• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 22:26
CEST 04:26
KST 11:26
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
uThermal's 2v2 Tour: $15,000 Main Event5Serral wins EWC 202543Tournament Spotlight: FEL Cracow 202510Power Rank - Esports World Cup 202580RSL Season 1 - Final Week9
Community News
SC2's Safe House 2 - October 18 & 194Weekly Cups (Jul 28-Aug 3): herO doubles up6LiuLi Cup - August 2025 Tournaments5[BSL 2025] H2 - Team Wars, Weeklies & SB Ladder10EWC 2025 - Replay Pack4
StarCraft 2
General
The GOAT ranking of GOAT rankings TL Team Map Contest #5: Presented by Monster Energy Rogue Talks: "Koreans could dominate again" uThermal's 2v2 Tour: $15,000 Main Event RSL Revival patreon money discussion thread
Tourneys
SC2's Safe House 2 - October 18 & 19 LiuLi Cup - August 2025 Tournaments $5,100+ SEL Season 2 Championship (SC: Evo) WardiTV Mondays RSL Season 2 Qualifier Links and Dates
Strategy
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation # 485 Death from Below Mutation # 484 Magnetic Pull Mutation #239 Bad Weather Mutation # 483 Kill Bot Wars
Brood War
General
StarCon Philadelphia ASL Season 20 Ro24 Groups BW General Discussion BSL Team Wars - Bonyth, Dewalt, Hawk & Sziky teams Player “Jedi” cheat on CSL
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues KCM 2025 Season 3 Small VOD Thread 2.0 [ASL20] Online Qualifiers Day 2
Strategy
Fighting Spirit mining rates [G] Mineral Boosting Simple Questions, Simple Answers Muta micro map competition
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Total Annihilation Server - TAForever Beyond All Reason [MMORPG] Tree of Savior (Successor of Ragnarok)
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine The Games Industry And ATVI European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
INnoVation Fan Club SKT1 Classic Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread [\m/] Heavy Metal Thread [Manga] One Piece Movie Discussion! Korean Music Discussion
Sports
2024 - 2025 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Gtx660 graphics card replacement Installation of Windows 10 suck at "just a moment" Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
TeamLiquid Team Shirt On Sale The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Gaming After Dark: Poor Slee…
TrAiDoS
[Girl blog} My fema…
artosisisthebest
Sharpening the Filtration…
frozenclaw
ASL S20 English Commentary…
namkraft
momentary artworks from des…
tankgirl
from making sc maps to makin…
Husyelt
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 585 users

The Chess Thread - Page 28

Forum Index > General Forum
Post a Reply
Prev 1 26 27 28 29 30 131 Next
urboss
Profile Joined September 2013
Austria1223 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-04-27 16:55:03
April 27 2014 16:20 GMT
#541
http://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/2008/the-path-of-learning-chess

http://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/4434/struggling-to-improve-past-beginner-level

http://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/1335/free-learning-material

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Chess-Move-John-Nunn/dp/1901983412/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1398615483&sr=8-3&keywords=john nunn
marvellosity
Profile Joined January 2011
United Kingdom36161 Posts
April 27 2014 16:28 GMT
#542
On April 28 2014 00:55 Yorbon wrote:
Hi all,

I've been playing chess more often in the last few weeks, playing some against computer opponents and trying to increase my understanding of the game. I thought the 'academic' section of chessmaster grandmaster edition with very useful and I'm also watching a series of youtube video's with some elaborate analysis on games (example: + Show Spoiler +
).

Do you guys have any recommendations on these analyses video's or more general, on improving in general?

I'm quite a low level player. I played chess pretty high for my age between my 7th and 11th year before quitting the chess club i was a part of, but i haven't played chess a lot since then (im 24 now). I did study my old chess book and went through them without any trouble. I think the level of the video i gave as an example is about what i'd need (not too hard to follow, but i'm learning..). Although i know it probably doesnt say much, but as an indication my ranking on the chessmaster program against computer opponents averages around 1260.

Thanks for any time spent

Tactics tactics tactics

http://www.chesstempo.com

Sign up (it's free) and it'll give you tactics problems appropriate to your ability
[15:15] <Palmar> and yes marv, you're a total hottie
Yorbon
Profile Joined December 2011
Netherlands4272 Posts
April 27 2014 18:51 GMT
#543
@urboss: Thanks for the links! I'll be sure to look into them

On April 28 2014 01:28 marvellosity wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 28 2014 00:55 Yorbon wrote:
Hi all,

I've been playing chess more often in the last few weeks, playing some against computer opponents and trying to increase my understanding of the game. I thought the 'academic' section of chessmaster grandmaster edition with very useful and I'm also watching a series of youtube video's with some elaborate analysis on games (example: + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLW_qst9veM
).

Do you guys have any recommendations on these analyses video's or more general, on improving in general?

I'm quite a low level player. I played chess pretty high for my age between my 7th and 11th year before quitting the chess club i was a part of, but i haven't played chess a lot since then (im 24 now). I did study my old chess book and went through them without any trouble. I think the level of the video i gave as an example is about what i'd need (not too hard to follow, but i'm learning..). Although i know it probably doesnt say much, but as an indication my ranking on the chessmaster program against computer opponents averages around 1260.

Thanks for any time spent

Tactics tactics tactics

http://www.chesstempo.com

Sign up (it's free) and it'll give you tactics problems appropriate to your ability
Very fun site. I noticed I played standard very slowly and made some stupid mistakes, i even dropped to around 1200 to return to 1500 in 50ish problems. ):
But it was fun nonetheless. I havent played the sections blitz, theory and practice yet, though.
The_Templar
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
your Country52797 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-04-27 19:04:48
April 27 2014 19:03 GMT
#544
I was at a math competition a few days ago and we were playing chess before it started. I am very bad at chess, as in probably in the 700s in ELO (not actually sure though), except in the endgame, and I was playing a fairly decent player (1350 ELO). I was hanging on much better than I should have and after a long and aggressive game we arrived at this end position.

[image loading]

I was white, and it was my turn.
+ Show Spoiler +
1. Rd6! a5?? 2. Qf6 Ne5

[image loading]

3. Rd8#

Sort of glad I saw that and didn't panic about getting my last two good pieces forked.
Moderatorshe/her
TL+ Member
marvellosity
Profile Joined January 2011
United Kingdom36161 Posts
April 27 2014 20:36 GMT
#545
On April 28 2014 03:51 Yorbon wrote:
@urboss: Thanks for the links! I'll be sure to look into them

Show nested quote +
On April 28 2014 01:28 marvellosity wrote:
On April 28 2014 00:55 Yorbon wrote:
Hi all,

I've been playing chess more often in the last few weeks, playing some against computer opponents and trying to increase my understanding of the game. I thought the 'academic' section of chessmaster grandmaster edition with very useful and I'm also watching a series of youtube video's with some elaborate analysis on games (example: + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLW_qst9veM
).

Do you guys have any recommendations on these analyses video's or more general, on improving in general?

I'm quite a low level player. I played chess pretty high for my age between my 7th and 11th year before quitting the chess club i was a part of, but i haven't played chess a lot since then (im 24 now). I did study my old chess book and went through them without any trouble. I think the level of the video i gave as an example is about what i'd need (not too hard to follow, but i'm learning..). Although i know it probably doesnt say much, but as an indication my ranking on the chessmaster program against computer opponents averages around 1260.

Thanks for any time spent

Tactics tactics tactics

http://www.chesstempo.com

Sign up (it's free) and it'll give you tactics problems appropriate to your ability
Very fun site. I noticed I played standard very slowly and made some stupid mistakes, i even dropped to around 1200 to return to 1500 in 50ish problems. ):
But it was fun nonetheless. I havent played the sections blitz, theory and practice yet, though.

Honestly until you get to about 1800 standard on that site, you will improve fastest by simply doing tactics until you get to about that level. I understand that that might get a bit dull and obviously do whatever you enjoy, but purely for improvement purposes, getting your tactics level up is the best way to go.
[15:15] <Palmar> and yes marv, you're a total hottie
Yorbon
Profile Joined December 2011
Netherlands4272 Posts
April 27 2014 21:51 GMT
#546
On April 28 2014 05:36 marvellosity wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 28 2014 03:51 Yorbon wrote:
@urboss: Thanks for the links! I'll be sure to look into them

On April 28 2014 01:28 marvellosity wrote:
On April 28 2014 00:55 Yorbon wrote:
Hi all,

I've been playing chess more often in the last few weeks, playing some against computer opponents and trying to increase my understanding of the game. I thought the 'academic' section of chessmaster grandmaster edition with very useful and I'm also watching a series of youtube video's with some elaborate analysis on games (example: + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLW_qst9veM
).

Do you guys have any recommendations on these analyses video's or more general, on improving in general?

I'm quite a low level player. I played chess pretty high for my age between my 7th and 11th year before quitting the chess club i was a part of, but i haven't played chess a lot since then (im 24 now). I did study my old chess book and went through them without any trouble. I think the level of the video i gave as an example is about what i'd need (not too hard to follow, but i'm learning..). Although i know it probably doesnt say much, but as an indication my ranking on the chessmaster program against computer opponents averages around 1260.

Thanks for any time spent

Tactics tactics tactics

http://www.chesstempo.com

Sign up (it's free) and it'll give you tactics problems appropriate to your ability
Very fun site. I noticed I played standard very slowly and made some stupid mistakes, i even dropped to around 1200 to return to 1500 in 50ish problems. ):
But it was fun nonetheless. I havent played the sections blitz, theory and practice yet, though.

Honestly until you get to about 1800 standard on that site, you will improve fastest by simply doing tactics until you get to about that level. I understand that that might get a bit dull and obviously do whatever you enjoy, but purely for improvement purposes, getting your tactics level up is the best way to go.
Yeah, well, I think I will keep doing other things as well, like watching the video's and just playing. But we'll see how things go.
Mothra
Profile Blog Joined November 2009
United States1448 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-04-27 22:02:51
April 27 2014 21:58 GMT
#547
On April 28 2014 05:36 marvellosity wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 28 2014 03:51 Yorbon wrote:
@urboss: Thanks for the links! I'll be sure to look into them

On April 28 2014 01:28 marvellosity wrote:
On April 28 2014 00:55 Yorbon wrote:
Hi all,

I've been playing chess more often in the last few weeks, playing some against computer opponents and trying to increase my understanding of the game. I thought the 'academic' section of chessmaster grandmaster edition with very useful and I'm also watching a series of youtube video's with some elaborate analysis on games (example: + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLW_qst9veM
).

Do you guys have any recommendations on these analyses video's or more general, on improving in general?

I'm quite a low level player. I played chess pretty high for my age between my 7th and 11th year before quitting the chess club i was a part of, but i haven't played chess a lot since then (im 24 now). I did study my old chess book and went through them without any trouble. I think the level of the video i gave as an example is about what i'd need (not too hard to follow, but i'm learning..). Although i know it probably doesnt say much, but as an indication my ranking on the chessmaster program against computer opponents averages around 1260.

Thanks for any time spent

Tactics tactics tactics

http://www.chesstempo.com

Sign up (it's free) and it'll give you tactics problems appropriate to your ability
Very fun site. I noticed I played standard very slowly and made some stupid mistakes, i even dropped to around 1200 to return to 1500 in 50ish problems. ):
But it was fun nonetheless. I havent played the sections blitz, theory and practice yet, though.

Honestly until you get to about 1800 standard on that site, you will improve fastest by simply doing tactics until you get to about that level. I understand that that might get a bit dull and obviously do whatever you enjoy, but purely for improvement purposes, getting your tactics level up is the best way to go.


It's true that tactics are important, but solving puzzles isn't the only way to learn them. I think tactics puzzles are sometimes emphasized too much to the exclusion of all else. People were able to develop strong tactics before there were online puzzle sites... playing slowly and analyzing games (with stronger player preferably) will strengthen tactics in real positions that actually arise in your games. The added benefit is you're learning strategy and how games progress as well, instead of only tactical positions in isolation. As analogy I think of tactics puzzles like bicep curls, whereas game analysis is like pullups that hit many muscle groups. Tactics puzzles may lead to beating bad players, but game analysis will yield more real improvement per time put in I think.
marvellosity
Profile Joined January 2011
United Kingdom36161 Posts
April 28 2014 10:57 GMT
#548
On April 28 2014 06:58 Mothra wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 28 2014 05:36 marvellosity wrote:
On April 28 2014 03:51 Yorbon wrote:
@urboss: Thanks for the links! I'll be sure to look into them

On April 28 2014 01:28 marvellosity wrote:
On April 28 2014 00:55 Yorbon wrote:
Hi all,

I've been playing chess more often in the last few weeks, playing some against computer opponents and trying to increase my understanding of the game. I thought the 'academic' section of chessmaster grandmaster edition with very useful and I'm also watching a series of youtube video's with some elaborate analysis on games (example: + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLW_qst9veM
).

Do you guys have any recommendations on these analyses video's or more general, on improving in general?

I'm quite a low level player. I played chess pretty high for my age between my 7th and 11th year before quitting the chess club i was a part of, but i haven't played chess a lot since then (im 24 now). I did study my old chess book and went through them without any trouble. I think the level of the video i gave as an example is about what i'd need (not too hard to follow, but i'm learning..). Although i know it probably doesnt say much, but as an indication my ranking on the chessmaster program against computer opponents averages around 1260.

Thanks for any time spent

Tactics tactics tactics

http://www.chesstempo.com

Sign up (it's free) and it'll give you tactics problems appropriate to your ability
Very fun site. I noticed I played standard very slowly and made some stupid mistakes, i even dropped to around 1200 to return to 1500 in 50ish problems. ):
But it was fun nonetheless. I havent played the sections blitz, theory and practice yet, though.

Honestly until you get to about 1800 standard on that site, you will improve fastest by simply doing tactics until you get to about that level. I understand that that might get a bit dull and obviously do whatever you enjoy, but purely for improvement purposes, getting your tactics level up is the best way to go.


It's true that tactics are important, but solving puzzles isn't the only way to learn them. I think tactics puzzles are sometimes emphasized too much to the exclusion of all else. People were able to develop strong tactics before there were online puzzle sites... playing slowly and analyzing games (with stronger player preferably) will strengthen tactics in real positions that actually arise in your games. The added benefit is you're learning strategy and how games progress as well, instead of only tactical positions in isolation. As analogy I think of tactics puzzles like bicep curls, whereas game analysis is like pullups that hit many muscle groups. Tactics puzzles may lead to beating bad players, but game analysis will yield more real improvement per time put in I think.

Yes, people used books before instead of sites
And I disagree, until you're a certain level of tactical proficiency, it's simply the best way to improve. Because maybe you will have better strategic/positional/endgame play to some extent by doing other things, but actually games will be won or lost based on tactical mistakes/opportunities missed/taken. There's someone in the blog section who was publishing detailed analyses of their games, but basically multiple times per game, both sides were missing tactical blows that totally change the evaluation of the position and basically make the rest of the "strategic" analysis totally irrelevant.
But yes, of course playing games is also a pretty good way to improve :D
Incidentally, all positions on chesstempo.com are taken from actual games.

I play at around 2100 level, and still most games are decided by tactical mistakes/opportunities. From my last otb game:

[image loading]

I'd just played 1...g5 and my opponent played the terrible 2.Qf6?? allowing 2...Qf3! practically winning on the spot (the game finished 3.Qd4 Re2+ 4.Rxe2 Qxe2+ 5.Kg1 Ne3 6.Rd2 Qe1+ 7.Kh2 Nf1+ (7...Re8!) 8.Kg2 Nxd2 0-1).
[15:15] <Palmar> and yes marv, you're a total hottie
Yorbon
Profile Joined December 2011
Netherlands4272 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-04-28 12:43:30
April 28 2014 12:07 GMT
#549
If I may comment on that discussion (although i'm too bad to actually know), I see (short-term) tactics as the (starcraft) mechanics of chess. The higher level you play, the more profiency in that area is required to stand your ground at that level. Strategic possibilities, or depth, increase with tactical capabilities, like tactics and builds in starcraft becomes possible with better mechanics. In this sense, focussing on it is indeed the 'best' way to improve, as it provides a basis for future improvement in other directions. However, i do think that playing real games in addition to practicing tactics is quite valuable. When I practice tactics, i know there's something there, creating a bias in patterns i look for; sacrificial attacks in tactics i find pretty easy during tactic training, while during a game, i don't even consider such things, for example. Knowing something's there is half the solution, in my experience.

So i don't disagree with both of you, even though you try your best to exclude one another . In terms of training regime, I think a focus on tactical improvement is justified, but doing so by practicing both isolated scenarios ánd 'real' games.

edit: Btw, marvellosity, are you the commenter with the same name on this problem? I was like 'hey, this name sounds familiar'
urboss
Profile Joined September 2013
Austria1223 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-04-29 07:12:27
April 28 2014 12:19 GMT
#550
I fully agree about the tactics being the most important thing.
However, even at 1200 Elo it helps a lot to have a basic understanding of openings and simple strategic concepts.
If you fail to get your pieces out in the opening or fall for the same opening trap every time without knowing it, you may still win with good tactics, but it gets a lot harder and you will just feel depressed after some time.
Also, in end games there is a lot of basic stuff that you can learn that allows you to play more on intuition rather than sheer calculation.
marvellosity
Profile Joined January 2011
United Kingdom36161 Posts
April 28 2014 12:51 GMT
#551
yes, play of course. I kinda view playing as a thing on its own. It's the lengthy analysis after (beyond looking for what tactical moves you miss) that imo is of somewhat questionable value until a certain point.

I love endgames.

[image loading]

1.a7 looks like the classic winning ending, with 2.Rh1(c1), 3.Rh8, 4.Rb8 etc.

But actually 1.Ka7! Rb2 2.Re3! Rb1 3.Ka8 Rb2 4.a7 wins faster and easier. Kinda cool huh? :>
[15:15] <Palmar> and yes marv, you're a total hottie
kwizach
Profile Joined June 2011
3658 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-04-28 14:53:28
April 28 2014 14:49 GMT
#552
Does anyone have a good free app for puzzles on Android? I used the iChess Free app for a while, which has 1000 puzzles spread over three difficulties (the beginner level being for real beginners, however), and any suggestion for a free app with many puzzles is more than welcome :-)
"Oedipus ruined a great sex life by asking too many questions." -- Stephen Colbert
Yorbon
Profile Joined December 2011
Netherlands4272 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-04-28 15:31:06
April 28 2014 15:29 GMT
#553
On April 28 2014 21:51 marvellosity wrote:
yes, play of course. I kinda view playing as a thing on its own. It's the lengthy analysis after (beyond looking for what tactical moves you miss) that imo is of somewhat questionable value until a certain point.

I love endgames.

[image loading]

1.a7 looks like the classic winning ending, with 2.Rh1(c1), 3.Rh8, 4.Rb8 etc.

But actually 1.Ka7! Rb2 2.Re3! Rb1 3.Ka8 Rb2 4.a7 wins faster and easier. Kinda cool huh? :>
I tried both, but i couldn't win the harder one. The QvR endgame is not really playable for me atm. There's supposed to be a way to do it, but i couldn't figure it out on my own. Or did I miss something and is there a way to get the 1.a7 scenario into a K+QvK ending? (if so, i couldnt find it, due to some skewer not being there as opposed to the easier scenario)
marvellosity
Profile Joined January 2011
United Kingdom36161 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-04-28 15:43:24
April 28 2014 15:42 GMT
#554
On April 29 2014 00:29 Yorbon wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 28 2014 21:51 marvellosity wrote:
yes, play of course. I kinda view playing as a thing on its own. It's the lengthy analysis after (beyond looking for what tactical moves you miss) that imo is of somewhat questionable value until a certain point.

I love endgames.

[image loading]

1.a7 looks like the classic winning ending, with 2.Rh1(c1), 3.Rh8, 4.Rb8 etc.

But actually 1.Ka7! Rb2 2.Re3! Rb1 3.Ka8 Rb2 4.a7 wins faster and easier. Kinda cool huh? :>
I tried both, but i couldn't win the harder one. The QvR endgame is not really playable for me atm. There's supposed to be a way to do it, but i couldn't figure it out on my own. Or did I miss something and is there a way to get the 1.a7 scenario into a K+QvK ending? (if so, i couldnt find it, due to some skewer not being there as opposed to the easier scenario)

The point is that in both scenarios, by force a QvsR endgame is reached. The difference is in the first scenario, White cannot win the rook by force, but in the 2nd scenario, White can. The idea of the mysterious maneouvre is that the 3rd rank is the only rank the black rook can be on to not be lost by force after White promotes. So White takes the care to occupy the 3rd rank himself first.

I'd dare say a large majority of players would struggle mightily vs a tablebase in a normal QvsR endgame.

edit: so basically yes, you're right. ^^
[15:15] <Palmar> and yes marv, you're a total hottie
Mothra
Profile Blog Joined November 2009
United States1448 Posts
April 28 2014 17:18 GMT
#555
On April 28 2014 19:57 marvellosity wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 28 2014 06:58 Mothra wrote:
On April 28 2014 05:36 marvellosity wrote:
On April 28 2014 03:51 Yorbon wrote:
@urboss: Thanks for the links! I'll be sure to look into them

On April 28 2014 01:28 marvellosity wrote:
On April 28 2014 00:55 Yorbon wrote:
Hi all,

I've been playing chess more often in the last few weeks, playing some against computer opponents and trying to increase my understanding of the game. I thought the 'academic' section of chessmaster grandmaster edition with very useful and I'm also watching a series of youtube video's with some elaborate analysis on games (example: + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLW_qst9veM
).

Do you guys have any recommendations on these analyses video's or more general, on improving in general?

I'm quite a low level player. I played chess pretty high for my age between my 7th and 11th year before quitting the chess club i was a part of, but i haven't played chess a lot since then (im 24 now). I did study my old chess book and went through them without any trouble. I think the level of the video i gave as an example is about what i'd need (not too hard to follow, but i'm learning..). Although i know it probably doesnt say much, but as an indication my ranking on the chessmaster program against computer opponents averages around 1260.

Thanks for any time spent

Tactics tactics tactics

http://www.chesstempo.com

Sign up (it's free) and it'll give you tactics problems appropriate to your ability
Very fun site. I noticed I played standard very slowly and made some stupid mistakes, i even dropped to around 1200 to return to 1500 in 50ish problems. ):
But it was fun nonetheless. I havent played the sections blitz, theory and practice yet, though.

Honestly until you get to about 1800 standard on that site, you will improve fastest by simply doing tactics until you get to about that level. I understand that that might get a bit dull and obviously do whatever you enjoy, but purely for improvement purposes, getting your tactics level up is the best way to go.


It's true that tactics are important, but solving puzzles isn't the only way to learn them. I think tactics puzzles are sometimes emphasized too much to the exclusion of all else. People were able to develop strong tactics before there were online puzzle sites... playing slowly and analyzing games (with stronger player preferably) will strengthen tactics in real positions that actually arise in your games. The added benefit is you're learning strategy and how games progress as well, instead of only tactical positions in isolation. As analogy I think of tactics puzzles like bicep curls, whereas game analysis is like pullups that hit many muscle groups. Tactics puzzles may lead to beating bad players, but game analysis will yield more real improvement per time put in I think.

Yes, people used books before instead of sites
And I disagree, until you're a certain level of tactical proficiency, it's simply the best way to improve. Because maybe you will have better strategic/positional/endgame play to some extent by doing other things, but actually games will be won or lost based on tactical mistakes/opportunities missed/taken. There's someone in the blog section who was publishing detailed analyses of their games, but basically multiple times per game, both sides were missing tactical blows that totally change the evaluation of the position and basically make the rest of the "strategic" analysis totally irrelevant.
But yes, of course playing games is also a pretty good way to improve :D
Incidentally, all positions on chesstempo.com are taken from actual games.

I play at around 2100 level, and still most games are decided by tactical mistakes/opportunities. From my last otb game:

[image loading]

I'd just played 1...g5 and my opponent played the terrible 2.Qf6?? allowing 2...Qf3! practically winning on the spot (the game finished 3.Qd4 Re2+ 4.Rxe2 Qxe2+ 5.Kg1 Ne3 6.Rd2 Qe1+ 7.Kh2 Nf1+ (7...Re8!) 8.Kg2 Nxd2 0-1).


You're a much stronger player than me so I should defer to your judgement on improvement. I agree that tactics should take precedence, but I just wanted to put out there that there are other ways to train tactics besides puzzles, such as reviewing master games (solitaire chess), and stoyko exercises.
calgar
Profile Blog Joined November 2007
United States1277 Posts
April 29 2014 03:45 GMT
#556
On April 29 2014 02:18 Mothra wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 28 2014 19:57 marvellosity wrote:
On April 28 2014 06:58 Mothra wrote:
On April 28 2014 05:36 marvellosity wrote:
On April 28 2014 03:51 Yorbon wrote:
@urboss: Thanks for the links! I'll be sure to look into them

On April 28 2014 01:28 marvellosity wrote:
On April 28 2014 00:55 Yorbon wrote:
Hi all,

I've been playing chess more often in the last few weeks, playing some against computer opponents and trying to increase my understanding of the game. I thought the 'academic' section of chessmaster grandmaster edition with very useful and I'm also watching a series of youtube video's with some elaborate analysis on games (example: + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLW_qst9veM
).

Do you guys have any recommendations on these analyses video's or more general, on improving in general?

I'm quite a low level player. I played chess pretty high for my age between my 7th and 11th year before quitting the chess club i was a part of, but i haven't played chess a lot since then (im 24 now). I did study my old chess book and went through them without any trouble. I think the level of the video i gave as an example is about what i'd need (not too hard to follow, but i'm learning..). Although i know it probably doesnt say much, but as an indication my ranking on the chessmaster program against computer opponents averages around 1260.

Thanks for any time spent

Tactics tactics tactics

http://www.chesstempo.com

Sign up (it's free) and it'll give you tactics problems appropriate to your ability
Very fun site. I noticed I played standard very slowly and made some stupid mistakes, i even dropped to around 1200 to return to 1500 in 50ish problems. ):
But it was fun nonetheless. I havent played the sections blitz, theory and practice yet, though.

Honestly until you get to about 1800 standard on that site, you will improve fastest by simply doing tactics until you get to about that level. I understand that that might get a bit dull and obviously do whatever you enjoy, but purely for improvement purposes, getting your tactics level up is the best way to go.


It's true that tactics are important, but solving puzzles isn't the only way to learn them. I think tactics puzzles are sometimes emphasized too much to the exclusion of all else. People were able to develop strong tactics before there were online puzzle sites... playing slowly and analyzing games (with stronger player preferably) will strengthen tactics in real positions that actually arise in your games. The added benefit is you're learning strategy and how games progress as well, instead of only tactical positions in isolation. As analogy I think of tactics puzzles like bicep curls, whereas game analysis is like pullups that hit many muscle groups. Tactics puzzles may lead to beating bad players, but game analysis will yield more real improvement per time put in I think.

Yes, people used books before instead of sites
And I disagree, until you're a certain level of tactical proficiency, it's simply the best way to improve. Because maybe you will have better strategic/positional/endgame play to some extent by doing other things, but actually games will be won or lost based on tactical mistakes/opportunities missed/taken. There's someone in the blog section who was publishing detailed analyses of their games, but basically multiple times per game, both sides were missing tactical blows that totally change the evaluation of the position and basically make the rest of the "strategic" analysis totally irrelevant.
But yes, of course playing games is also a pretty good way to improve :D
Incidentally, all positions on chesstempo.com are taken from actual games.

I play at around 2100 level, and still most games are decided by tactical mistakes/opportunities. From my last otb game:

[image loading]

I'd just played 1...g5 and my opponent played the terrible 2.Qf6?? allowing 2...Qf3! practically winning on the spot (the game finished 3.Qd4 Re2+ 4.Rxe2 Qxe2+ 5.Kg1 Ne3 6.Rd2 Qe1+ 7.Kh2 Nf1+ (7...Re8!) 8.Kg2 Nxd2 0-1).


You're a much stronger player than me so I should defer to your judgement on improvement. I agree that tactics should take precedence, but I just wanted to put out there that there are other ways to train tactics besides puzzles, such as reviewing master games (solitaire chess), and stoyko exercises.
I'm ~2100 and am playing pretty seriously right now. I like to do an hour of blitz, an hour of tactics puzzles, and some miscellaneous opening + endgame work daily.
Yorbon
Profile Joined December 2011
Netherlands4272 Posts
April 29 2014 15:14 GMT
#557
When you guys mention a rating, which one do you mean? I saw on wikipedia the elo rating and the USCF rating.
And where do you get them? From sites like chess.com or other related sites? Or are you participating in (real life) tourneys and get a rating from there?
Like I previously said, i estimated my rating through computer opponents, but i'm trying to get a somewhat more reliable estimation of my rating in a certain system. So if you say you're rated ~xx00, on what basis is that? Would you say that rating is comparable to other ratings, if one would make a connection?
Chewbacca.
Profile Joined January 2011
United States3634 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-04-29 15:20:20
April 29 2014 15:20 GMT
#558
On April 30 2014 00:14 Yorbon wrote:
When you guys mention a rating, which one do you mean? I saw on wikipedia the elo rating and the USCF rating.
And where do you get them? From sites like chess.com or other related sites? Or are you participating in (real life) tourneys and get a rating from there?
Like I previously said, i estimated my rating through computer opponents, but i'm trying to get a somewhat more reliable estimation of my rating in a certain system. So if you say you're rated ~xx00, on what basis is that? Would you say that rating is comparable to other ratings, if one would make a connection?


Yeah I'm a little confused by the ratings as well. I'm sure they aren't all comparable because I believe Jerry (ChessNetwork) is something like 2800 on whatever website he uses, but that is near the top GM levels and I'm sure he can't compete there..
3FFA
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
United States3931 Posts
April 29 2014 15:22 GMT
#559
On April 30 2014 00:20 Chewbacca. wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 30 2014 00:14 Yorbon wrote:
When you guys mention a rating, which one do you mean? I saw on wikipedia the elo rating and the USCF rating.
And where do you get them? From sites like chess.com or other related sites? Or are you participating in (real life) tourneys and get a rating from there?
Like I previously said, i estimated my rating through computer opponents, but i'm trying to get a somewhat more reliable estimation of my rating in a certain system. So if you say you're rated ~xx00, on what basis is that? Would you say that rating is comparable to other ratings, if one would make a connection?


Yeah I'm a little confused by the ratings as well. I'm sure they aren't all comparable because I believe Jerry (ChessNetwork) is something like 2800 on whatever website he uses, but that is near the top GM levels and I'm sure he can't compete there..

He uses Chess.com, although he may use others as well.
"As long as it comes from a pure place and from a honest place, you know, you can write whatever you want."
urboss
Profile Joined September 2013
Austria1223 Posts
April 29 2014 15:31 GMT
#560
Radjabov might get into time trouble against Carlsen.
Prev 1 26 27 28 29 30 131 Next
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 7h 34m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
RuFF_SC2 111
StarCraft: Brood War
NaDa 106
ggaemo 103
MaD[AoV]39
Noble 24
Terrorterran 13
Icarus 1
Stormgate
Nina233
Dota 2
monkeys_forever697
NeuroSwarm136
LuMiX1
Super Smash Bros
Mew2King85
amsayoshi17
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor180
Other Games
summit1g13303
tarik_tv8656
JimRising 581
ViBE173
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick1310
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 16 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Berry_CruncH313
• davetesta40
• Adnapsc2 11
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• masondota22014
League of Legends
• Doublelift5506
Other Games
• Scarra1047
Upcoming Events
Sparkling Tuna Cup
7h 34m
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
12h 34m
BSL
16h 34m
Bonyth vs Hawk
Wardi Open
1d 8h
RotterdaM Event
1d 13h
Replay Cast
1d 21h
WardiTV Summer Champion…
2 days
RSL Revival
2 days
PiGosaur Monday
2 days
WardiTV Summer Champion…
3 days
[ Show More ]
The PondCast
4 days
WardiTV Summer Champion…
4 days
Replay Cast
4 days
LiuLi Cup
5 days
Online Event
6 days
SC Evo League
6 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

StarCon 2025 Philadelphia LAN
FEL Cracow 2025
CC Div. A S7

Ongoing

Copa Latinoamericana 4
Jiahua Invitational
BSL 20 Team Wars
KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 3
BSL 21 Qualifiers
uThermal 2v2 Main Event
HCC Europe
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025

Upcoming

ASL Season 20
CSLAN 3
BSL Season 21
BSL 21 Team A
RSL Revival: Season 2
Maestros of the Game
SEL Season 2 Championship
WardiTV Summer 2025
Thunderpick World Champ.
MESA Nomadic Masters Fall
CS Asia Championships 2025
Roobet Cup 2025
ESL Pro League S22
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Disclosure: This page contains affiliate marketing links that support TLnet.

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.