Chess for Beginners

Author: chessbuzz

  • The Bishop Pair Versus Bishop and Knight

  • Positional Evaluation Checklist

    I have created a PDF document that is based on Karpov and Mazukevich’s thought process guidelines, and includes Herman Grooten’s modifications. You can download it here. The idea is to use it when going over annotated games, or when performing Stokyo exercises. Hopefully, by using it during your training sessions, the questions will sink into our subconscious, and we will subliminally use ask these same questions during actual play.

    Feel free to leave comments if you have any suggestions to improve the checklist.

  • Redoubling Efforts

    I am organizing my chess training, and trying to simplify the material that I will be using in my studies. One of the new changes I have made is to create a site dedicated to my training program, which is called chessnotebook.com. I will be using chessnotebook.com as my online chess training diary and there I will be posting resource and diagrams that will be helping me in my quest for chess improvement.

  • Five Preliminary Endgame Rules

    1. Before even beginning to think of making a passed pawn, put all your pieces into as good positions as possible.

    Queen – Center of board

    Rooks – seventh rank for White, second rank for Black. But if the enemy has two or more minor pieces the rook must be careful about leaving his own camp and must be content with commanding the open file.

    Knights – Square in the center or in the enemy camp, supported by a pawn which is cannot be attacked by a pawn.

    Bishops – Center diagonals; pawn support is not essential but desirable.

    King – Central, provided that he is not dangerously exposed.  If the enemy has a rook, the King is best posted at or adjacent to e2(e7) or d2(d7) – fairly near the center, but still preventing the enemy rook from seizing the second (seventh) or first (eight) rank. 

    2. Avoid pawn-moves while you are getting your pieces well positioned because pawn-moves create lasting weaknesses and thus make your task harder.

    3. Try to free your position from weaknesses; and if possible, make it hard for the opponent to do likewise.

    4. When trying to win, keep pawns on both wings. When trying to draw, play to eliminate all the pawns on one wing. With pawns on one wing only, a pawn plus is usually insufficient for a win.

    5. If you are a pawn up or more, exchange pieces (not pawns) wherever you can do so without losing in position.

    Exception: do not rush an exchange that will leave you with a single bishop running on the opposite color to the enemy’s single bishop. Also, refrain from exchanging if it will give your opponent two bishops against bishop and knight.

    CJS Purdy

  • Purdy’s Chess Opening Rules

    Below are a few guidelines from C.J.S Purdy on playing the opening. Purdy had an incredible gift of explaning difficult chess concepts, and these rules are no exception. I also haven’t seen these rules in many other chess books, so it is important to learn and apply them in your games.
     
    1. When you don’t play 1.e4 (…e5) early, never block your c-pawn
     
    2. Don’t financhetto a bishop if an avenue is already open to it.

    3. Don’t move any pawns other than e4(e5) or d4(d5) in the opening, the general rule is not to move any until development is complete (minor pieces out and the rooks have been connected and one of them placed on an file that is likely to become open or semi-open). With the following exceptions:

    a. If you have played e4 (…e5) and it is impossible to play d4 (…d5), keep the option of f4  (…f5) and play it if you think the time is right.
     
    b. When a piece has come down to b4 (b5) or g4 (g5), you can ask it to move with a3 (a6) or with  h3(h6). DO NOT PLAY a3(a6) or h3(h6) to stop the piece from coming down, that gives up a move for nothing at all.

    4. An exchange loses a move if the opponent captures with a developing move. This should be avoided unless you have to lose a move in development in any case.

    5. When considering in taking a center pawn the rule is:

    a. If the pawn is threatening to take your pawn or advance and hit a piece, usually take it.
     
    6. When capturing, usually capture towards the center. An exception is when something has to be recaptured on c3 (…c6) or f3(…f6), here it is usually good to take with the center pawn instead of with the flank pawn as that makes an avenue for the bishop that was previously shut in by the center pawn.
     
    7. In the opening never hesitate to exchange a knight for a bishop.
     
    8 Exchange a bishop for a knight in the following scenarios:

    a. If bishop is on b5(b4) or g5(g4) pinning a knight and you are hit by the a or h-pawns, exchange rather than lose a tempo retreating – provided that the opponent cannot recapture with a  developing move.
     
    b. If opponent can recapture with a developing move then you lose a tempo regardless and it is best to maintain the pin by retreating to a4(a5) or h4(h5).

    9.  As a general rule develop all other three minor pieces before the Q-bishop.

    a. Only time to develop the Q-bishop early is when you are White in the Queen’s Pawn Game, and you wish to develop the bishop in one move before playing e3.

    10. Develop the rooks on their most effective files as soon as you can.

    11. The Queen has to be moved off the back rank to free the rooks; but she should usually be moved only one square, to the file that is least likely to be opened (usually e2 (e7) is a good square for the Queen).

    12. It is bad to put a Queen on an open file; it only means the loss of a tempo later, when the file is taken by an enemy rook.

  • 200 ELO Points in 6 Months

    USChess.org has a great article on how Christian Galwe  increased 200 rating points in 6 months!

    Here are a few of the recommendations from the article:

    * Study your own games with an instructor

    * Don’t study openings…study structures and plans instead.

    * If you play blitz, play with a 5 second increment and always try to find the best move

    * Review your blitz games just like if it were a standard game.

    * Do tactical exercises everyday for at least 30-40 minutes.

    * Keep physically fit.

    Read the full article at the USChess.org site.