I'm an adult beginner, and my experience with going to chess clubs has been
frustrating -- the better chess players are self-absorbed and won't give the
time of day. At most, they say something like "there are really good books
on chess", but the books I've picked up use obscure terminology or the
vaguest of references and don't make any sense.

There are only a couple of books a beginner needs

1. Chess Move by Move Irving Chernev
2. Intro book on tactics.

and the Website for Exeter Chess Club Coaching Pages. (Do a search)

To improve, you need to learn opening principles, tactics, and mating
patterns. Chessmaster has some nice tutorials and can be found in most
stores that sell computer games. Convekta sells "Chess School for
Beginners" which I hear is very nice.

If you want some online resources, http://www.chesskids.com/ is good.
Click on Resources | Lessons. It's meant for children, but they explain
things very clearly.

At your level, the most important this is to avoid hanging pieces.
Every time it's your turn, double-check that your opponent can't grab
your bishop, pawn, etc for free.

inquisitor wrote:
I'm an adult beginner, and my experience with going to chess clubs has been
frustrating -- the better chess players are self-absorbed and won't give the
time of day. At most, they say something like "there are really good books
on chess", but the books I've picked up use obscure terminology or the
vaguest of references and don't make any sense.

inquisitor wrote:
I'm an adult beginner, and my experience with going to chess clubs has been
frustrating -- the better chess players are self-absorbed and won't give the
time of day. At most, they say something like "there are really good books
on chess", but the books I've picked up use obscure terminology or the
vaguest of references and don't make any sense.

Play Chess at GetClub Chess : http://www.GetClub.com/Chess.html

Here you can play and learn chess with Computer.

No downloads needed. Start a game in 1 minute.

Bye
Sanny

Play Chess at: http://www.GetClub.com/Chess.html

inquisitor wrote:
I'm an adult beginner, and my experience with going to chess clubs has been
frustrating -- the better chess players are self-absorbed and won't give the
time of day. At most, they say something like "there are really good books
on chess", but the books I've picked up use obscure terminology or the
vaguest of references and don't make any sense.

What book(s) have you tried? Give the titles - links to amazon if you
have them, so people know what you try.

I'm sure everyone has their favorites, but I think the "Winning Chess"
series by Yasser Seirawan (there are about 6 in the series)
are pretty good. They are published by "Everyman Chess".

The first (most basic) one is "Play Winning Chess"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/073...lance&n=283155

There there are books on openings, endings, tactics, strategies and
brilliances (the most advanced book of the 6).

Looking at the first one ("Play Winning Chess") it starts with how the
pieces move (so is very basic), although it does not spend long on how
the pieces move. It is aimed from someone who wants to play chess well,
not a beginners book who wants everything in 50 pages.

It has an 18 page glossary in the back (so you can look up any
terminology) annotated games, chapters on force, time, space (rarely
seen in most beginner books), quizzes (with answers).

I don't think there is much point you saying
-
Dave (from the UK)

Please note my email address changes periodically to avoid spam.
It is always of the form:
Hitting reply will work for a few months only - later set it manually.

http://witm.sourceforge.net/ (Web based Mathematica front end)

Dave (from the UK) wrote:

I'm sure everyone has their favorites, but I think the "Winning Chess"
series by Yasser Seirawan (there are about 6 in the series)
are pretty good. They are published by "Everyman Chess".

For books, I second this. He's a top player and writes very clearly.

Sanny wrote:

Play Chess at GetClub Chess : http://www.GetClub.com/Chess.html

Here you can play and learn chess with Computer.

Indeed, one can learn from GetClub
how NOT to play chess.

Wlod

Select grandmasters for your parents.

Wlod

inquisitor wrote:

I'm an adult beginner, and my experience with going to chess clubs has been
frustrating -- the better chess players are self-absorbed and won't give the
time of day. At most, they say something like "there are really good books
on chess", but the books I've picked up use obscure terminology or the
vaguest of references and don't make any sense.

They are right. Get some books or borrow.
Learn simple endings first thing:

1. Set only a queen and a king of opposite color
on the board (just 2 pieces). Now stalemate the
king with the queen.

2. Checkmate the lonely king with your
king and queen.

3. Checkmate the lonely king with your king
and two rooks (perhaps the simplest is to
get your own king out of the way, so that
the two rooks can do the job easily).

4. Checkmate the lonely king with your king
and one rook only. Here you will learn the principle
of opposition, when a king acts a kind of like a rook
against the other king, when the OTHER king
is ON THE MOVE.

5. (Optional :-) Checkmate the lonely king
with your king and two bishops.

6. (Optional :-) Checkmate the lonely king
with your king, one bishop and one knight.

7. (Optional :-) Stalemate the lonely king
with your king and two knights.

*****

!!!! 8. Learn the K+P versus K ending.
You must know when and how it is possible
to promote your pawn, when possible.
Once again the opposition of kings is
the key notion.

etc. I can't write a book here. Do go and
get some.

Good luck,

Wlod

In article .com,
"Wlodek idz spac" wrote:

Sanny wrote:

Play Chess at GetClub Chess : http://www.GetClub.com/Chess.html

Here you can play and learn chess with Computer.

Indeed, one can learn from GetClub
how NOT to play chess.

Right, that's the idea. You play there and learn how NOT to play chess.
Then, when you've learned how not to play chess, you do the opposite of
everything you've learned there and you will know HOW to play chess. :-)

--Harold Buck


"Hubris always wins in the end. The Greeks taught us that."

-Homer J. Simpson