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Questions tagged [learning]

Questions related to learning how to play chess and improving your chess skills. This can also be used for questions concerning "learning" chess engines.

548 questions
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16 answers

Struggling to improve past beginner level

I am a beginner skill level chess player who has been playing primarily against computers.. well on my Samsung, and Google apps for about a year regularly, but have played now and again my whole life (47). I cannot seem to beat the computer programs…
Bryan G
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28
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8 answers

As an amateur, how to learn WHY this or that next move would be good?

I am a typical amateur in Chess, played as kid a bit with my Dad and some friends, never got really good or invested much time, but always "a bit" interested in the game, so I play from time to time since then. In recent years I started to play a…
Matthias
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27
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8 answers

Free learning material

I'm aware of several excellent youtube channels that are free and provide some great insight into the game, such as: Chess Network Online Chess Lessons ChessFriends.com Kings Crusher Mato Jelic YM Chess Master (IM Andrew Martin) What are a few…
Mog
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23
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9 answers

Is it beneficial to play chess against yourself?

I tried it when I first learned chess, and it was fascinating, because I had no ideas about strategy or tactics. But now that I have some experience, it seems pointless, as I know what my "opponent" is thinking all the time, and what my main ideas…
chubbycantorset
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23
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13 answers

What are good YouTube channels for improving chess?

What are good YouTube channels that help to improve our chess? Channels which are analyzing their own games (Blitz, standard, OTB) or discussing tactics, strategies, etc. I list some of these channels in the following. Please share your…
Saeed Amiri
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23
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4 answers

How to get out of "Hope" chess into "Real" chess

I read this article by Dan Heisman on playing 3 different types of chess: "Flip-Coin", "Hope", and "Real". I think I am stuck in "Hope" chess, where I make a move that I think is pretty cool and hope it works instead of playing a move based on…
xaisoft
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6 answers

The moves leading to the winning combination

We've all worked tactics problems. I can do those pretty well. Yet I have never been able to pull off one of these amazing combinations in my games. Not once. These tactical situations don't arise from nowhere - they are created. I had a bit of…
Tony Ennis
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14
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5 answers

What are the benefits of learning to play chess as an adult (30s) if any?

I played chess when I was a child, but never got into it seriously (I didn't know it was possible at that age). Nowadays I'm playing regularly as a hobby and I'm interested in how this can affect my performance in other aspects of my life (specially…
mimetist
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3 answers

What types or kinds of chess players are there?

I am often asked the question what type of chess player am I, but I am unsure how to answer this question because I do not exactly know what would define each type of player. Interestingly, I am only asked in particular if I am an attacker or a…
xaisoft
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Can solving lots of mate in one (or two) problems be beneficial?

I am a ~1500 player on chess.com (so I'm in the online beginner-intermediate range). There is a book titled "Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games" by Lazlo Polgar, father of Judit, Susan and Sofia. From amazon: Chess analyzes more than…
nettlelife
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9
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Can you improve in chess subconsciously, over time?

Years ago, I was a bullet-chess (1 min. games) addict. I played daily and often. Then I stopped for about 4 years (and played off-and-on). My rating was mediocre - around 1400 on Yahoo Chess. Recently I started again, 3/0 games and blitz games. I…
Caffeinated
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What to consider before making a move?

What questions do you ask yourself before making a move? Do you have a mental check-list that you go through before deciding on which move is the best move in the current position? The move does not have to be a candidate move because most beginners…
xaisoft
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1 answer

Studies on how people really improve at chess?

How do people really improve at chess? I often hear people say that any of the following will improve a player's ability: Doing tactics puzzles Playing more games Playing bullet games Playing longer games Playing correspondence games Memorizing…
user17003
8
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2 answers

The Pointing Rule and its relation on which side to attack?

I was watching a video by NM Dan Heisman and in the video he mentions what is called the Pointing Rule. He also makes mention that like many rules in chess, it should be taken lightly and not followed all the time. He states that the Pointing Rule…
xaisoft
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Determining trusted chess sources?

When reading chess articles or watching videos online, my criteria for often determining if it is worth reading or watching is if it is made my someone with a FIDE title (IM, FM, GM, etc), but what other criteria should I use to determine if someone…
xaisoft
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