Chess for Beginners

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  • De La Maza for the Rest of Us

    Tactics Program

    This tactics training program should not take more than 30 minutes per session, and it is flexible enough where you can adjust the amount of puzzles and / or the amount of time spent per puzzle as well as the session time so that you can customize it to your needs and study time available.

    Week 1

    Day 1 = 10 puzzles @ 3 minutes per puzzle
    Day 2 = 10 new + 10 from day 1(d1) = 20 puzzles @ 1.5 min / puzzle
    Day 3 = 10 new + 10d1 + 10d2 = 30 puzzles @ 1 min / puzzle
    Day 4 = 10 new + 10d1 + 10d2 + 10d3 = 40 puzzles @ 45 sec / puzzle
    Day 5 = Review previous 40 questions @ 35 sec / puzzle

    Week 2

    Days 1-4 are the same as week 1
    Day 5 Repeat 40 questions from week + include 10 random questions from the previous week for a total of 50 questions @ 35 sec/ question.

    Resources

    Since we will be using a smaller pool of puzzles, it is very important that the puzzles selected provide the user with the most critical patterns so that you can get the most benefit out of your study time.

    While you can use any book or software that contains rich tactical / strategic positions, the following two books contain 900 critical positions that will assist you in getting the most out of your training time:

  • Chess Lessons in Miami

    If you live in the South Florida area, the Miami International Chess Academy is offering group lessons with IM Blas Lugo at reasonable rates . Check out their website for more info.

  • King and Pawn Endings

    The following game illustrates (starting in move 49.) how to exploit an extra pawn in a King and pawn endgame with many pawns left on the board. This example comes from James Howell’s excellent book ‘Essential Chess Endings’.

    Things to remember:

    1. Activate the king.

    2. Create a passed pawn to tie down your opponent’s king.

    3. Cut out any of your opponent’s counterplay.

    4. Once your opponent has run out ouf pawn moves it should be easy to force his king back.

    5. Either penetrate with your king and pick off your opponent’s pawns while they are busy dealing with your passed pawn or advance your king and passed pawn to paralyze your opponent’s king and force him to make concessions with his remaining pawns.

    [Event “Germany”]
    [Site “Germany”]
    [Date “1992”]
    [White “Glienke, Manfred”]
    [Black “Jahn, Constanze”]
    [Result “0-1”]
    [ECO “A17”]
    [Annotator “Howell, James”]
    [PlyCount “134”]
    [EventDate “1992.??.??”]
    1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O O-O 7. d3 d5 8. cxd5
    Nxd5 9. Bd2 Be7 10. Re1 c5 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. Bc3 Nd7 13. Qa4 Qc7 14. Rac1 Qb7
    15. e4 Bc6 16. Qc2 Rac8 17. b3 Rfd8 18. Nd2 Bf6 19. Nc4 Bxc3 20. Qxc3 Nf6 21.
    h3 Ne8 22. a4 f6 23. h4 Qd7 24. Bh3 Nc7 25. Re3 Qd4 26. Qe1 Rb8 27. Ra1 e5 28.
    Ra2 Bd7 29. Bf1 Na6 30. Na3 Nb4 31. Nc2 Nxc2 32. Rxc2 Be6 33. Qc3 Qb4 34. Qxb4
    cxb4 35. Rb2 Rbc8 36. Re1 Rc3 37. Reb1 a5 38. Be2 Rdc8 39. f3 Rc1+ 40. Bd1 R8c3
    41. Kf2 Rxb1 42. Rxb1 Rxd3 43. Ke2 Rc3 44. Rb2 Kf7 45. Rc2 Bxb3 46. Rxc3 Bxd1+
    47. Kxd1 bxc3 48. Kc2 Ke6 49. Kxc3 {Exploiting the extra pawn here is not
    completely straightforward as White’s sole queenside pawn appears to be
    holding up Black’s a-and b-pawns.} Kd6 50. Kc4 Kc6 {Both players now turn
    their attention to the kingside, hoping to run the opponent out of pawn moves.}
    51. h5 g6 52. h6 g5 53. g4 {White has the opposition and it looks as though
    Black has lost the battle for tempi on the kingside. However, it turns out
    that Black does not have to move her king.} b5+ {
    It is now Black’s turn to move and he has lost the opposition.} 54. axb5+ Kb6
    55. Kd5 Kxb5 56. Ke6 a4 57. Kxf6 a3 58. Kg7 a2 59. Kxh7 a1=Q 60. Kg6 Qa8 61.
    Kxg5 Kc5 62. Kg6 Qf8 63. g5 Kd6 64. Kh5 Qxf3+ 65. Kg6 Qxe4+ 66. Kg7 Qb7+ 67.
    Kg8 Qc8+ 0-1

  • Opening Tree Search Online

    Chessok, has made available online an opening tree search. You can now receive detailed statistics on all opening moves carefully classified and stored in their opening database.

  • Advice from Nimzowitsch

    My game has suffered recently, but I am more determined than ever to improve…so the following quote should help me on my way: 

    Settle on your objective is the rule. Such an objective may be a pawn or a point. Which one, it matters not. But aimlessly drifting from one to another, this will expose you  to a strategical disgrace.

    Aaron Nimzowitsch

  • 1st Annual Miami Chess Open

    Photo report of the Miami Chess Open held from September 28th through September 30th.
    Hikaru Nakamura
    Photography: William Mendez © 2007
    Hikaru Nakamura wins the 2007 Miami
    Chess Open

    Alexander Shabalov
    Photography: William Mendez © 2007
    U.S Champion Alexander Shabalov

    David Pruess
    Photography: William Mendez © 2007
    IM David Pruess contemplates the position

  • Chess Engine Playing Styles

    Fritz: Tactical, but positionally sound. Well rounded.

    Hiarcs: Positional and human-like play. Good in unbalanced positions.

    Junior: Very tactical, sacrificial style play.

    Rybka: Strongest chess engine. Excellent positional understanding and human-like play. Excellent evaluation of dynamic positions. Great for analysis.

    Shredder: Very positional and solid. Excellent endgame play.

    Zappa: Human-like play, aggressive. Very strong, catching up to Rybka.

    Fruit: Well balanced positional play.

  • King and Pawn Endgame with Pawns on Both Wings

    The following endgame example illustrates how to turn a one pawn advantage into a win:

    The conversion of an extra pawn falls into three phases: 1) the King is activated. 1.Kf1

    pawns_1.jpg

    1…Ke7 2.Ke2 Kd6 3.Kd3 Kd5 2)Mobilization of the majority. 4.b4

    pawns_2.jpg

    Mobilize by moving the “candidate”, which is the unopposed pawn.4…Kc6 5.Kc4 h5 6.a4 h4 7.b5+ Kb6 8.Kb4 g5 9.a5+

    pawns_3.jpg

    9…Kb7 10.Kc5 Kc7 11.b6+ axb6+ 12.axb6+ Kb7

    pawns_4.jpg

    3) The King goes to the Kingside to gobble up the Black pawns (transformation of one advantage to another):13.Kd6 Kxb6 14.Ke7 f5 15.Kf6+-  .

  • What a Chess Player Should Know

    I need help in trying to compile which attributes chess players need in order to master an existing class level (from Class E to Expert+)based on their rating.

    For example Irina Mikhailova has cataloged these attributes and states that a player rated ~2100 should know the following:

    At this stage a chess player must have a successfully tested opening repertoire which includes 2 openings as White and 2 openings with the black pieces. The chess player must master tactics (60-70 per cent of a success rate solving problems of an intermediate difficulty), acquire a firm knowledge of the basics of chess strategy, ie. How a position’s evaluation is developed and what are its components, familiarize with about 15-25 common plans from the chess classic examples, know typical chess endings: evaluation, plan of play and standard tactical methods for approximately 250 endgame positions. It is necessary to acquire the skills of working with a computer and with chess software.

    Knowing what knowledge is critical at each class level, can help improving chess players focus on those elements of chess knowledge that will bring the most benefit.

  • Annotated Game: Chessbuzz vs Lordofthedance

    Round 1 game of the September Standard Tourney on ICC.