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Posted by tonguetide ability-tw.com 8/01/2008 19:43:13 play online chess	Subject: How to improve Message: I'm pretty new here. I've only finished 39 games. I'm returning to the game after not playing for a while--ten or fifteen years, I guess. I was never a tournament player, but I used to play recreationally against at least some players who were "serious." I love the game but have never been especially good. Here at GK I've won a lot of games but I've been, so to speak, working my way up the ratings scale, in terms of my opponents. Now that I'm playing mostly people in the 1500s, I have the feeling that I've hit my current "ceiling." I'm 54 years old, and this is just a hobby for me. I have no plans to play in OTB tournaments or anything like that. I love the web-based correspondence format, and it has given me new enthusiasm for the game. Like everybody else, I'd like to try to get better. I know there are hundreds of books about chess, written by masters, telling patzers like myself how to improve. But what I'd really like is to hear from someone who has started out at something like my level, decided to improve, and did so! That is, I'd like to hear from people who are now, say, playing at 1700 or higher, but who can remember playing at the 1500 level not so long ago. I'd like to know what things you see and do now, that you didn't see and do before. And what did you do to bring about the improvement? Let me give an example from my own vantage point. I am familiar with the common tactics, the fork, the discovered attack, the pin, the skewer, and so on. I use them when I can. I try to see them coming. I can remember back when I was only vaguely aware of these things, and they seemed like magic when used against me. So I guess I'm wondering what principles I'm probably oblivious to now that might help me to make it to the next level. I recently found this interesting web page, home.comcast.net, which is a bit overwhelming. But maybe some of the better players here can identify the ideas that have been most helpful to them. I only recently heard of the "worst piece principle," for example. Even though it's somewhat obvious, it had never really occurred to me before as something to think about in quiet positions. I've been trying to do so, but it's too soon to say whether it is helping my play. I'm very interested to hear how the better players got better.
Posted by cascadejames ability-tw.com 8/01/2008 20:37:51 play online chess	tactics Message: My history is similar to yours, though I am years older and had a bigger gap in my playing time. I don't quite meet your rating requirement of 1700; but I got close, 1680, until recently when I started playing mostly against players at 1700+ and started losing pretty often. But FWIW, my advice is -- study tactics, tactics, tactics. OK, you already know the basics, but recognizing a pin, skewer, fork, etc. is not the same as really understanding their use and how to create them. I suggest paging through the book, "Winning Chess Tactics" by Seirawan and Silman. If it looks too basic, and it may; then move directly on to the book "Understanding Chess Tactics" by Martin Weteschnik. The first was a good review and base for me. The second was an eye opener that moved me from the low 1500s to the mid-1600s
Posted by cascadejames ability-tw.com 8/01/2008 20:39:29 play online chess	Also Dan Heisman Message: His article on the Seeds of destruction has been very helpful to me.
Posted by cascadejames ability-tw.com 8/01/2008 21:04:18 play online chess	link Message: www.chesscafe.com
Posted by lighttotheright ability-tw.com 8/01/2008 23:32:53 play online chess	Message: All of it. Dan Heisman has some great information. Just take it one step at a time and at your own leisure. Learning principles and learning from your mistakes is the best thing you can do. Analyse every game and find mistakes that you can avoid, including those made by your opponent. Get someone higher rated to help you with positions that you do not understand. Asking someones opinion is a form of flattery. Just don't abuse the privilege.
Posted by gamlet ability-tw.com 8/02/2008 07:29:13 play online chess	try studying endgame Message: I reached the 1700 level by studying tactics, but easily slid when I met the strong opposition here. I think that a strong endgame background holds you in good stead against guys in this level. I studied the games of the strongest endgame player ever-Capablanca. Now, I'm climbing back to 1700 and have won quite a few games against 1700-1800 guys.
Posted by cascadejames ability-tw.com 8/02/2008 08:16:25 play online chess	About endgame study Message: Clearly gamlet is correct, if you are playing against 1700-1800 players, and losing in the end game. My personal experience is that I don't have to wait that long. :-) I lose against them in the middle game. Your mileage may vary!
Posted by spurtus ability-tw.com 8/02/2008 14:08:40 play online chess	Message: 1500-1700.. I believe the essence of this journey is mostly confidence, consistency & calculation. 1700 is largely defined by the level above 1800, where players rarely drop pieces play consistently well and miss very few primary tactical tricks and 'cheapos'. The game is often moreso attritional & strategically positional, don't expect any game to be easy, every game will require good speculative judgement calls. Experience is something too which will in time help guide you, one important tip is when you eventually find your ceiling this is the time to try new things out. hope that helps.
Posted by bhidragon ability-tw.com 8/02/2008 14:45:26 play online chess	Play one at a time ... Message: I'm also just south of 1700 and play here on GK to improve my game. I tend to play only one game at a time ... and find that concentrating on a single game helps me find strategies, tactics, moves, themes, etc. that I might otherwise miss. It may not work for you, but play a couple of singles (and seriously study the positions before you move) and see what happens.
Posted by apastpawn ability-tw.com 8/02/2008 15:46:08 play online chess	Web help Message: I to returned to chess after not playing for 10 plus years. I discovered the internet and chess about the same time a few years ago. I have returned close to my previous rating level withthe help of web sites. I would like to give you a few links to some of my favorites that will help you improve I hope. The first is an opening site that has thousands of openings and there main lines. If you surf around the site a bit you'll find help info also. You can use this site to learn new openings or to find best responces to unformilar openings. id=www.eudesign.com The second is a site for tactics training. I strongly believe that tactics are what seperate the ratings. In other words the more tactics you know the higher your rating will be. If you practice these often you should improve. The site has a timer for each problem to solve. I recommend that you just sign in as guest and not worry about the timer or the score it gives you. What is important is to get the problem right or to understand it if you don't. id=chess.emrald.net May these two sites help you or anyone else who reads this. Wayne
Posted by tonguetide ability-tw.com 8/03/2008 15:42:57 play online chess	Good stuff Message: Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm on vacation in LA (having a beer at a Pink Taco at the moment). Although I can can in principle play my games on my Blackberry (i.e. It works), I've learned that trying to analyze positions on the tiny screen is a short route to blindness...and even worse play. But no problem reading the forums! After looking at all the replies, and some of the sources recommended, I'm beginning to understand that I need to pay more attention to positional things. I think that in a lot of games I find myself putting out fires that probably could have been avoided. But probably the biggest fault is this: infatuation with my own attacks. That is, I spend a lot more time trying to understand my attacks than my opponent's. So I fail to see threats until they are immediate and hard to deflect without damage.
Posted by doctor_knight ability-tw.com 8/04/2008 21:53:00 play online chess	one little thing Message: I know I'm rated a little under you, but I found something that has recently helped me a lot. Before each move, do a little "reconnaissance." Check what squares each piece, minor piece, and pawn commands. That way, you'll get a good view of the whole board and will usually not be surprised by something the opponent can do on the other side of the board. You will know what each piece can do. It can help a lot and with a little practice doesn't take much time at all; it can really save you from getting surprise attacked or brutally counterattacked. When doing it, you also want to consider the "X-ray" effect that the queen, rooks and bishops have by "looking through" a piece so you don't get surprised by a discovered attack or something. (by the way, this advice is actually from C.J.S. Purdy, the first World Champion of Correspondence Chess. He's got a lot of really good advice that I'm just now starting to follow)
Posted by gamlet ability-tw.com 8/06/2008 02:41:15 play online chess	About Endgame study Message: It's not all about holding on but recognizing when you have a positional advantage in the endgame and simplifying through exchanges. This was where Capablanca's genius lay!
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