Re: Advice request--classic games

pauls2272@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

Fritz isn't a teaching program but is a valuable tool to analyze your
games with.

So I discovered.


There is no trick in getting good at chess. It simply takes a lot of
work. Most people aren't interested in work however.

I am, when I can see the payoff for it. I can't say I'm much
interested in work for work's sake, though.

I don't intend to make money at chess, and I don't expect to pick up
any prizes either. The only payoff for me would be the satisfaction of
seeing my game get stronger and my rating get higher.

But even that would have to mean something beyond the game itself,
because what good is it to have a respectable chess rating? That and a
dollar might buy you a cup of coffee.

So, I have to convince myself that if I work at becoming a decent chess
player I'm also developing discipline, foresight, and other strengths
that will benefit me in other areas of life--at work, for example. I'd
settle for believing it somehow makes me a better person in general.


You don't say how strong you are. Absolute beginners need beginner
books - I would check Amazon for beginner chess books.

I'm a novice. I've studied some books and done the exercises in them,
and I can regularly beat some computer programs when they're set to
novice level. But I blunder more games away than I win.


If you aren't a beginner and just want to improve then you probably
need tactics help.

That's probably it alright, but I also need inspiration. Little wins
and a few pats on the back to assure me that I'm making progress and
really can improve. And the occasional reminder that chess is
worthwhile--that it's not just a game but an art and science and noble
discipline, as beneficial to the mind as diet and exercise are to the
body.

--Patrick

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Games & Expectations
    ... might concede that it's really a puzzle, not a game per se. ... been comparing chess with "abstract Risk" (i.e., ... game as chess). ... much like a battle as Risk looks like a war). ...
    (rec.games.board)
  • Re: natural intelligence
    ... into our head at that time, ... I'm a rank beginner at best at chess, so certainly what I think about while ... playing a game will be a world of difference than someone with your skill ... The brain is basically a huge and complex parallel evaluation function ...
    (comp.ai.philosophy)
  • Checkmate
    ... Life is a game of Chess ... The King stays safely behind the Castle gates ... Until and unless the Democratic Party makes a major course correction that includes renouncing the craven political chess game they play in which gays are pawns - they will never be a viabl... ... Amazon.com: Pawn Structure Chess: Books: Andrew Soltis ...
    (alt.politics)
  • Re: Is Disciples II really worthwhile?
    ... Databases didn't really benefit chess as an intellectual exercise, ... though my problem with that game is that it's very ... am still at a level where I improve simply by playing ... Anything that can bring a little more joy into one's life helps make ...
    (comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic)
  • Re: Chess evolves...
    ... And black will likely understand his game better than you, ... Chess hasn't been solved. ... In some solved games it is the second play who forces the result. ... both players know all previous ...
    (rec.games.chess.misc)