How the hell do you play 180 moves blindfolded? Seriously... I struggle play 10.

I feel inferior.

Just came across this tactical puzzle on chess.com server and the "solution" annoyed me.



Sometimes I feel that these things need to play on for more moves.

Is there a free Go analysis board out there? I don't need an engine, I just need a board I can put stones on, that it will automatically take them off when captured, etc for use in setting up analysis positions to learn the game.

This might have what you're looking for, I'm not sure though:

http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/g.../download.html

yeah, that's pretty close. Thanks!

You're welcome.

Happy to help out a fellow chess forum member, even if the inquiry isn't about chess!

Hey guys, I am a total beginner in chess. I just learned the rules yesterday. I have played about 15 online games and obviously got crushed in all of them.

Where to begin learning? I watched a few videos on chessvideos.tv, but even those seem a bit too advanced for me.

chess.com has some beginner videos.

Tbh the best way to learn is to play a lot to start with. You'll learn a lot just by trying things yourself.

Keep in mind that the center of the board is a key area - if you control the center your pieces have easier access to the rest of the board. Also keep your king safe and develop your pieces.

Practics chess tactics (chess.com and chesstempo.com are two places that have tactic trainers..)

Definitely play a lot (especially non-blitz games) and if possible play live with someone semi-decent who can explain some of your mistakes after the game. Also I cannot recommend this two book series highly enough for new players:

http://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-...d_bxgy_b_img_b

http://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-.../dp/1889323012

These two books will provide an excellent foundation to start really playing. Also you should be able to see if you want to get more serious about chess, if it isn't for you, or something in between. If you're really serious, I'd go over those two books several times and play a ton then read these two articles:

http://www.chesscafe.com/text/skittles148.pdf

http://www.chesscafe.com/text/skittles150.pdf

This is a very useful template. It is not a hard and fast course to be followed religiously. The keys are that visualization exercises are useful because they train you to recognize the very msot basic patterns in chess (how pieces move and relate to each other) and that tactics should definitely be repeated (doesn't have to be seven times, but probably a minimum of 4 for a beginner) in order to internalize those patterns. You can repeat any set of tactics, not just CT-ART. I personally would recommend doing each of these books 5-7 times so that their problems become instantly recognizable and solvable.

http://www.amazon.com/100-Easy-Check...1232997&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/How-Beat-Your-...1233038&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Chess-C...1233217&sr=1-1

An alternative would be to buy CT-ART 3.0 (I can't recommend 4.0) and play through all the 10 point problems 7 times. Then play through all the 20 point problems 7 times. Then 30, etc. Note that How to Beat Your Dad contains a fair amount of prose and I'm not saying you have to keep re-reading that, just solve the examples in your head or on the chess board several times.

When you start, you're going to be confused by some of the tactics. It's natural. Don't get discouraged. Some will be confusing to you even when you see the solution. The best practice is to get out a chess board and try to figure out why that is the solution or have a friend help explain it to you. The second best option is to get a cheap or free program that will let you set up a position and analyze it with a chess engine or feel free to post the position here and someone will almost certainly help clarify any confusion.

Thanks guys. What are non-blitz games?

Me vs another 2+2er in a 45 45 pool game on ICC. I come out great in the opening, and fumble the middlegame.

http://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game...r.php?id=42542

"Blitz" is a "time control", and it's just what it sounds like--how much time you get to make your moves in a chess game. A "Blitz" game is a fast time control--the most common being that you get 5 minutes to make all of your moves.

While Blitz is fun, most people think that you improve faster if you play "slow" games, where you have maybe something longer than a half-hour to make your moves. I enjoy playing 45-minute personally.

Serious pro chess tournaments usually give something along the lines of an hour and a half for 40 moves and then some additional time for the rest of the game.

But the point is that you should be playing games that are slow enough that you can fully think out your moves, because that is best for learning and improving.

Not just "can fully think out your moves" but actually "do fully think out your moves". That requires a lot of discipline as well.

If I couldn't win after botching the opening, I'd never win.

19.-b5 looks really gross, 19.-Qc5+ followed by Bc6 must be right
45.Qg3 mate was playable too

Hmm. This guy is really good and I used up 30 minutes of my 45 minute clock just to get to move 17, while he was just blitzing them off. Ultimately crumbled under the pressure on that 17th move, but I'm relatively happy with how I played this:

http://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game...r.php?id=42560

Played around a lot with chesstempo and managed to win my first two games today.

Is there anyone here who does high quality chess commentaries and is unassociated with any website at this point?I have an idea about a website, please pm.

Anyone know how to alter the ratings ranges on the seek graph on chess.com? It only shows challenges between 1000-2400.

I just played an interesting game on chess.com. Unfortunately I ran out of time. Is there any place where I can post the game for feedback? (I am a beginner).

try here

you could post it in here. Chess.com will have the pgn. You can copy and paste it into here. http://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-uploader.php

then post the link.

whats a good chess tactics server rating? Mine is 1450ish.

I see Allen lurking constantly, but haven't seen him post in a while. Haven't you played any games recently that you could post here Allen?