I do know the notation, though I would be using one of my programs that does the notation as well. I’m not sure how the mods would take to having a thread like that though.
I don’t know chess notation (although that’s easily enough overcome) but I really don’t know what I’m doing. It would be a slaughter of epic proportion, even with you playing down to me, I fear.
I “know” how to play, and I can do a decent opening, but I’m lost in the strategic midgame. I find it very hard to keep a strategy in mind and adapt to an opponent. I’d like to get better, but I don’t want to get beat by 8-year-olds, so I don’t want to join a club until I can play better, which will happen when I start playing other people, which I could do in a club…
My head hurts.
I have Fritz, which is rather good. It kicks my ass most of the time, though. Even on friend mode.
Ah, whenever I feel too lousy about my skill level, I remember this exchange from Wag The Dog:
Stanley Motss: I bet you’re great at chess.
Conrad Brean: I would be if I could remember how all the pieces moved.
Stranger
glee,
is there an online chess tutorial - not necessarily for free - you would recommend which takes a fairly earnest student from schlocker to pretty good or better?
I’m pretty good for never actually being part of a club or reading how to play.
I can beat a bunch of people I know but I get my ass kicked on those chess playing websites.
People at those sites take the game seriously. They read, play against computers, higher ranked players, and so on.
For the hell of it, Google:
online chess tutorials
You might find something you like - and free. Then, after you’ve learned a thing or two, when you return to some of those chess websites, you might kick ass.
I hope so, anyway.
My most memorable game was the second round of the only statewide junior tournament I attended. My rating placed me exactly at the bottom of the top half of the draw. Now, for the people that haven’t played in them before, weekend chess tournaments differ greatly from other sporting tournaments you may be used to. You don’t have time to do a “bracket”, because you can only play about 3 games/day, so if you have a couple hundred people, a lot of people are going to be 6-0. So tiebreakers come into play, and the #1 tiebreaker is points earned by the people you beat.
So the seeding is NOT set up to throw the weakest players at the top seed each round, but to throw people at them who have a decent chance of winning their other games. So that means that, as the bottom of the top half, in the first round I drew an unrated guy who decided to come with his buddies and might as well play while he was there. Destroyed him.
But that also means that in the second round, I was at the bottom of the list of people with 1 win. So I got to play the top seed. 2654. Completely destroyed me. I went after him with one of my standard attacks, which is to set up an immense chain reaction that, if the opponent makes a false move, results in me trading a bishop for the G and H pawns in front of his castled king, leaving the king out for me to harrass it. Only I found out that once I sprung my “trap” none of my pieces could support the attack this time, because he had tied them all in a nice little knot. I still have no idea how he did it to me.
-lv
I was once an OK club player but I’m out of practice now - was once about 122-125 BCF, I don’t know how to convert this. Strategically sounder than most comparable players on the Norfolk, UK, league scene, which parleyed into enough patient wins to average about 70% in a season, but in no danger of hitting the heights, and I perpetrated a number of out-and-out lemons in my time.
From about 20 years ago there is this snippet that I fondly remember, played though it was against a computer program that was less than stellar. Hope I’ve remembered it right:
- e4 c5
- c3 d5
- exd5 Qxd5
- Nf3 Nc6
- Qa4 Bd7
- d4 cxd4
- Nxd4 e5
- Nb5 0-0-0
- Qc4 Qd1+!!
- Kxd1 Bg4+
- Kc2 Bd1 mate
Or 11. Ke1, Rd1 mate. Real chess saddoes will recognise the queen sac motif, but if it ain’t original, tough: it’s probably the only time in my life I’ve sacrificed a queen for a mate in two.
I’ve done games on the boards before - it’s entertaining, skillful and educational!
I’ll start a thread in MPSIMS - see you there…
Hey, I’m a chess teacher!
You would be welcome to take moves back, get advice before moving - just as long as you get something out of it…
Some competent chess colleagues of mine offer chess coaching by e-mail.
There are also chess programs that provide a convenient opponent at anytime, and can offer simple tips.
In deference to the Chicago Reader, I’m not going to post any links here to such commercial material (although I have no financial interest in any of them).
E-mail me for a couple of possibilities.
P.S. I’m not sure how good a ‘schlocker’ is, but becoming pretty good at chess takes years and you need to practice regularly.
I joined a chess club when I was 13. I reached 2200 (international strength) when I was 18, but chess has always appealed to me, and I was happy spending a lot of time on it.
Weekend tournaments have to cope with the problem you outline above - far more players than rounds.
With 6 rounds, the draw can cope with 64 players. Pair 1 v 33, 2 v 34, 3 v 35 etc. Alternate the colours, because White is an advantage. Even if every game is decisive (no draws), you still get an outright winner.
With over 64, you can:
- hope there will be enough draws to prodice a clear winner
- split the players into sections
- use a pairing technique known as ‘Accelerated Swiss’. I won’t give full details, but it tries to use strong players who have drawn to knock back weaker players who’ve won.
2654 is grandmaster strength (although there was some inflation in US gradings a while back). Sadly, he’s not going to fall for any ‘standard attack’!
- A standard way to convert English ratings to ELO is:
(English*8) + 600 = ELO.
So 200 English = 2200 ELO,
and 125 English = 1600 ELO.
There is a new formula, which you can find here:
http://www.bcf.org.uk/grading/how_it_works/conversion.htm
- As a ‘real chess saddo’ :eek: , I offer you the game Reti - Tarkakower:
Okay, as long as you’re gentle. It will take me a little while to prepare, so please be patient, kind sir.
I have no idea if you get these chess diplomas in other countries? I have more chess diplomas than any other kind. Unfortunately, that means exactly squat. It just means you learn some nice basic strategies, like how to win if you have a king and a castle against just a king, stuff like that. We had three levels of diplomas, pawn, castle and king.
I haven’t played for many, many years now. Last time I played was against the father of an ex-girlfriend, some 10 years ago, who was regional champ. I managed to beat him just once. There’s a square near my work in Amsterdam, the Max Eeuwe square, where the famous Dutch chessplayer left a legacy of a giant chessboard (pawns about 2 feet high) that people can use to play. Every morning a guard comes to unlock the pieces and every evening he comes back to lock them away again. In the summer I often go for a walk for lunch and enjoy watching people play. From watching them, I guess I could still play a decent game, but nothing spectacular.
Anyone can produce diplomas (the English Chess Federation do some). They are pleasant for young pupils as an encouragement.
Once you get serious about chess and join a club or play in a tournament, you can get a rating. These can come from your National Federation or the World Chess Federation (FIDE), which is grading more and more games.
Holland has some great chess events - I played at Wijk-Aan-Zee 17 times!
No worries - just start a thread in MPSIMS (like my one v Edward) when you are ready.
I notice that you come from a country that holds the Stanley Cup. This surely means that your policemen are rugged, respected, dedicated and polite. You have lumberjacks who are tough, self-reliant (and who even have their own song).
In the light of this, I shall take your request to be ‘gentle’ with a pinch of salt!
Re: chess tutorials.
I found the Chess Mentor 3.0 demo to be quite interesting. I’m not gonna start any fires thanks to it, but it’s been helpful.
http://www.chess.com/demo.html
I’m too cheap to pay for the whole thing, but the free demo is neat.
Nah, I’m in Tampa, Florida, USA. The Tampa Bay Lightning were the last team to win Lord Stanley’s trophy, but now the NHL is in a lockout situation, and it looks as if the season will be cancelled. Several Tampa area Dopers agreed to change our locations for one year after the win. It’s partly pride, but also particularly galling to the Canucks, who don’t think Florida should even have hockey teams. What they don’t understand is that there are so many expatriate Canadians in our area that we stack them up like cordwood from October through May. And we never wear flannel and hardly ever drink Labatts or Moosehead. Our policemen are thugs, bullies and brutes who like to pick on the weak and shoot the unarmed.*
*That last bit is really not true, but it plays to a stereotype. Most of our police are quite decent folk that do a difficult, dangerous job. It’s mostly our politicians that are thugs, bullies and brutes.
Quite. That was what made it such an amazing experience, the realization that he was on such a different level as me that there was no way for him to make a mistake that would let me win.
Amazingly, we really hit it off, and spent a good portion of the down time that night playing blitz games (giving me twice as much time) against each other. I even drew him once! (Unfortunately, after 5 or 6 games I was out of opening that I was close to competant in, and he was too good for me to be able to play the same opening twice without him getting bored.)
-lv