Chess strategy?

Question

I've known the rules of chess since I was about 8 years old. But I've never really understood the strategy part. I usually just push the pieces around without any strategy until halfway through the game and by that time I've already lost several pieces (I'm obviously not a good player). But I think I would really like it if I had a better understanding of the whole game. Are there any strategies you could explain for the start and early part of the game? Are there some website that would help? Beginner and easy to understand strategies are preferable. But any help would be great.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

yeah,  I had the same problem.  There are plenty of books on this subject.  However, what I did was read the help files on some chessmaster series game on the computer.  It worked wonders for the way I think about chess

Answer 2

Take control of the middle of the board early in the game. Try taking out the opponent's pieces so you have a better chance later in the game.

Answer 3

Corner the king at the top or bottom of the board, put the queen in front of the king. Before doing that, make sure to have a bishop to back up the queen if the king kills the queen. Then you win.

Answer 4

I play chess like you do, but the difference between us and the really good chess players is that we see the pieces and they see the boards.

Some people just naturally have this gift, but you can improve your game by reading books on chess strategy, watching others play, and just playing the games upirslef.  Sometimes chess players also set up 'games' against themselves in order to study new moves.

itsyourturn.com is a great site for chess. You can play against other people for free, and there are even forums and such to help you learn strategy,

Answer 5

The best and easiest training program I have ever encountered comes with Chessmaster for the PC.  Pick one with the numbers like 9000, or 10,000 or Grandmaster edition.  What ever will work on your PC and go through the tutorial program.  It will sharpen your game quickly and you will no longer be a pawn pusher.  It will be the best 40 dollars or less you can spend on learning winning chess.  Good luck.

Answer 6

If I were you I'd get a free account at FICS (free Internet Chess Server).  I would also download babas chess client.  A very nice to use interface for FICS.  Play over some games, let the engine analyze your game afterwards and it'll point out blunders.  Tactics are the main focus when you begin. Also, you must know how to check mate with King and Rook vs King.  King and 2 bishops vs King... Learn how to promote a pawn with K vs K + p.  The last thing you should be concerned with is the openings, Just try to do natural development and castle early.  I'd start with pawn e2 -e4 or d2-d4 and develop and castle in the first seven moves.

Lastly, I recommend novice nooks by Dan Heisman.  Check out his archive at www.chesscafe.com/text and search for Heisman and download his pdf's.  Very valueable for a beginner.  Check out the free videos as www.chessclub.com

If you are really into it, download arena and get the 5 man chess database and watch perfect endgame play with K vs K +p and K vs K +B+ N.  excellent stuff for free now days.

Answer 7

If you do a Google search for Beginning Chess you will have many sites to look at.  One such site is at http://www.logicalchess.com/resources/le...

which covers beginners to masters.

Answer 8

go to www.uschess.org click on new to chess lots of info

Answer 9

The first thing you need is a good book on openings and learn a few of them. It may seem daunting at first, so don't overdo it. Find a few solid openings and then add more to your repertoire over time. Stick with the popular ones at first. The irregular openings will only confuse you at this stage. You should also try to work out the chess puzzle in the newspaper. Chess puzzles help you to think ahead and to see potential checkmates. Studying the great players can also be a big help in teaching you how to think like a chess player. I read Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess every so often and I become a better player each time I read it. It's definitely one you should look for. Also you need to think more about moves. When your opponent makes a move, you have think "Why did he do that?" and try to look ahead several moves before you move your piece. Predicting what your opponent is going to do before he does it is a big part of the difference between a good player and a great one.

Answer 10

Best way to gain real chess masteries are some old books:

My System, Aaron Nimzowitz

Plain and simple, probably the best chess book ever written.

After that one, it would be nice to take a deep look upon:

Think as a Grandmaster, Alexander Kotov

Play As Grandmaster, Alexander Kotov