Chess for Beginners

08.15.2007

Play Standard Game

Played and analyzed my G/60 ICC ST Tourney game

08.16.2007

Study Strategy
Reviewed through page 24 of Chess Strategy for Kids don’t mind the title…the book is highly recommended by Dan Heisman, and it ensures that you have all your chess fundamentals in place.

Key Points

Everything in chess can be explained in terms of three basic ideas:

• Material
• Safety
• Freedom

Based on those ideas when selecting candidate moves 5 good questions to ask are:

1. Who is ahead in material?
2. Is either King unsafe?
3. Who has more freedom?
4. What would you play if it was your opponent’s turn?
5. What do you play that takes advantage of the three keys to strategy?

Solve Endings

Did Endgame module 1 of Personal Chess Trainer’s endgame module (40 exercises). I had not planned on using PCT, but it has a good amount of endgame puzzles, and it uses pattern recognition as a teaching tool which is a positive.

According to Pachman, the value of the Bishop can usually be assessed by the following rule:

The Bishop has good working power if its own pawns are posted on squares of the opposite color, assuming that the pawn formation cannot easily be altered.

As a rule, each side will try to place their pawns on a color opposite of that of his Bishop; this makes it easier to block the opponent’s pawn on squares accessible to the Bishop. When the position has become simplified and the pawn formation fairly rigid, both sides will try to rid themselves of a bad Bishop and keep a good one.

TEN OPENING RULES

1. Open with a center pawn.

2. Develop with threats.

3. Knights before Bishops.

4. Don’t move the same piece twice.

5. Make as few pawn moves as possible in the opening.

6. Don’t bring your Queen out too early.

7. Castle as soon as possible, preferably on the Kingside.

8. Always play to gain control, of the center.

9. Try to maintain at least one pawn in the center.

10. Don’t sacrifice without a clear and adequate reason. For a sacrificed pawn you must:

A. Gain three tempi, or
B. Deflect the enemy Queen, or
C. Prevent castling, or
D. Build up a strong attack.
(more…)

In How to Reassess your Chess Jeffery Silman describes how to create a plan in the middle game based on his set of imbalances. The list of imbalances includes:

Imbalances

1) Superior minor piece
2) pawn structure
3) space
4) material
5) control of key file or square
6) lead in development
7) initiative

Silman goes on to describe his ‘Thinking Technique‘ which is based on his imbalances. In a nutshell the thinking technique consists of:

Silman Thinking Technique

1) Determine your position based on positive or negative imbalances

2) Determine the side of the board to play on

3) Dream up fantasy positions

4) Try to acheive fantasy position, if not dream up another one

5) Look at candidate moves. candidate moves are all moves that lead to fantasy position.