you want to go oldschool (with a book), I used Lazlo Polgar's Chess years ago and liked it.

I don't know why I never thought of applets for chess puzzles... I'm going to have to try some of these out.

u/sprcow · 2 pointsr/chess

Cool. Follow-up question, are you more interested in more standardized boards, or less typical pieces? I have a standard travel mat with Staunton pieces (this, more or less) and also a wooden set that's not weird or anything but not Staunton. I could do either, or both.

u/fsm_follower · 1 pointr/chess

I enjoyed Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. It is a straight forward book that concentrates on mating moves. It starts assuming you don't know how to play, but it teaches you how to recognize first one move mates, then two, and so on. The big take away I took from the book was how to recognize positions that lead to mate. This lets you know what to avoid yourself and what to take advantage of when your opponent does it.