Focus on openings or tactics first ?

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Openings have evolved for centuries and matured into what they are today. There are many ideas behind each line. Every move is played for a reason.
There is a reason why it is called theory. It is not set in stone but there is a consensus until someone tries to challenge it with a new idea.

Also there is the situation, which you will encounter, where you play other beginners who have been studying a different variation or system than you and will play different moves than those you know. So in a matter of a few moves you will both be “out of the book” and on your own.

Your time is much better spent training tactics and practical endgames and going over the games you play to see what went wrong and right. There is a special training that is very helpful not just to beginners.
Playing lines over in your head as far as it goes, without moving the pieces on the board. In books there are often variations to the moves of the main game/combination. Try to “see” them. In the beginning it will be extremely difficult. Go back and try again if you lose your train of thought. After this special training it is often nice to play out the moves on a real chess board.

Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Start with 5-15 minutes a day. It is better to train a little daily than once a week for two hours. Already after 1-2 months of this daily training you will notice huge improvement in what you see over the board. Well, I did and I’m “just” a hobby player.

For the beginning chess player, there’s a lot of emphasis mentally on starting out in the game correctly. The problem is that it’s hard to find any advice on the opening besides very basic tips.

 

Chess Tactics for solid basis

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The right way to keep your pieces safe and to grab your opponent’s pieces is through tactics. Tactics are the biggest part of a chess game — every good player has learned basic tactics.

1. Protect yourself. The most basic tactic is counting — that is, making sure each piece is properly protected enough times by other pieces. Going through the other tactics: Pins, forks, checkmates, skewers, removal of the guard, queening combinations, double threats, discovered checks, etc. If you love doing the puzzles in books, you will almost certainly do all of them and become an excellent player!

2. Develop fast. The player who gets the most pieces out first usually finds himself on the good side of the tactics! Also, Stay Away From The Seeds of Tactical Destruction: loose (unguarded) pieces, weak back rank, pinned pieces, overworked pieces, inadequately guarded pieces, etc.

3. Forced lines first. When thinking about which move to make, consider first your checks, captures, and threats. Similarly, when seeing what your opponent can do to you, look for his checks, captures, and threats first. Pay just as much attention to what your opponent is doing as to what you are doing.

4. You ‘re not playing alone! Your opponent’s last move just threatened something. You can ignore it, but he just threatened something. I know you are anxious to threaten something yourself, but he just moved and already threatened something.

You don't play alone

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His threat might be more important than your threat. If you threaten mate in one move, you still lose if he just threatened mate in one move and you didn’t meet this threat. While some of your opponent’s threats may not be worthy of a response, more games are lost by ignored one move threats than any other way.

5. Traps! Your opponent just dropped his queen. If he’s a good actor, he even looks nervous as if he would like to take the move back. You have the feeling that he will resign as soon as you take his queen. Without thinking, you grab the queen. The queen will still be there in a few minutes. If this is definitely a trap, you could lose the game by capturing the queen too fast. Make an effort to determine whether your opponent really dropped his queen or if he is setting a trap. Always be at least a little suspicious of a free queen.

Good games!

 

Chess Storybook : Facebook Page

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Hi all,

A quick note before posting my next chess tips.

I’ve just created a Facebook Page Here :

Pierre-Nicolas Chess Storybook

Let’s share our Chess Stories, our tricks and tips, everything that can help us to play a better Chess!

You are so many coming around here. I’m sure we can learn from each other.

See you THERE!

 

 

 

To exchange, or not to… That is the question

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No, Hamlet is not back! We’re talking about a dilemma on a chessboard.

Since you will almost certainly have many possibilities to exchange men on an “even” basis, it is really necessary to understand when you should or shouldn’t do this. There are various fundamental things to consider.

1. Typically, if you have the initiative (your pieces are better developed, and you are clearly controlling the game), do not trade men except if it increases your advantage in some obvious way. The fewer men each player has, the weaker the attacking player’s threats become, and the simplier and easier it is for the defending side to meet these threats.

2. Yet another situation not to trade pieces is when your opponent has a confined position with very little room for the pieces to maneuver. It’s difficult to move a lot of pieces around in a cramped position, but much easier to move just a few.

3. One kind of benefit it is possible to gain by trading pieces is a weakening of your opponent’s pawn structure. If, for instance, it is possible to capture a piece that your opponent is only able to recapture in a way that will give him “doubled pawns”.

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

4. The player who is ahead in material will in most cases take advantage of trades. It’s sort of like soccer or basketball; five players will sometimes have difficulty scoring against four opposing players, but remove three from each side and the strongest team will find it easier to score with two players against one.

Now, to conclude: It’s usually great for trade pieces when your opponent has the initiative, if you have a cramped position, if you can weaken your opponent’s pawn structure, or if you are ahead in material. There are exceptions, however, but following these guidelines should enable you to have significant success!

Good games!

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Short Chess tips for busy folks

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1. The most important chess guidance: SAFETY: Keep all your pieces safe! And consider taking opponent’s pieces that are not safe. For piece values, Bishops and Knights as worth about 3¼ pawns, Rooks 5, a Queen about 9. Having two Bishops when your opponent does not is called “the Bishop Pair” which is worth approximately an extra ½ pawn. Getting a Rook for a Bishop or Knight is called winning The Exchange which is worth nearly half a piece (Bishop or Knight).

2. The Next most important chess guideline: ACTIVITY: Ensure that all of your pieces are doing something all the time! Thus, for instance, move every piece once before you decide to move any piece twice in the opening (as a goal). Usually the best strategy in a position without having tactics is to find a piece that is doing very little and find an opportunity for it to do a lot more!

3. TAKE YOUR TIME — if world championship players usually take several minutes to find a good move, why do you think that you can find a better one faster? Look at it this way: NOTHING is preventing lower players from playing just like tougher players and taking your time to look at as many possibilities as you can. A good goal is to pace yourself to use almost all of your time every game. When you are thinking, tell yourself, “If I do this, what exactly are all the moves he is likely to do in return, and can I meet all of those threats next move? “If not, then you’ve got to find yourself another move, and this needs time! Tip: Don’t start a game where you are not intending to make use of all your time. If you want to play faster, then play a faster time control.

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

4. You are attempting to find the BEST move (or in some positions a reliable, very reasonable one), so when you see a really good move, seek for a better one. If you don’t look, you simply can’t see! If you play fast, you might not be considering all of your good moves.

If you seriously want to improve your chess, click HERE!

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