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I've re-visited the game multiple times but really have trouble engaging with the game. I've tried to read a couple of tutorials here and there on some simple s

I've re-visited the game multiple times but really have trouble engaging with the game. I've tried to read a couple of tutorials here and there on some simple strategies, but it doesn't seem like anything "sticks," and I always feel so clueless after the first few moves as to what I should do. Any suggestions from the HN crowd on what may have provided you an "ah ha!" moment for chess strategy in general?

oldstrangers 4y ago
If you're not motivated to play the game then there's no reason to continue trying to play it really. If you're not motivated because it's confusing and unrewarding to fail, then persistence and practice is really the only solution.
spacemadness 4y ago
What worked for me was the old Chessmaster tutorials done by Josh Waitzkin. It gives you structured practice problems around general principles and strategies. It was kind of addicting the way they structured it and made me want to keep going. What I got out of it were the general fundamentals that allow you to perform an opening without using pure memorization, and how to look for tactical advantages in mid game like forks and skewers. Once I finished it I started easily seeing all the opening mistakes other beginners made and won a bunch of games just following the general principles. I’ve tried some other similar tutorials since but it is still the best I’ve used as an interactive tutorial.
primitivesuave 4y ago
I highly recommend Mato's chess videos on famous games (https://www.youtube.com/@MatoJelic https://www.youtube.com/@MatoJelic), since he keeps them short (3-5 minutes), doesn't talk excessively about every single move, and only shows the interesting variations at critical positions of the game.
salamo 4y ago
Sure, I'm not a pro but I've played for a bit so maybe this will help. 1. Choose a chess opening and stick to it. That means you'll always know how to react at the beginning of the game. 2. Counting. If your piece has more defenders than attackers, it's safe. If you're attacking your opponent's piece more times than it's defended, you can control that square. One of the biggest issues I had when starting out was literally just miscounting attackers and defenders. 3. Basic tactics. There are three fundamental tactics in chess: pins, forks, and skewers. Other than that, watching chess Youtubers is pretty helpful. Some good examples are Aman Hambleton's beginner videos[1], and Daniel Naroditsky's "speedruns"[2]. The latter can be slightly more advanced but still very understandable imo. There are other good channels like Hikaru Nakamura's, Gotham Chess, chessbrah, and Eric Rosen but I think the two I suggested are the best. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axRvksIZpGc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axRvksIZpGc [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfjI4jEY58s&list=PLT1F2nOxLHOeyyw85utYJpWtSmxvA-2WR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfjI4jEY58s&list=PLT1F2nOxLH...
dunefox 4y ago
> "ah ha!" moment for chess Replacing chess with go. :P
bsder 4y ago
Watch Ben Finegold. His style of cheesey, caustic humor isn't for everybody. However, he GETS beginners. "GM Ben Finegold's Message to Beginner Chess Players" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5bCfwCyo18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5bCfwCyo18 "The Reason People Don't Get Better At Chess According to Ben Finegold" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbF1bRwxIWY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbF1bRwxIWY
boundlessdreamz 4y ago
I have improved my chess quite a bit by going through John Bartholomew's youtube content. * Start with climbing the rating ladder. He explains the basics and mistakes players at each level makes and how to avoid them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2huVf1l4UE&list=PLl9uuRYQ-6MCBnhtCk_bTZsD8GxeWP6BV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2huVf1l4UE&list=PLl9uuRYQ-6... * Watch his games (ideally with 10minutes or more time control) where he explains his thought process behind each move and what he is anticipating. This is priceless! * Analyze your own games after you play
edanm 4y ago
Yes. I hated Chess almost all my life, then got really into it a few years ago. I'm still very bad, mostly because I'm optimizing for having fun completely at the expense of getting better (e.g. I only play 5 minute games, which are terrible for learning but, hey, that's what I like). So caveat here that I might not be the best person to ask :) Having said that, what really helped me other than various tutorials is the basic goal of the game. The goal seems like it's to checkmate, and I focused a lot of effort on that. And that is theoretically the goal. But really, most of the time, especially in the beginning, you're not going to be spotting fancy checkmates and neither are your opponents. So your main focus in the beginning should actually be about winning a material advantage (capturing something of theirs without them capturing you in return.) Then, once you have an advantage, just try to trade off all the other pieces until there's nothing left. I didn't understand this idea at first. But it makes sense like this - if you have the full board, except the opponent is missing a rook, anything can still happen. But imagine now almost all the pieces are gone, except you have that extra rook and he doesn't. Now, it's a much easier and winnable game, and there's nothing the opponent can do anymore. Of course you have to know how to win a rook endgame, but that's fairly easy to drill. So my advice - drill how to win with two Rooks, with a Queen, and with one Rook. Then most games boil down to trying to get some extra material, and then trading off all the pieces, and then winning that endgame.

oldstrangers 4y ago

If you're not motivated to play the game then there's no reason to continue trying to play it really. If you're not motivated because it's confusing and unrewarding to fail, then persistence and practice is really the only solution.

spacemadness 4y ago

What worked for me was the old Chessmaster tutorials done by Josh Waitzkin. It gives you structured practice problems around general principles and strategies. It was kind of addicting the way they structured it and made me want to keep going. What I got out of it were the general fundamentals that allow you to perform an opening without using pure memorization, and how to look for tactical advantages in mid game like forks and skewers. Once I finished it I started easily seeing all the opening mistakes other beginners made and won a bunch of games just following the general principles. I’ve tried some other similar tutorials since but it is still the best I’ve used as an interactive tutorial.

primitivesuave 4y ago

I highly recommend Mato's chess videos on famous games (https://www.youtube.com/@MatoJelic https://www.youtube.com/@MatoJelic), since he keeps them short (3-5 minutes), doesn't talk excessively about every single move, and only shows the interesting variations at critical positions of the game.

salamo 4y ago

Sure, I'm not a pro but I've played for a bit so maybe this will help. 1. Choose a chess opening and stick to it. That means you'll always know how to react at the beginning of the game. 2. Counting. If your piece has more defenders than attackers, it's safe. If you're attacking your opponent's piece more times than it's defended, you can control that square. One of the biggest issues I had when starting out was literally just miscounting attackers and defenders. 3. Basic tactics. There are three fundamental tactics in chess: pins, forks, and skewers. Other than that, watching chess Youtubers is pretty helpful. Some good examples are Aman Hambleton's beginner videos[1], and Daniel Naroditsky's "speedruns"[2]. The latter can be slightly more advanced but still very understandable imo. There are other good channels like Hikaru Nakamura's, Gotham Chess, chessbrah, and Eric Rosen but I think the two I suggested are the best. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axRvksIZpGc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axRvksIZpGc [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfjI4jEY58s&list=PLT1F2nOxLHOeyyw85utYJpWtSmxvA-2WR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfjI4jEY58s&list=PLT1F2nOxLH...

dunefox 4y ago

> "ah ha!" moment for chess Replacing chess with go. :P

bsder 4y ago

Watch Ben Finegold. His style of cheesey, caustic humor isn't for everybody. However, he GETS beginners. "GM Ben Finegold's Message to Beginner Chess Players" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5bCfwCyo18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5bCfwCyo18 "The Reason People Don't Get Better At Chess According to Ben Finegold" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbF1bRwxIWY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbF1bRwxIWY

boundlessdreamz 4y ago

I have improved my chess quite a bit by going through John Bartholomew's youtube content. * Start with climbing the rating ladder. He explains the basics and mistakes players at each level makes and how to avoid them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2huVf1l4UE&list=PLl9uuRYQ-6MCBnhtCk_bTZsD8GxeWP6BV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2huVf1l4UE&list=PLl9uuRYQ-6... * Watch his games (ideally with 10minutes or more time control) where he explains his thought process behind each move and what he is anticipating. This is priceless! * Analyze your own games after you play

edanm 4y ago

Yes. I hated Chess almost all my life, then got really into it a few years ago. I'm still very bad, mostly because I'm optimizing for having fun completely at the expense of getting better (e.g. I only play 5 minute games, which are terrible for learning but, hey, that's what I like). So caveat here that I might not be the best person to ask :) Having said that, what really helped me other than various tutorials is the basic goal of the game. The goal seems like it's to checkmate, and I focused a lot of effort on that. And that is theoretically the goal. But really, most of the time, especially in the beginning, you're not going to be spotting fancy checkmates and neither are your opponents. So your main focus in the beginning should actually be about winning a material advantage (capturing something of theirs without them capturing you in return.) Then, once you have an advantage, just try to trade off all the other pieces until there's nothing left. I didn't understand this idea at first. But it makes sense like this - if you have the full board, except the opponent is missing a rook, anything can still happen. But imagine now almost all the pieces are gone, except you have that extra rook and he doesn't. Now, it's a much easier and winnable game, and there's nothing the opponent can do anymore. Of course you have to know how to win a rook endgame, but that's fairly easy to drill. So my advice - drill how to win with two Rooks, with a Queen, and with one Rook. Then most games boil down to trying to get some extra material, and then trading off all the pieces, and then winning that endgame.