Before you laugh TOO hard (at my games), remember: I am a beginner. I took up chess for only a few months last year, reading such books as Wolff's Idiot's Guide to Chess, Silman's The Amateur's Mind, Schiller's Encyclopedia of Chess Wisdom, and Yasser's Winning Chess Openings. I already knew the rules and how to move, but had never really played before and I wanted to become an actual "chess player" instead of a guy who just knows how to play chess.
The problem was that I had no real opponents to play, and I am not a huge fan of internet games (ESPECIALLY on sites like yahoo, msn, etc.) So my games were extremely limited.
Here are a couple:
Todd vs. Wife (4-23-07)
my first recorded game
- d4 Nc6
- e4 Nf6
- Nc3 e6
- e5 Ng4
- Be3 d5
- Qxg4 Bb4
- Nf3 a6
- a3 b5
- axb4 O-O
- Bd3 Nxb4
- Qh4 f6
- Qxh7+ Kf7
- Bh6 Nxd3+
- cxd3 fxe5
- Nxe5+ Ke7
- Qxg7+ Kd6
- Qxf8+ Qe7
- Ra5 b4
- Nb5 axb5
- Rxa8 Bb7
- Rd8+ Kc6
- Qxe7 Kb6
- O-O c6
- Ra1 c5
- b3 c4
- bxc4 dxc4
- dxc4 bxc4
- Nxc4+ Kb5
- Ra5+ Kxc4
- Rc5+ Kd3
- Qxb7 e5
- dxe5+ Ke2
- Qf3#
(I realize 21...Kc6 was illegal, I'm not sure if we saw it at the time.)
So, as you can see, I was and still am an amateur. With all the studying I'd done, I should have clobbered my wife who hadn't studied and hadn't even been paying all that much attention during the game!
Here's a game from a couple months later against my brother in law. This was our Father's Day game. I had about 11 games under my belt (almost all with my wife who never tried all that hard) and was still studying a lot, so I figured I'd crush him! And I was really looking forward to it, since him and I have had a friendly rivalry going for years; having battled each other in countless games of Command and Conquer (computer), Risk (board), GoldenEye (Nintendo64), Halo (Xbox) etc. etc. I was gonna show him who's boss once and for all.
Todd vs. Bro-In-Law (6-17-07)
- d4 Nf6
- Nc3 d5
- Bg5 c6
- Nf3 Be6
- e3 Ne4
- Nxe4 dxe4
- Ne5 Nd7
- Be2 Nxe5
- dxe5 Qa5+
- c3 Qxe5
- Bf4 Qa5
- Qd4 Bd5
- b4 Qb6
- O-O Qxd4
- cxd4 e6
- a3 Be7
- Rac1 f5
- Bc4 O-O
- Bxd5 exd5
- h3 a5
- Rb1 axb4
- axb4 Rfd8
- b5 Bd6
- bxc6 bxc6
- Rb7 Bxf4
- exf4 Rdb8 ---------------------------------->
- Rfb1 Rxb7
- Rxb7 Ra1+
- Kh2 g6
- Rc7 Ra6
- Kg3 h6 ---------------------------------->
- h4 h5
- f3 e3
- Re7 c5
- Rxe3 cxd4
- Re5 Ra5
- Kf2 Kf7
- Ke2 Ra2+
- Kd3 Rxg2
- Kxd4 Rd2+
- Kc3 Rd1 ------------------------------------>
- Kb4 Rd3
- Kc5 Rxf3
- Kxd5 Rxf4
- Kd6 Rxh4
- Re7+ Kf6
- Re6+ Kg5
- Ke5 f4
- Rf6 Rg4
- Ke6 h4
- Kf7 Kh5
- Kg7 h3
- Rf7 Kg5
- Rf6 h2
- Rxg6+ Kf5
- Rxg4 Kxg4
- Kf6 h1=Q
- Ke5 Qc6
- Kd4 Qc7
- Kd3 Kf5
- Ke2 Ke4
- Kf2 f3
- Kf1 Ke3
- Ke1 Qc1#
DAMNIT!!!!!
This was the beginning of my chess sabbatical. If I had spent 3 months studying strategy and tactics and was beaten by my bro-in-law who, although a strategic mastermind, barely knew all the rules AND by my wife (a couple times in unrecorded games where I let her take back moves), was there any chance that I would EVER become a decent chess player? I was so discouraged at my lack of significant improvement!
I had one more game a few days later against a friend of mine, which I won. Then it was 1 year before my next recorded game (last month).
So there you have it, my chess experience. I studied intensely for about 3 months, played around 20 games, was frusterated at my failure to grow as a player, then was bogged down with school and work for the next year. So, here we are, and I'm getting back into it.
Any analysis of my games would be terrific. I'd love to hear your thoughts on my level of play and what I need to work on. THANKS
Dont forget to vote on your favorite white opening move! ------------------>
Posts
9 comments:
After playing over your game against your wife I would guess your playing level was about 800 USCF and for sure your main weakness was tactics.
For example, you missed 5.Qxg4, 7.Qxg7, 10.Bh6, 13.Bg6 (mate-in-4), 15.Qxg7 (mate-in-3) and instead of 18.Ra5?!/19.Nb5+ you could have immediately played 18.Nxb5+.
I can imagine you'd be frustrated. "The Amateur Mind" and "Winning Chess Openings" aren't useful until you've studied tactics.
You need to focus during your games, not be walking all over the place. "Loose Pieces Drop Off". Always be on the lookout for them!
As far as good tactics books, there are many, but Winning Chess Tactics by Seirawan would be a natural choice as you already have his other book and seem to have a handle on algebraic notation.
If you don't like online chess, consider Chessmaster. You're going to need to get some practice and playing an opponent close to your level will be less frustrating. It also includes some great tactical tutorials to play through. :)
In the second game, you again walked into some tactics... and you should know trading pieces generally favors the side who is ahead. Trading off everything helped your brother win.
Todd,
I like your spirit. Keep in mind Several masters didn't start taking the game seriously until later in life. Kotov, Tinsley and even Steinitz was a late bloomer.
I agree with LF, your main focus should be on simple tactics. As childish as the book sounds...knowing all 50 tactics in How toBeat Your Dad in Chess would be a big benefit to you as you begin your journey.
Also you may want to consider formating the games that make it easier to cut and paste into a PGN viewer like : http://www.lutanho.net/pgn/pgnviewer.html I found I had to text edit the numbers because they didn't cut and paste easily into the viewer.
Todd vs Wife... move 11. Bxh7+ is known as "The greek gift" 11...Kxh7 12. Qh5+ Kg8 13. Ng5 is strong.
You might want to check out chessflash.com for game publishing.
Agreed with the other two that tactics should be the main focus. The book that probably helped me the most here was Winning Chess by Irving and Reinfeld.
Todd, Welcome to the alternate universe of serious chess players. Here is an analysis of your second posted game.
RC
Todd vs. Brother-in-Law
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bg5 c6 4.Nf3 Be6 This bishop would be happier on f5, where it doesn't block the e7 pawn. 5.e3 Ne4 6.Nxe4 dxe4 7.Ne5? [Instead White should play 7.Nd2 Bf5 which might continue 8.Be2 Nd7 9.0–0 Nf6 10.c4 e6 11.Qc2²] 7...Nd7? [Both players missed 7...f6! forking two pieces. Black need not fear the tricky 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Nxg6 Bf7 10.Bf4 Bxg6–+] 8.Be2 [8.Nxd7 is preferable, to avoid losing a pawn.] 8...Nxe5 9.dxe5 Qa5+! This double attack picks up the loose pawn on e5. 10.c3 Qxe5 11.Bf4 Qa5 12.Qd4 Bd5 13.b4 This threat is easily parried, so it was better to expend the move by castling. 13...Qb6 14.0–0 Qxd4 15.cxd4 e6 16.a3 Be7 17.Rac1 This rook may need to stay on a1. 17...f5 [After 17...a5! White has to play 18.Ra1 to defend a3 and prevent an enemy incursion along the a-file.] 18.Bc4 Black's bishop on d5 was imprisoned by his own pawns – thus trading it off helps him. [Instead, Black's last move allows 18.Be5] 18...0–0 19.Bxd5 exd5 20.h3 a5 21.Rb1 axb4 22.axb4 Rfd8 23.b5! A good move - White hopes to stick Black with pawn weaknesses at b7, c6 and/or d5. 23...Bd6 24.bxc6 bxc6 25.Rb7 This permits Black to mess up your pawn structure. [After 25.Bxd6 Rxd6 26.Rfc1 g5 27.Rb6 Rc8 28.g3 you've put a clamp on c5 and f4. Black is a pawn up and it's his game to win - but now he can hardly make progress.] 25...Bxf4 26.exf4 Yikes! Now d4 is a sitting duck. 26...Rdb8 27.Rfb1 Rxb7 28.Rxb7 Ra1+ 29.Kh2 g6 30.Rc7 Ra6 This rook is relegated to passive defense. [Better is 30...Ra4 31.Rxc6 Rxd4 when Black has given up the weakling on c6 to get a protected passed pawn on d5.] 31.Kg3 h6 Note that Black's king is cut off on the back rank. 32.h4 [Here is a plan: 32.Kh4 Rb6 33.g4 fxg4 34.hxg4 You threaten f4-f5 followed by invading with your superior king.] 32...h5 33.f3 e3 34.Re7 c5 35.Rxe3 cxd4 36.Re5 [White may prefer the defensive set-up 36.Rd3 Ra4 37.Kf2 Kf7 38.Rd2 Ke6 39.Ke2 Kd6 40.Rb2 Kc5 41.Kd2] 36...Ra5 37.Kf2 Kf7 38.Ke2 Ra2+ 39.Kd3 Black will start eating your kingside pawns after this. [After 39.Kf1 Black has nothing better than 39...Ra5 40.Ke2] 39...Rxg2 40.Kxd4 Rd2+ 41.Kc3 [41.Ke3 Rh2 42.Rxd5 Rxh4 is the lesser evil. Your king is needed to stop the enemy pawns.] 41...Rd1 42.Kb4 Rd3 43.Kc5 Rxf3 44.Kxd5 Rxf4 45.Kd6 Rxh4 46.Re7+ Kf6 47.Re6+ Kg5 48.Ke5 f4 49.Rf6 Rg4 50.Ke6 h4 51.Kf7 Kh5 52.Kg7 h3 53.Rf7 Kg5 54.Rf6 h2 55.Rxg6+ Kf5 56.Rxg4 Kxg4 0–1
Study simple tactics and play a lot online, you have links on your site.
Ditto to what everyone else said. :-)
pgn viewers make it a lot easier for your potential readership to follow your games. I tend to be really lazy when I read blogs, so I'm less likely to whip out a chess set and play over a long game. However if it's in a pgn viewer I will look at games posted.
If you've only played 20 games in the past three months, and not much before that, then having a playing strength of USCF 800 is not bad. You have to playe lots and lots of games to get better.
I estimate I've played in the neighborhood of 15,000 games of chess in my life. I would bet that true chess professionals have played hundreds of thousands of games (most of them 'rapid' games using a clock).
You're still a "Beginner" until you're playing strength passes 1200.
You're still an "Amateur" until you attain an Expert (2000) or Master (2200) rating. I know of at least three bloggers with Expert ratings who still talk about how they "suck" at chess. So, maybe you're still an amateur even after getting to 2000.
Players below 2000 are also known as "Class Players" i.e.
1800-1999 = Class A
1600-1799 = Class B
1400-1599 = Class C
1200-1399 = Class D (also "Novice")
Under 1200 = Beginner.
The US Chess Federation currently has 80,000 dues paying members.
Only about 5% are Experts or above.
More than 50% of USCF members are below 1200.
http://www.eddins.net/steve/chess/2008/06/06/131
likesforests, thanks a lot for your advice, you're right about my tactical weakness...it's going to be my main focus now. You can rest assured I will never be doing something else while trying to play a chess game again! I can't believe I missed all those mates! I also am astonished that I didn't think that since he was up a pawn I shouldn't be trading off pieces. Hindsight. Thanks for your comments!
Blunderprone, tactics is going to be my main focus now. "How to beat your dad..." is on my list of books to get! Thanks for the advice about the pgn viewer and format...I'll download it! :-)
THE Ray Cheng? Thanks so much for your analysis! It was very helpful.
rolling pawns, yep...tactics tactics tactics.
polly, I'd be happy to post all my future games in an easy pgn format to appease your laziness ;-p
es trick, thanks for the quick facts and encouragement. I'm shooting for an MDML-like improvement...too ambitious? LOL
thanks everyone for the comments!
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