Lonely Life Chess Thread

[LoneKiller]

How is everyone?

Before I begin, I just wanted to say that the members who play here are talented players. I'm certainly no GM, but I'm hoping that this thread will be fun for all of us and we may learn some things from each other. Please by all means, if you have something to add, do so. I'm always looking to learn new things.

To begin with I'm just going to post some basic rules for those who might just be starting, and some for those who are in the intermediate class like me.

Piece Values
------------
These are just the base value of the pieces. Their true value depends on their role in any given position. If the position is locked up with pawns and such, the knight usually is better to have than a bishop in that particular position. If the position is wide open, bishops usually prove to be better.

Pawn= 1
Knight= 3.0
Bishop= 3.1
Rook= 5
Queen= 9
King= Infinite

The 3 Stages Of A Chess Game
------------------------------
"Opening"= The moves made at the beginning of the game. Usually, the 1st 10 moves or so.

"Middlegame"= This is the stage where most of the pieces are developed and the magic happens. By "Magic", I mean any random player's level of skill and thought that takes place.

"Endgame"= The stage where most of the pieces are gone leaving mostly pawns and maybe a minor piece or rook. This can often be a very difficult stage of the game. Quite often a mistake, however minor, can cost you the game.

General Tips
------------
1. Respect your pawns. Far too many players ignore them only to regret it later in the game. Especially the "Endgame". They're baby queens.

2. Don't move just for the sake of making a move. Always have a reason behind moving it.

3. Castling early is usually a good idea, but not always.

4. If you have a winning position, finish it. Don't fresia around and get fancy about it.

5. Just because you can capture an opponents piece, doesn't mean that you should.

6. Bringing the queen out too early can result in your opponent attacking her with his pieces while getting the benefit of developing his or her pieces quickly as well.

7. During the "Middlegame" you should start thinking about the "Endgame". Look at your pawn structure. If you feel that it is solid, keep it that way.

8. Never set a trap and just hope that your opponent will fall into it. It's a quick way of weakening your position and may result in you going down a piece.

9. If you are up in material, it's usually a good idea to exchange pieces off so that your "Endgame" will be in most cases, an advantage. If you are down in material, try not to exchange.

10. Play your very best always. Not doing so is disrespectful to you and your opponent. If your opponent finds out that you took it easy on him or her, it takes all of their pleasure of thinking that they played well against you away.

I will post more later on. Thank you for taking the time to view.

-Jason

 

[LoneKiller]

Before I continue, I wanted you viewers to know as much chess terminology as possible. I know what quite a few are, but I can't recall all of them, so I decided to use this link which will make life easier on all of us.

CHESS TERMINOLOGY
---------------------

http://www.chessebook.com/glossar.php

I thought that I'd begin with the "Opening" stage of chess. In chess, there are so many openings around it's almost unbelievable. Depending on what style of play you are comfortable with, there is an opening that will accommodate you.

If you find one that you like, play it every game you play. This makes it easier for you to learn the theory behind it. You are going to experience a fair amount of losses while learning your chosen opening, but stick with it. Don't give up. It's all part of learning new openings.

If you know what style of chess player your opponent likes, try and play the opposite. Some players are good at more than one style, so beware.
When choosing an opening, keep in mind how it will affect your middlegame. What kind of pawn structure it leads to, things like that.

If players offer you some info on your opening of choice, take it. Learn as much about it as possible. Another thing that openings have are many, many different variations of a particular opening. Think of them as curve balls. These exist because not all players are going to play any exact "Book" opening moves. You must be ready in case your opponent plays a different move than you expected.

---

Below are the 3 parts of chess position analysis.

1. "Time"
2. "Space"
3. "Force"

TIME: The least number of moves it would take for the given piece to get to the square it's currently on.

SPACE: The number of squares any given piece of yours is attacking up to the 4th rank. (A "Rank" is the 8 horizontal squares across. A "File" is the 8 vertical squares up and down.)

FORCE: Simply the amount of your pieces compared to your opponents.
This analysis is important. Should any of you want to play a few games, I'm a "Chesscube" member under the name: RIMSHOT. Just let me know when you want to play and I will head over to the site at that time.

http://www.chesscube.com/play/app/

 

[kamya]

Jrobi Chess
Is a good youtube channel for intermediate players. The channel was started by a beginner/enthusiast and has grown quite a lot over the years. Just go to his playlists if you are looking to study a specific area.

If I'm playing someone with a lot lower ELO than myself I like to use this opening as white. [video=youtube]
I like to be open and attacking. Playing closed slow games make it easier for them to see weaknesses in their position. Even if they don't initiate this opening you can easily morph it into others.

---

[video=youtube]
And this is a super secret new opening trap for black that not many know about. It's literally only like 10 years old, which is really young when it comes to chess. I've had it work very nicely in club and tournament games. Try it out if you are playing an opponent that you know is stronger than you. It gives you an instant edge because they most likely won't deal with it correctly. If they know they are stronger than you they will also be more cocky and fall for the trap more easily. There are so many combinations possible with this trap that it is really fun to just play around with too. There are a few more videos and write ups on it if you want to study it more deeply.

A side benefit from learning and playing the fishing pole trap a lot is that you learn patterns of attacking for when the opponent castles king side. It really opens your eyes to a lot of tactics that might take longer to notice if you have never learned/played the fishing pole. You will start seeing variations of the trap popping up when you hadn't even planned on using it. You can use anything as bait. It doesn't have to be the knight that is sacrificed.

---

[video=youtube]
Lol, even GMs are not immune to the fishing pole. XD It's not every day that a 1500 rated player beats a GM.

 

[LoneKiller]

Jrobi Chess
Is a good youtube channel for intermediate players. The channel was started by a beginner/enthusiast and has grown quite a lot over the years. Just go to his playlists if you are looking to study a specific area.

If I'm playing someone with a lot lower ELO than myself I like to use this opening as white. [video=youtube]
I like to be open and attacking. Playing closed slow games make it easier for them to see weaknesses in their position. Even if they don't initiate this opening you can easily morph it into others.

---

[video=youtube]
And this is a super secret new opening trap for black that not many know about. It's literally only like 10 years old, which is really young when it comes to chess. I've had it work very nicely in club and tournament games. Try it out if you are playing an opponent that you know is stronger than you. It gives you an instant edge because they most likely won't deal with it correctly. If they know they are stronger than you they will also be more cocky and fall for the trap more easily. There are so many combinations possible with this trap that it is really fun to just play around with too. There are a few more videos and write ups on it if you want to study it more deeply.

A side benefit from learning and playing the fishing pole trap a lot is that you learn patterns of attacking for when the opponent castles king side. It really opens your eyes to a lot of tactics that might take longer to notice if you have never learned/played the fishing pole. You will start seeing variations of the trap popping up when you hadn't even planned on using it. You can use anything as bait. It doesn't have to be the knight that is sacrificed.

---

[video=youtube]
Lol, even GMs are not immune to the fishing pole. XD It's not every day that a 1500 rated player beats a GM.

---

---

I must say, that's impressive. I'm glad that you told me. You seem to know your way around the chess board. Perhaps we should play sometime.

 

[LoneKiller]

Good Evening.

There is a pawn move in chess known as "En Passant"(In Passing).
We all know that pawns have an option to move 1 square or 2 squares on their 1st move. Say that you have a pawn sitting on the 5th rank. If your opponent decides to move 1 pawn from either side of your pawn 2 squares, it will end up right beside your pawn sitting on the 5th rank.

If this occurs, you are allowed to capture his pawn by doing what is called "En Passant". This means that you move your pawn directly behind the pawn of his that just moved up beside yours and capture it.

Should you decide not to do so, you can't use "En Passant" later. It must be done right away, or never.

Judging by the members that I have played thus far, it seems like they all like to be very aggressive, so I'm going to post some tips on attacking your opponents king with the purpose of checkmate in mind.

1. If you feel as though your pieces are in position to mount an attack on your opponents king, make very **** sure that you are prepared in case your attack fails. Too many people don't think about what happens if their mating attack fails, and are unprepared defensively, it can often cost them game. This is very important to keep in mind.

2. Sometimes players will "Sac"(Sacrifice)a piece in order improve their chances of getting at their opponents king and to remove the defending pieces from it, and deliver the final blow that results in checkmate. Sacrificing a piece should be taken very, very, seriously. You must be absolutely sure that it will work. Don't sacrifice a piece just for flash. Don't get fancy about it. I did that once and lost a game that was 4 hours in.

3. Watch your opponents bishops and how they relate to the protection of his or her king. The human eye isn't trained to look diagonally, which is why so many players hang pieces to them.

4. If your opponent has the position all locked up with defenders surrounding his king, it's usually a good idea to keep your knights handy.
If most of his or her pieces are surrounding their king in defense, try to attack his or her king indirectly. This means to attack the other side of the board where less defenders are. Now your opponent has 2 problems. Defending their king and defending their weak side. It's a truly dire state of affairs for them.

5. Every time a pawn is pushed, one diagonal line opens up, and another one closes. Watch out for the bishops! A pawn push can be responsible for opening up a diagonal line giving their bishop more range and power.

6. Try not to tie down your minor pieces defending pawns. If you are careful about it, pawns are great for defending each other.

Thank you for viewing. I will add more material at a later time.

-Jason

 

[Equinox]

Too many people don't think about what happens if their mating attack fails,

*giggles* Mating attack ...

I apologize for my childish sense of humour. I really do appreciate advice on chess, and the En Passant rule was actually new to me, so thanks for that!

 

[LoneKiller]

Too many people don't think about what happens if their mating attack fails,

*giggles* Mating attack ...

I apologize for my childish sense of humour. I really do appreciate advice on chess, and the En Passant rule was actually new to me, so thanks for that!

lol Me and my dirty mind. You are very welcome Equinox.

 

[LoneKiller]

Hi All!

This is to let the viewers know that I haven't abandoned the chess thread. There's some material I need to check with the stronger players in the club
this afternoon before I go any further.

Sorry about the inconvenience.

-LK

 

[Chasm]

Hi All!

This is to let the viewers know that I haven't abandoned the chess thread. There's some material I need to check with the stronger players in the club
this afternoon before I go any further.

Sorry about the inconvenience.

-LK

o ok
good
n its ok
dont worry about it

 

[kamya]

There are certain beginner mating strategies that every new player needs to learn. On our high school team there were always a lot of new inexperienced players coming in to play on our lower boards. Since we did exclusively team matches, it was important for us to make sure the lower boards weren't giving away free points.

There are 3 basic mating attacks that new players must learn before advancing to more complicated tactics. These are, the back rank mate, the two rook mate (we called it the barrell roll), and the rook/queen mate. We seriously won about half of our lower board matches just by teaching them these three tactics. You want your lower boards to be strong so that your boards 1-3 have less pressure to win and can start to play for draws

[video=youtube]

---

[video=youtube]

---

[video=youtube]

---

After learning these three it is important to learn how to mate with just the queen and king. Then just the rook and king. There are more complex sceneraios like mating with just knight/bishop or two bishops, but I've honestly never been in a situation where those are my only pieces on the board. It is more important after learning these that you learn all of the various pawn endgames. Once you start studying these more you will be able to easily think up to 30+ moves ahead at the end and start setting up your endgame better. You will have to learn about advanced tactics and ideas like opposition and triangulation and all that stuffs. I learned most of this stuff from Josh Waitzkin from the chessmaster lessons. I was like 10 at the time but those simple lessons won me a lot of my games. It can mean the difference between a draw and a win, or a loss and a draw. You will have to read about these and look up your own videos for this as it is a very complex subject. And it is very situational. There are some general rules for what squares your pawns need to be on to guarantee a win vs a draw though.
[video=youtube]

 

[LoneKiller]

Hi Everyone.

I'm going to use this post to discuss "Reading" your opponent. Yes, people do still play offline and in the flesh. lol

Poker and Chess have a lot in common. Especially "Reading" your opponent.
Just because it may look like chess players are deep in concentration and staring down at the board for 3 hours doesn't mean that they aren't glancing up at you in an effort to discover some "Tells".

When moves are played or the cards are dealt, different players have different reactions. Having a "Poker Face" in chess is important as well.
I'm going to list some different kinds of reactions players have during a game and it's particular situations that I have experienced. Just like the Doyle Brunson's or the Gus Hansen's of "Texas Hold 'Em",
there are the Gary Kasparov's and Anatoly Karpov's of chess. They're are considered legends in my books. Players at that level in their respective
games are tough to beat for so many reasons that I dare not try and list them all for fear of accidentally leaving important reasons out. Pressure
plays a huge role in these two games. Some players can deal with pressure much better than others. How they react to the pressure is of extreme importance.

1. If your opponent reaches for a piece to move then withdraws his hand 1, 2, or even 3 times often indicates that they aren't sure what to do.

2. Often looking to the side of the board where the captured pieces usually are, is a habit of many middle strength players. Even though I know I know better, I still do it from time to time myself out of the habit from when I 1st started playing. It's done by players because they are factoring the captured pieces into their analysis of the active pieces.
Look at what's on the board, not what's off.

4. When some amateur players make a blunder and finalize their move by hitting their clocks, only to realize their mistake afterwards, they know it's too late to take it back, and they will quite often have an obvious reaction, which tips their opponent off that something isn't kosher. In chess tournaments there is a rule known as "Touch Move". This means that if you touch a piece, you are required to move that piece as long as it isn't an "Illegal Move".( i.e Say that your knight is on the square right in front of your king, and your opponent's queen is on the square in front of your knight. You can't move his knight because doing so would place your king in "Check". The knight it known as being "Pinned" to your king, thus causing an illegal move.) Just because a player makes a blunder doesn't always mean that his or her opponent is going to see it. Stronger players who make a blunder often don't display any visible signs of their mistake.(Poker Face)

5. Look for things like shaking their head after a move, a verbal response to that move, adjusting themselves in their chair, leaning back on their chair, breathing differences, scratching the back of their heads, tapping the table with their hands, how hard they slam the pieces down when they realize that they may have been a little too quick to touch the piece and are required to move it.(Touch move)

I will add some more at a later time. Thank you for viewing.

-LK

---

This book is one that I read when I first began playing chess. It offers a solid and an understandable layout with tons of GM knowledge cover to cover. Wonderful book. Trust LoneKiller on this one. By the way, it's also the type of book that even stronger players read from time to time. I'm not just posting these books to tailor to amateurs. The members that I've played so far, are anything but amateurs. I'm not just saying that.

"CHESS FUNDAMENTALS"

http://www.4shared.com/document/tWBVyptZ/Capablanca_JR_-_Chess_Fundamen.htm

"ADOBE X"

http://get.adobe.com/reader/