Your chess strategy?
If there are any chess players around this side of the internet: What is your preferred strategy for beginning a chess game, as in first five moves.
I am a big into using the terrible “three move win”, technique, but I was wondering what other people would commonly use.
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i like to tend to develop my pieces towards the middle.
usually move one of the two middle pawns up two and then a knight covering that one.
you want to develop good control of the board in the first 5 moves, and try to limit your opponent’s moves (in the first 5 moves)
-amateur chess player ^____^
Thanks, I find taking out my bishops for the sake of their amazing range is good one that works well for me.
In general, the two goals of any opening are control of the center, and development of the pieces.
In general, the end of the opening — that is, where the middlegame begins — is when the rooks are connected (can “see each other”), and one of the rooks reaches a file unblocked by a friendly pawn. One can say he’s handled the opening well if he got good play for the rooks at the end of the opening.
One cannot be specific about “the first five moves” of an opening because the other side gets his five moves, too, and his moves may be threatening. To be any good at chess, one has to consider the other side’s play as carefully as one’s own. (If one plays the King’s Indian Attack — 1. Nf3 2. g3 3. Bg2 4. 0–0 — it’s possible to pretty much ignore the other side, but that’s a rare one.)
In general, there are 10 basic principles for the opening. Grandmaster Fine proposed these in his classic Chess the Easy Way . Fine’s principles are illustrated by games played by the American genius Paul Morphy in A First Book of Morphy .
1. Open with a center pawn.
2. Whenever possible, make a good developing move that threatens something.
3. Develop knights before bishops.
4. Don’t move the same piece twice in the opening if you can help it.
5. Don’t make too many pawns moves in the opening (two or three is usually enough to develop the pieces and control the center).
6. Don’t move the queen too early in the opening.
7. Castle as soon as possible, preferably on the kingside.
8. Play to get control of the center.
9. Play to maintain a pawn in the center.
10. Don’t sacrifice in the opening without a good reason. There are four good reasons for a pawn sacrifice in the opening: a) To gain three extra moves in development; b) To deflect the enemy queen; c) To prevent the enemy from castling; d) To build up a strong attack.
As far as I know, there aren’t any other Fluther users who write chess books.
I tend to avoid anything that was in a book.
Many people who are good at chess got that way by memorizing certain strategies or maybe studying Kasparov’s greatest games and thus play more by recalling similar situations in previous games throughout history instead of thinking about the game on the board in front of them.
Accordingly, I find it easier to beat “book smart” chess-players through catching them a bit off-guard. Sometimes I intentionally “screw up” to either lull them into thinking I am an idiot and/or just throw in a element of surprise.
Open up the sides, free up your rooks…wreak havoc!
Sometimes I intentionally “screw up” to either lull them into thinking I am an idiot and/or just throw in a element of surprise.
You screw up because you’re not a good chessplayer. Good players cannot be lulled into false senses of security, and neither are good players surprised by bad players’ bad moves, intentional or not.
“The Three Move Win” strategy is successful against opponents who have no idea how to play the game. It’s the preferred strategy of “jail-house experts”...guys who learn the game while confined and boast of beating everyone in the joint.
I would respectfully suggest you abandon that strategy if you ever hope to develop any kind of skill playing chess.
First of all, Scholar’s Mate is four moves. You people don’t know what you’re talking about.
Jailhouse players are often very, very good. Claude Bloodgood was the champion of the state of Virginia. He lived in the Virginia state penitentiary.
Scholar’s Mate is for little kids. That’s why we call it Scholar’s Mate.
Open up the sides
Wrong.
free up your rooks
Right.
@frdelrosario: I guess I stand corrected. I’ve obviously run across the inferior jailhouse players.
Counter move my opponent’s moves. It stumps the hell out of my friend, and he used to play chess competitively.
This is my strategy when I am having fun: not advice for other people.
He eventually wins, but it makes him work for it :).
Counter move my opponent’s moves.
The only powerful moves on the chessboard are threatening moves. The most powerful counters to a threatening move are counterattacks.
It stumps the hell out of my friend, and he used to play chess competitively.
By sitting down to play, one is “playing competitively”. Your friend isn’t a good chessplayer.
@frdelrosario His numerous chess tounament trophies would prove otherwise, but you obviously are far superior to everyone else on this thread. Please continue taking this too seriously.
@frdelrosario It depends on who you are playing against. You seem to assume that all good chess players are unflappable, calm, and computer-like. I guess you’ve never run into any with an ego and/or a temper.
His numerous chess tounament trophies would prove otherwise
Weak players win many trophies. Players are separated by rating into classes, then the better players in bottom classes — like your friend — win trophies. They’re called “class prizes”.
@jerv : re: ”...I guess you’ve never run into any with an ego and/or a temper.”
A fist through my wooden chess board certainly tempered my enthusiasm for winning against a certain opponent.
(Just thought I’d share that…)
You seem to assume that all good chess players are unflappable, calm, and computer-like.
Good players have to play with as little emotion as possible. Emotions cloud one’s judgment, chess judgment or otherwise.
Lasker, who was world champion for 25 years, specialized in moves that psychologically rattled his opponents. Lasker could do that — he had a special gift for reading his opponents, and then he was a strong enough player to take advantage of the psychological ploys.
This thread really has gone from talking about strategy to @frdelrosario showing how much he likes chess. Staying on topic is cool.
This thread really has gone from talking about strategy
The question was about opening strategy. Opening strategy is very clearly defined, and I recited it. Thread derailed because there oughtn’t be more to talk about.
Opening tactics is a much broader subject.
Let’s do tactics then.
I’m pretty much a novice, but I try to get my rooks and knights mobilized as soon as possible, leaving my queen and bishop for when I have a bit of control.
I try to get my rooks and knights mobilized as soon as possible, leaving my queen and bishop for when i have a bit of control.
You can’t think about it like that.
Every time it’s your move, follow a routine like this:
1) Ask yourself “what are his threats?”.
2) Identify his threat(s), then determine if it/they are real. The best chess teacher ever said one can’t play this game passably well until one recognizes the unreality of the opponent’s unreal threats.
3) If the threats are unreal, you can do whatever you like. Ideally, developing new force with the biggest possible threat of your own.
4) If the threats are real, then there are three ways to deal with it: a) Hit him back harder, b) Put someone in the way, c) Run away. In any case, use inactive force.
There are two fundamental instructions for every position we ever play:
Examine all threatening moves. If you don’t see all of your threats, you win less efficiently. If you don’t see all of his, you lose.
Use inactive force. Superior force wins fights. The idea is to get all the force working, hit him one good time and lay him out flat. Bad players send out a piece or two, do a bit of skirmishing, then retreat to a neutral corner, dispatch another piece or two, lather, rinse, repeat. Good players get every unit working for one great push. The tricky part is that the other player is also gathering for one big push.
@frdelrosario You are a very interesting man.
I have never thought of the unreal threats before; a valuable concept to be sure.
Oh, @ShiningToast ? It is infinitely more important to learn endings than openings.
I have never thought of the unreal threats before; a valuable concept to be sure.
Most players never do. It’s why Cecil John Seddon Purdy was the greatest chess teacher. He got to the heart of things, telling improving players what they had to know.
@frdelrosario Did this Cecil John Seddon Purdy write any literature that teaches and elaborates upon this method?
Did this Cecil John Seddon Purdy write any literature that teaches and elaborates upon this method?
Cecil Purdy published and edited magazines — Australasian Chess Review, Check, Chessworld — that served improving chessplayers from 1929 to 1967, providing pithy and memorable advice on every phase of the game, while recommending study habits and thinking patterns. Purdy followed his own counsel well enough to win the first world championship of correspondence chess, and the Australian over-the-board championship four times.
Thinkers Press in Pennsylvania struck a deal with Purdy’s widow that enabled them to reprint Cecil’s magazine pieces in books. Those are The Fine Art of Chess Annotation, volumes 1, 2, and 3; and The Search for Chess Perfection.
His Guide to Good Chess is an excellent first book for any chessplayer.
My only strategy is to sing loudly while he is trying to make his move.It works on the first tee of any golf course too.
My only strategy is to sing loudly while he is trying to make his move.
As early as the 1500s, it was recommended to seat one’s opponent with the sun in his eyes.
My strategy is to not go down without a fight.
I figure may as well make it a bloody battle if it isn’t going to be an even one.
When possible I like to use http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Defence,_Accelerated_Dragon
Otherwise, a more stable king’s pawn game. Depending on how good I think my opponent is. The dragon is pretty stable too though.
What matters more is tactics in mid-game. Try and find books or web-apps that let you solve chess puzzles. Helps you improve your tactics.
Have fun :)
Pawn to K3 usually confuses your opponent
Try and find books or web-apps that let you solve chess puzzles. Helps you improve your tactics.
Outstanding advice.
_Pawn to K3 usually confuses your opponent _
No, it does not.
Wow! Thank you everyone for the advice! I really didn’t expect to get so much expert vocalization on this!
Thank you everyone for the advice!
Bottom line is that a bit of endgame knowledge goes a long way toward winning many games, while tons of opening knowledge helps very little, so start by learning how to finish games, not how to start them.
Sweet holy moly, be I black or white my 1st order of business is to control or capture the four squares in the middle, KP4 and 5, and QP4 and 5. I want my opponent to have to attack me on the flanks where he has less room to maneuver and I can block his attack easier. Then I can start laying a trap for his knights which will be the only pieces he can really try to get penetration with. That is my opening strategy.
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