Chess for Beginners

The best thing I can do for my chess is to improve my thinking process, which is one of my greatest weaknesses. Below are some of the reasons why it my thinking process just plain stinks.

1. Not considering the consequences of a move at least 3 ply deep on every play.
2. Focusing too much on my plan, and not worrying about my opponent’s plan.
3. Not following a standard though process method.
4. Not considering the most aggressive candidate moves.
5. Poor candidate move selection. This includes.
   1. not considering aggressive moves
   2. retained image errors.
   3. Worrying about misconceived threats, or not choosing candidates because of worries about King safety.
6. Not looking for tactics during my opponent’s move.
7. Not looking at the whole board. This leads to underutilized pieces at best and a surprise checkmate at worse.
8. Poor evaluation of the position.
9. Playing without a plan.
10. Playing too much blitz. Not that blitz games are bad, but they do not allow you to apply a though process and it does not allow you to practice your analysis and evaluation skills. All improving players should stay away from blitz until we have developed a consistent and applicable thought process via games played at long time controls.

That’s it for now, I’ll add more in time. Feel free to leave comments on how you can improve your thought process.

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I have come to the realization that there comes a time in every improving players game where we try to apply all we have learned yet we end up losing more games than we win. The improving player needs to realize that reading more chess books, learning a new opening or practicing obscure endgames is not going to improve their game.

The improving player’s game will be better served by simplifying their chess and going back to basics. Here are five things we can do that should lead to improved results:

1. Improve your thought process. Make sure you look for checks, captures and threats on every move, and always consider what your opponent is trying to accomplish and what move they would make if it would be their turn instead of yours.

2. Improve your ability to analyze. Consider at least three half moves before making a move. If the position leads to a forced tactical continuation, and you are unable to calculate until the position is quiet, then choose a ‘safer’ strategically based move that will require less analysis and calculation.

3. Do not force the situation and instead play for small advantages. Ensure that there are no weaknesses in your camp, while at the same time scanning for weaknesses in your opponents side.

4. Calculate several candidates before making each move, and always expect that your opponent will play the best move. Remember that once you found your move, try to look for a better one (unless you are in time trouble).

5. Play less blitz games. Blitz is the number one reason we develop bad habits which hurt our thought process. Blitz causes us to not analyze and think the position through. Play longer games (at least G15/5) instead of blitz, these longer games will allow you to work on your thought process and analysis skills. Once those bad habits have been eliminated, you can then return to blitz play as a much stronger player.

I haven’t given up on compiling the list of educational games, but it was more difficult than I first thought. I have come up with a list of approximately 150 games from different sources, and I have narrowed it down to the 50 you see here. I tried to keep at least one version of each theme, but I wanted to keep the number of games manageable.

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It is common knowledge, that in order to improve your chess game you should go over annotated master games. To get the most out of this exercise, the master games that we go over should should contain memorable patterns and/or combinations that we can later recall and apply in our own real game situations.

I am beginning to compile a list of educational games, and I would love to hear your recommendations. Leave a comment with the participants, year, venue and the lesson it is teaching, and in a future post I will make a PGN available for download which includes all these games.

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Fischer versus Spassky Documentary

Here’s a game I played tonight on ICC against Martica Fierro . I have attempted as part of my improvement program to annotate it, but please feel free to provide feedback.

The Program

The following system is geared towards adult beginners with an ELO rating of 1200-1800. It is a modified version of Irina Mikhailova’s schedule which she used at the Petrosian Chess School. [1]

I have left the schedule flexible so that it can be modified based on the time you have to dedicate to chess study. For my own use, I plan on devoting 1 hour to chess at least 6 times per week for a total of 6 hours of chess study per week. If you want to add more time, simply multiply the hours per block. For example, I am using 30 minute blocks, so 1 block of study endings is equivalent to 30 minutes. If you want to devote more time simply multiply 1 hour X block for each theme.

Below are some of the differences between the original Mikahilova schedule and this version:

• Less emphasis on opening study.

• Spread across more days, but fewer hours of study per day. This is a 6 day program and the original was a 4 day program.

• Is geared towards a lower rated working adult.

• Strong emphasis on endgame studies, and contains a study endings theme which the original version did not.

• Strong focus on tactics training as the original.

• Incorporates the shortcut version of Michael de la Maza’s Seven Circles training.

• Time has been allocated for analyzing your games.

• Solving strategy session revolves around going over annotated master games.

In a nutshell, this program contains 4 of the things most chess coaches say are critical to improvement:

1. Going over annotated master games.

2. Repetition of tactical puzzles to burn in pattern recognition.

3. Playing slow games of G/30 or greater.

4. Analyzing your games, to find out your mistakes and preventing their reoccurrence.

Another benefit of the program is that it also grants structure and maximizes your chess study time.

Study Schedule

When performing the modified 7 circles training, I recommend that you use the difficulty level method, and begin with the level 10 puzzles. The first cycle will take you through the first 200 puzzles, which will range in difficulty from 10-20. You then begin the next cycle with puzzle 201, etc. I tried to keep the time per puzzle to 20-50 minutes since my block time is 30 minutes.

Seven Circles Shortcut

If you follow the schedule it should take you approximately 4 weeks to finish 1 cycle of 200 puzzles and 1000 puzzles in approximately 20 weeks.

Resources

Tactics: CT-ART 3.0, Chess Tactics Server

Study Endings: Silman’s Complete Endgame Course, Just the Facts by Lev Alburt

Solve Endings: Silman’s Complete Endgame Course, Personal Chess Trainer.

Solve Strategy: Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953

Study Strategy: Reassess your Chess by Jeremy Silman, My System by Nimzowich

Reference
[1] http://www.convekta.com/softscho/l1/lesson_3.html
[2] http://www.chesscafe.com/text/skittles148.pdf and http://www.chesscafe.com/text/skittles150.pdf

Purdy maintained that the best way to get better at chess was to play over annotated master level games. Below is Purdy’s method for going over games:

1. Take the side of the winner (or either side if the game was a draw).

2. Cover the moves with an index card, and when it’s your turn to move select a move based on the position on the board.

3. Uncover the move, and compare it to your move. Review the annotations and understand why the text move is better than the move you selected.