Chess

[u/Sad_Entrance_9047]

I’ve known how to play chess for a long time. But I have zero strategy. My brain processes things in such a strange way, I’m not sure I’ll ever fully understand the actual strategy of the game. There are certain people, who think like me, that I play with and we have a blast. But put me with a different brain comparatively, and I feel like my brain became my left hand and was asked to write a sentence (I’m right handed. My left hand can barely wave correctly..). I’ve tried to teach myself strategy but none of it sticks. Am I alone? Is this really that difficult of a game for certain brains? Any resources you guys have used that helped make the strategy part click?

[u/Murky_Macropod]

It can be intimidating but just start learning and following some basic concepts, start with some then add in more:

- learn the value of pieces

• Control the centre
  
• Develop pieces
  
• Knights then bishops
  
• try and keep each piece defended at all times
  
• try not to move the same piece twice until all are developed

Then learn about pins and forks etc. You don’t need to be ‘thinking 5 moves ahead’ until much later. Getting used to the above concepts will get you to the point of being able to enjoy the game and from there you can start learning strategy and doing puzzles.

[u/Sad_Entrance_9047 → u/Murky_Macropod]

I appreciate this. I think I just process information differently so sometimes the books or videos aren’t presented in a way in which my brain can hold tight too. I love the game though. I just have to find the right resources. Thank you!

[u/Murky_Macropod → u/Sad_Entrance_9047]

Yeah the books are generally too deep. You don’t need to learn openings at all, just follow the above and it gets to a point where you have some control over the game and you’ll start to enjoy it and want to learn more. There’s definitely a hurdle to overcome at the beginning though.

If you’re up for a game I’d be happy to play something asynchronous and can chat about the moves along the way

[u/KarmaAdjuster → u/Murky_Macropod]

To expand on the "learn the value of pieces" it is important to knw that the value of any given piece fluctuates over the course of the game. For instance, rooks are practically useless in the opening, but are an immense power house at the end of the game. Similarly knights can be far more powerful in a locked up position where as a bishop will be fall more valuable on an open board. Or three separated pawns are worth less than two linked past passed pawns wich can be more valuable than a rook in the endgame. Even where a piece is on the board can affect it's value. A knight in the corner of the board can only move to two spaces where in the center of the board it has 8 spaces that it impacts. This is related to why so many sources recommend controlling the center.

For learning strategy, I recommend focussing more on prioritizing goals in more concrete ways:

1. First go after checkmate
2. Then look for ways you can avoid getting checkmated yourself
3. Look for ways to win the queen
4. Make sure your own queen is safe
5. Look for ways to win a major piece
6. Make sure your own major pieces are safe
7. Look for ways to win a pawn
8. Make sure your own pawns are safe

All of the above involves coming up with plans, and anticipating the plans of your opponent. Start with the first objective, and if you can't see a plan to make that happen, move on to the next objective.

Here are some other strategic concepts:

• Don't prevent your opponent making mistakes. Sometimes it can be good to let them take a "free" pawn, like if a Bishop can take your rook pawn, go ahead and let them if you can then block that bishop in by pushing your knight pawn. Novice players may try to protect their rook pawn by pushing the knight pawn first.
• Don't blindly develop pieces. Always have a plan you're working towards. Just developing for development sake is not the worst thing you could be doing, but if you have a plan working towards one of the high level goals above, your development will be that much stronger for it.
• Similarly, don't just check for the sake of checking. Save your checks for when they will lead to one of the objectives above.
• Learn how to build mating nets. You can't checkmate with just one piece. You need to build up a network of pieces cutting off all paths of escape and supporting your checking piece while taking advantage of your opponent's piece positions so that you're using them against your opponent (blocking their own exit for example). One good way to practice your tactics for building mating nets is learning how to checkmate with all of the different piece combinations.

[u/Dath_1]

Strategy doesn’t play the biggest role in chess beyond some pretty simple concepts (protect your king, develop pieces, control the center) at a beginner level.

It’s going to be overwhelmingly about tactics. At my peak I was maybe 1700 elo and it’s one of my complaints about the game. It’s very sharp, and I was more of a positional player.

From expert players I talked to and played against (2000 elo and higher) they said even at their level, tactics were still generally what decides games.

[u/WallyMetropolis → u/Dath_1]

Ever try go?

[u/mathematics1 → u/WallyMetropolis]

I tried Go once. I'm not a fan of it because the scoring rules I was taught (territory control) are literally impossible for a beginner to evaluate.

[u/occupy_westeros]

This is why I like ranked matches. I understand like pretty basic strategy but I make a ton of mistakes and don't have a bunch of openings/endings memorized. But playing against someone else with an ELO of like 700 is still really exciting because we both suck and it's this constant push and pull. Some apps at the end of a match will show you all the moves that you made and tell you if they were good and bad and that's fun because sometimes I get a "GENIUS" move.

Idk Chess is fun. Also Gotham Chess videos on YouTube are fun watches

[u/almo2001]

Stay away from Duolingo chess. It’s very bad and outright has wrong stuff in it.

[u/rockology_adam]

I wonder if the real difference here is studied versus implicit learning. It's not about brain functionality but about preferred learning methods. I can't read about chess strategy either. I generally hate non-fiction in any form. I read to escape. Videos are only slightly better, but still boring.

I learn best by playing and discussing, but that either requires a big community to play with who WANT to have those discussions, or playing a LOT, A LOT ALOT, and improving slowly. I do the latter. I also run a school chess club, where the experienced players probably have a 50/50 shot at beating me. That's not something I worry about. I play the game because I enjoy it. I teach the game because I enjoy it.

And that teaching is often: here's how the pieces move; here's the basic rules (check, mate); here's some interesting things (castle, en passant); here's how notation works, if you're interested; if you want to know more, there are books and videos that go beyond what I know.

[u/Sad_Entrance_9047 → u/rockology_adam]

Love this thank you. It’s so funny the person I play with the most always says “I play like it’s war but with no strategy” I find myself moving almost solely off of her moves and she does the same with me. Almost like defense vs defense. And we care probably too much about our queens. But I do quite enjoy the game. Mostly playing against her. But I like the discussion aspect.

[u/blythediablo]

I enjoy playing chess but when I tried to level up my abilities I found that most chess strategy relies more on the players ability to remember certain pre-existing lines of attack/defence..

I much prefer playing Chess960, where the position of all the back row pieces are randomised, meaning there is no pre-existing "best lines" of attack or defence.

[u/Olytrius]

The chess.com app is great for beginners! Many many tutorials and puzzles on your phone/device. My friend runs a chess club for middle schoolers and when they miss practice they use it to catch up. I play on it frequently

[u/AnxiousMind7820]

I just can't force myself to look more than a move or two ahead.  even in other games, I do better in games that are more reactionary than forward planning.

[u/gallimaufrys]

the chess habits series on YouTube is good for fundamentals. I this is by chessbruh, something like that  

I also got a lot out of kids chess apps because they really clearly go through the different tactics and mates. 

[u/LetsDoTheDodo]

Practice makes perfect.

There are literally millions of books written about chess, read some of them.
You could also watch some YouTube videos, chess content creators are abundant.

[u/Jareth000]

On brains, there are certain types that are better at different types of games and puzzles. Do you have a rich visual inner eye, can you picture the pieces and board state in your mind? If you can't, games like chess are harder for you. These are visual computation games. If you have no inner eye, or a poor visualization, you have a conceptual brain, and will have an easier time with other types of games.