Chess forum - Improving?

Author

Improving?

Mama Bear

2005-09-25, 7:34 pm

I'm interested in how to seriously improve my skills but am not
sure it's possible. I'm a Mensa member but only play chess at
about the 1200 rating level.

One of the problems is that I can't get into the books. They seem
tedious and boring. I get a few pages into them and then get
bored to tears and put them down.

I have CM9000 and got into the tutorials but the people who wrote
the program neglected to give it a feature which would save your
place in the tutorial, so if I'm 127 screens into a tutorial that
has 275 screens, and have to shut the computer down, it loses my
place and I have to start all over again.

It HAS taught me some things, but apparently not enough to
improve my skills much. I used to be about even with the 1150
rated opponents in there, and now I'm about even with perhaps the
1180 rated ones.

Someone suggested Winning Chess by Chernev & Reinfeld ( 1948 )
but I had the same problem, I got a chapter or so into it and it
bored me.

It appears to be teaching the same things as CM9000 anyway; pins,
forks, skewers...

And studying fixed games doesn't seem to make any sense to me
anyway. It reminds me of the forms I've learned in martial arts.
Bruce Lee spoke of forms as being an attempt to "organize chaos".
When sparring in martial arts, it's a flowing, ever changing
thing, just like a chess game. So how will "learning forms" on
the chess board, help me with my chess skills?

I'm frustrated, because as soon as I play anyone past about the
1200 rated level, I lose ALL the time.

But I REALLY want to improve. I've played game after game with
CM9000, against the highest rated opponents that I can, and still
have any chance of winning ( around 1200 ) but I'm not improving
past that.

What can I do now?

--
- Mama Bear

Please add the following link to your site and refresh your page
in Google, pass the word, and help this woman:
http://pleasehelpjennifer.com/

pizzaguy

2005-09-27, 7:33 pm

"Mama Bear" <MamaBear@No-Spam.noo> wrote in message
news:Xns96DCA01E24863Mama@216.196.97.142...

quote:

> I'm interested in how to seriously improve my skills but am not
> sure it's possible. I'm a Mensa member but only play chess at
> about the 1200 rating level.
>
> One of the problems is that I can't get into the books. They seem
> tedious and boring. I get a few pages into them and then get
> bored to tears and put them down.

Just my thoughts..... You are too low to study books....
Play more games with people between 1100 to 1400.
All these games are being decided by who "PITCHES their pieces" Who gives
away the most pieces!! Being new you are not seeing the moves of all the
pieces. When your opponent moves take the time to look at WHAT is my
opponent threating now. DO NOT look at what you can do until you see his
threats. Look at all the moves on the board one move deep. This is not
hard and does not take but a few seconds...Just sounds hard . It is not.
This will start you on your way to winning more games. Above 1400 is a new
ballgame with new suggestions about your IQ, concentration, board vision,
books, ect....playing experience.

.. An example.. If I am white and my first move is e2-e4 , I am threating
squares d5 and f5. I no longer protect squares d3 and f3 with this pawn. I
have opened the diagonal for my bishop to threaten e2,d3,c4,b5,a6.My knight
on g1 threatens h3,f3,e2 ect..ect....
Everyone starts at this level. Good luck. You can improve if you put effort
into it. May the force be with you .
just a friend

mechlowski@westnet.com.au

2005-10-25, 2:36 am

If you want to improve the most important aspects in chess is
calculation and visualisation. Learn to recognise patterns that may
occur over the board. Tactics are a great way to start in this area.
Just concentrate on books that have tactical problems that you have to
solve. Also, try analysing your own games after you have played against
chessmaster. Look at not just why you may have lost, but look at the
side variations as well and check any tactical combinations that may
not have come out in the actual game itself. Anyway, I hope some of
these suggestions will help. Practice naming each square and its
colour, and try and play some blindfold chess. I have found this has
helped me in a big way with my chess.