Chess thread

I am very found of chess but its misfortune i don't have time to play it.

 

Chess should be played religiously, without fear and just for the sake of it.

 

I haven't found the chess strategy and tactic books you recommend but I did manage to get Winning Chess Openings by Yasser Seirawan. Somehow I felt like I didn't need the info very much there because I think my openings are ok, it's the strategy and tactics that I'm having problems. I haven't finished the book yet, tomorrow is my game. For the past few days I've played in yahoo chess, I kept losing. :-(

 

Are blunders the cause of your defeat? Meaning when you move you dropped of pieces, or you did not notice your opponent's threats? Solve lots of tactical puzzles, try chesstempo.com, also look at the whole board and study your opponent's last move.
If you can't find the winning chess tactics by Seirawan try, Chess Tactics for Champion by Polgar.

 

Finally got Winning Chess Tactics by GM Yasser Seirwan. I just got it today. Our game was re scheduled. I don't know when will be the next game. Yes most of the time I make blunders because I don't know what to do next after the openings. I will study the Winning Chess Tactics by GM Yasser Seirwan. I will continue studying winning chess openings after I'm finished with this book. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

The thing with chess is you should always look if there is a tactical strike such as pin, fork discovery that wins you material, you should also look if there are matting attack or sacrifices that mates the king, now if you can't see any tactical strike or sacrifice that mates the king, you should look at the strategical elements of the position such as look for a pawn weakness to attack, looking for the possibility of your piece being superior to your opponent, for example you have a superior knight compare to your opponent's bad bishop, or you have a superior bishop against your opponents knight. Also try to study different kind of pawn structures such as isolated pawn, double pawns and backward pawns.

 

Thanks for the advice. The book is great and I haven't finished it yet. Chesstempo.com is also great. Have you checked pro chess dvd by GM Yasser Seirwan? I'm just wondering if it is almost the same as Play Winning Chess – By GM Yasser Seirawan. I have come across pawn structures in that dvd so I just know a little bit of pawn structures. He discussed it a lot than Force count, Space and Time. So if it is the same I probably won't read that book(Play Winning Chess – By GM Yasser Seirawan) .

 

I have not read it yet, but yeah probably it's the same, try Winning Chess Strategy instead or 50 Essential Chess Lessons by Steve Giddins, both of these are very instructive.

 

Here is an update. I was winning with Queen and King. My opponent had 4 pawns and a King. I was in a rush and got greedy. Instead of defending his pass pawn, I eliminated his 3 remaining pawns. The position was his pawn got to a7 with the King defending at b7 after I checking I realized I couldn't stop his pawn from becoming a Queen I offered a Draw and he accepted. I really blundered my end game. I don't know why I was rushing. I feel so stupid. :-(. My record now is 1 win, 1 loss, and 1 draw.

 

I just wish there were more people who played now-a-days...it's not a sport, it's a hobby or battle of wits.

 

It happens to anybody, so don't feel bad, just learn from this things, it will make you a better player. Actually if your king is on certain position near the a7 pawn, you can mate his king.


Queen vs pawn near promotion

When the pawn is one move away from queening, but it's his/her opponents turn to move, the ending is drawn with c and f pawns, or a and h pawns, only when the white king is outside a certain quadrant of squares. Otherwise white can force mate. While it's a win if the pawn is either on b,d,e or g even if the king is far away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCwZAw8m85A

The video above is the plan on how you can win that pawn near promotion, it's an easy process(this is a basic ending). What happened to your other games?

 

Very informative video. Although I don't think it can be applied in the situation of my last game where the pawn was in a7. My latest game is draw again because of a blunder. It looks like I'm having problem with end games. Here is the situation and the blunder.


I'm playing White and it's my turn. My move was

1. Qb8? which my opponent replied with Qxc7! and I was like angry (T_T). I should have move 1. Qc6.

the game continued and 2. Qxc7 Nxc7. 3 Kf4 Kf6 4. g4 N36+ 5. Kg3 Kg5 6. Kh3 Ng7 and which we agreed a draw. it looks like I won't win this tournament. :-(

 

I do love chess, and have been hoping to get back into it lately. I play a lot of advanced strategy games, but haven't played but maybe 3 games of chess int he last 5 years. I've always been fairly good at it, but just lack adequate opponents. I also get bored if I play it too often, but a couple good long challenging games every few months are good for me. I'm hoping to start playing chess, and chinese chess (which we do currently, as well as backgammon while chewing the fat) with a friend of mine that gets into town every 3-4 months, each time he comes in.

 

@mike if you play 1.Qc6, you will lose your queen to a knight fork to 1...Nd4+. Your position could be draw, it is hard to win cause your king will be exposed from his queen checks, he knight would also harass your king. Regarding your game in which the opponent's pawn is on a7, you could have mated his king provided your king is near. But i guess your king is not that close. The thing here is your opponent will get a queen, but he would be mated(provided the king is near). As for the tournament, your performance is not bad, you did well considering you have not play that much. Just continue practicing. What is the result of your other game?

 

For quality opponent why not try join a chess club or chess tournament? You could also try to play online at chess.com or http://www.freechess.org, there are lots of good players there.

 

I play this game with my cousins and we really love it!

 

You are right. I didn't notice it. The game on his pawn on a7. You are right my king was far away. My next game will be on wednesday. I'm playing at Chess.com. I've been practicing tactics at chesstempo.com for preparation.

 

So what happen now to your tournament Mike?

 

Lets now talk about some famous chess players.

1. Robert James Fischer - (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008) was an American chess player and the eleventh World Chess Champion. He bring chess into greater heights in the 70's, his world championship match with Spassky(a Russian) has captured the world. He blanked GM Taimanov and GM Larsen 6-0 in candidates match play.

2. Jose Capablanca - (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. Often called the chess machine, there is a period in which Capablanca only lost once in 10 years!

3. Garry Kasparov - is a Russian (formerly Soviet) chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, and political activist, whom many consider the greatest chess player of all time.[1]. GM miles once called him a beast with a thousand eyes!!

4. Mikhail Tal- November 9, 1936 – June 28, 1992)[1] was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion. He was often called "Misha", a diminutive for Mikhail, and "The magician from Riga" for his daring combinational style.

 

Hmmm..

I like your tips very much..

Thank you..