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Well,  I see that I am paired with a 1400 in a new club match, 300 ELO above me, which makes the game interesting.  I always find it instructive to see how players a bit higher in the rankings go about playing against me.  Anyways, any ideas on how to play against a higher rated player?  What has worked for you? I recently defeated a 1537 in a club match by trying an usual opening - the King's Indian Attack. My opponent didn't appear familiar with it, made some unfortunate mistakes, then resigned.  (I had tried the KIA when I first started playing chess with serious intent, but abandoned it without ever winning a game. This was my first win with the opening.)

Membership in a Club is a new thing for me.  What is the story with team events? Format, etc.  Thanks, Jay

I'm curious to know why members of this club play chess. For me, chess is a chance to keep my mind active and enjoy a uniquely beautiful art form. I started playing around 1970. I was on the chess team at my high school, and when the Fischer-Spassky championship match took place, the chess team was suddenly a cool place to be. I continued to play semi-regularly until around 1980. Over the years I've left the game and then returned a couple times. Several years ago I began studying the game again, but I don't play much. My best days were in 1974-75. As I've become older I've become acutely aware of the danger of dementia and other forms of mental deterioration. Now that I'm retired I'm doing my best to keep my mind active. There are few things more enjoyable than sitting next to my chess board on a cold winter evening, replaying games from great players of the past, with my precious wife watching TV just a few feet away. To me, replaying such games is almost like watching old boxing films. So many of the posts on the chess.com forum are from people worrying about their rating and how to improve it as quickly as possible. It seems like chess is just a grind to them. Almost like a job. "Got to reach 1900. How many puzzles and blitz games do I have to complete to get to 1900?" I wonder if such people actually enjoy the game. My rating is not good but so what? I study chess in order to develop a deeper understanding of combinations, attacks, etc. Maybe I will never be able to transfer that understanding to my own play, but I really enjoy the learning experience. And most modern chess analysis is useless to me, because it's computer-aided and I just don't care what the computer says is the best move. I'm interested in what the players were thinking when they made this or that move. I used to read Chess Life, but the articles seemed to mostly be about child geniuses, or computer-aided analysis by experts talking to each other. I could not identify with any of it. I have the Arena chess program, but I only use it to play out or print old games from the masters. I have never used it to analyze my own games. At my level that would be a waste of time. So, fellow seniors, why do you play?

Just started a tournament yesterday at 3 days per move. Today my opponent decided to take 3 weeks of vacation. It kind of seems like this is done to catch someone off guard by making a move a week or so into your vacation, and your opponent doesn't notice and loses on time.

Hey seniors, I'm currently playing a match for the Senior Chess Club. Are you allowed to set up pieces on a board to analyze the moves? Thank you, Kai

The description of this club says it is for "men and women 55+ who took up chess as a retirement activity." That means that at least some of us are returning to chess after being away for years. For those of us who are returning players, how was your journey back into the game? For me, the road has been bumpy. The last time I played regularly was the late 1970s. For many years after that I was focused on career, married life, etc. When I began to read about the game again I was really surprised to see that the descriptive notation I learned was not used any more. I did not like algebraic notation. Now I'm used to it, but I need to have the letters and numbers printed on my chess board. Also, when I learned how to play we did not focus on openings. In my high school chess team we just set up and played. We didn't even use clocks. Because of the way I learned I can't really say that I know any openings by name, or any "opening theory." I just know basic chess principles. I have started to study openings, but can't yet identify by name the ones I prefer. There are so many, and you can really get lost in all the variations. Someone on the forum mentioned the London system as being very simplistic and boring, so maybe I will choose it as my main opening! And I hate endgames! Few of my games when I was a teenager lasted to any kind of endgame, so I never got comfortable with that part of chess. I spend most of my chess time these days replaying the games of great players from the past, but I never play out long games where there are long endgames. So if I ever play against you, if you can get me to the endgame you will probably win, haha! While I love chess for its artistic beauty, my knowledge is probably very basic compared to most of you.

Can it be of interest to anyone? Beginning February 7, thank you by Barigello (Gianluca) "Giovini" Scacchisti Imbranati e magari Pensionati - senior - Chess.com Giovini Scacchisti Imbranati Clumsy “young” chess players over 50 ... and even retirees

Found this blog post from the St.Louis Chess Club, an informative chess resource and they also host a YouTube channel with some excellent instructional videos. The conclusions are intuitive, but interesting nonetheless. Chess Keeps Aging Populations Young at Heart By CCSCSL Staff on April 04, 2016 in Research by Emily Sholtis & Anna Nicotera, Basis Policy Research Worldwide, our population is aging. Advances in technology and medicine have lengthened the global average life expectancy to over 80 years according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Unfortunately, this increase in the length of life hasn’t necessarily been accompanied by an increase in the quality of life. Many elderly struggle with depression, isolation and mental deterioration. In a 2015 presentation at the London Chess Conference, Karel van Delft offers an interesting cure: chess. Using his background as a psychologist and journalist, van Delft collected findings from neuropsychologists, medical doctors and neurobiologists to see if chess could help counteract some of the side effects of aging. By collecting their works, van Delft found strong evidence that chess has clear, measurable benefits for the elderly. These benefits fall into three categories: social, physical and mental. First, chess provides the elderly with a hobby and opportunities for socialization. Increased socialization helps improve self-images, decrease the risk of depression, and strengthen overall emotional health. Second, as a byproduct of improved socialization, elderly chess players enjoy better physical health. Chess stimulates the brain strengthening mental capacity and information retention. Additional research has linked chess to lower rates dementia in active players. Of all current chess grandmasters, none show signs of dementia. The third and greatest benefit of chess however comes in the form of improved mental health. Adding chess into their routine helps improve the plasticity of elderly brains. Much like a muscle, the brain weakens if it is not regularly strained. Playing chess actively engages the brain and has been shown to strengthen logical reasoning and problem solving amongst the elderly. These mental benefits also further improve social and physical health. This results in an improved quality of life for elderly chess players. To capitalize on this, van Delft has suggested exploring the potential application of chess with stroke victims or other long-term patients within rehabilitation centers and hospitals. For more information on van Delft’s work as well as access to his other works, visit his English language website. Tags: Research

I am a new member. How do I challenge someone or anyone to a game when I'm on-line? Thanks.

I've read a number of comments on this topic, but I find most of them unconvincing. Those in favor generally say it saves time. Others feel it is an aspect of the game; a way to intimidate your opponent. On the first point, I wonder why one plays a two or three or even 7 days game if they are in some kind of hurry. You can get a 2 minute game if you like. I con understand their use in the old postal games, when play was circumscribed by delivery on mail, but that makes no sense to me in online games. Intimidation might be a factor, but I see it as more of an annoyance. Why is this person in such a hurry? Anyway, speaking only for myself, It degrades my enjoyment of the game, so I generally block those who chose this venue.

check out your local seniors center for some yoga or tai chi classes and get involved with them, this will help you feel more flexible. Then take your driver (this can be done in your living room), put on Benny Goodman's "Begin the beguine" or something similiar, hold the club in your right hand directly in front of your chest and a few inches off the floor let the clubhead dangle in mid air, extend your left arm out to your left in a comfortable position just about level with your shoulder. Now sway to the rhythm of the music keeping the club still, only move your feet and hips, stay in one place. (you can do this with your wife instead of the club at first) then do it with the driver. Once you get your rhythm back, remember, you are not moving anything but your hips for 10 to 15 minutes 2x a day. Next, place the club on the floor straight down in front of you and place both hands on the butt end of the club, your arms should be fully extended, just like if you were getting ready to tee off except you are not holding the club just resting your hands on top of the butt end. We are still listening to Goodman so the movement will be similiar to the previous the only difference you will take a half step towards the green and twist your lower body (only) to the left, do this for 10-15 minutes 2x a day for 1 week. Now your ready to go to the driving range. Using a pitching wedge or 9 iron (only) take the club back only waist high (back & forward) hitting the ball using the same rhythm as you did in the living room, after about 3 buckets you should begin to feel your old swing and the joy of the game coming back. If you do these excercizes faithfully for the time frame I outlined, you will once again find the joy of golfing.

I have one opponent right now (1-15-14) with 864 games underway. He has been online anytime I have come on over the last two days, but my own game with him is several pages "away" on his list. I'm sure he'll get to it later today, make a plausible move, and continue on. But I'm also sure that this is not chess. I have another opponent who currently has 605 games going. Just yesterday, that number was about 365. That means he has added some 240 games to his schedule in a single day! I submit that this is also not chess. These are but two of five or six players on my current list of 16 games with 'playlists; well over 100. Needing to play like an automaton (them) or against an automaton (me) is not chess. I should have the right, I think, not to be forced to play this type of "chess." Two of my opponents over the last 9 months - the time I have been playing online chess -- have had their accounts terminated. They, too, had enormous numbers of games going. But unlike the two examples mentioned above, their play was not "slow" by any means -- less than 1/2 hour per move, which in effect means they were moving almost instantaneously. Because they were cheating. The players I cited above are certainly within the rules and time limits of our games, so I have no gripe there. Even when they take vacation! But they do materially affect the pace of play of the entire event, whether it be a match or tournament. In tournament play you can put a limit on this sort of thing to a certain extent. As organizer, you can specify that players must move at a certain average speed or faster (players with huge playlists just can't keep to a pace of, say, 6 hours per move - without cheating). You can specify 'no vacation' for the event. You can put a limit on the number of timeouts a player can have if he/she is to play in your event. These protections are not available in match play. I think they should be: "No Vacation," a 'speed limit,' and a limit on a player's timeouts should be options for organizers of team matches. Finally, I think there should be a limit on the number of games a player may have going at once. 100, to my mind, is plenty. What do you think?

place a robot in each seat of the stadium. the robots are equipped with microphones in its ears, speakers in its mouth, video display on the chest, video cams in the eyes, and servo motors that enable it to stand, to raise its arms, to clap, and to turn its head. the ticket buyer for any given seat in the stadium gets the password to connect to the robot in his seat for the duration of the game. he then logs on to his robot at game time. he sees what the robo's cams see. he hears what the robot's microphones hear. he can make the robot move his head to see who his neighbors are and chat with them if he wants to. when he speaks the robots speakers speak. when he stands the robot stands. when he sits the robot sits. when he raises his hands or claps the robot does likewise. the audience is virtually there but without the cold, without the $20 hotdogs and beer, without long queues at the urinals, and without having to drive and park. virtual superbowl.

charles darwin suffered from panic disorder and agoraphobia that left him a socially crippled recluse; and it was this condition that made it possible for the 'origin of species' to become his all consuming passion. we owe the theory of evolution to his illness. (russ noyes, university of iowa college of medicine) the great canadian pianist glenn gould was not only agoraphobic but a hypochondriac and unable to form personal relationships or express emotion except in music. (peter otswald in "glenn gould: the ecstasy and tragedy") sir isaac newton was a paranoid anti-social recluse who spent most of his 35 years at trinity college alone in his study even refusing to have dinner in the great hall; and if it were not for sir edmund halley, philosophae naturalis principia mathematica might have just collected dust as it had for 20 years before halley discovered it and caused it to be published. what would you think if a gaunt pale-skinned loner next door were obsessed with your ten-year-old daughter; stared at her from his window as she played, took nude pictures of her, wrote letters and poems to her, took her on picnics, and spent hours sitting on his couch with her? charles dodgson did all of that with little alice liddell whom he eventually immortalized in his now famous book about "wonderland" using the pseudonym "lewis carroll".

About a year ago, chess.com had posted a huge pdf file of chess tips. Although the tips themselves were very good, the organization of the material made it hard to use. In case you missed it or, like me, you just gave up, here are the key points in a summary form. Your comments and suggestions for further improvement of this list would be greatly appreciated. Here it is: 1) Rapidly deploy knights and bishops giving priority to the knights 2) Pawn to center during the opening 3) Castle early and deploy the queen to connect the rooks 4) Keep your pieces centralized 5) Avoid moving the same piece twice during the opening 6) A lot of pawn moves during the opening is not a good idea 7) Don't deliver check if it does not lead to anything 8) Don't open a position until your pieces are fully deployed 9) The pawns should be ahead of the queen during the opening 10) Trading a deployed piece for one that is not deployed is a loss 11) Trading pieces is beneficial to you if you are ahead in pieces 12) Trading pieces is a disadvantage if you are behind in pieces 13) Kingside castling is better than queenside castling 14) Queenside castling requires a king move to a safe square 15) Prevent the opponent from castling by making him move his king 16) Prevent the opponent from castling by controlling squares in the castle pathway 17) Control as many squares as possible. Territorial domination is good. 18) Advance pawns but advance with caution. 19) As pawns advance they get harder to defend. 20) Trade pawns when your pawn gets closer to the center in the trade 21) Control the center before you launch an attack 22) Pay attention to pawn structure. Pawn structure is fundamental to strategy. 23) Avoid doubled pawns, isolated pawns, and backward pawns 24) Try to force your opponent to create doubled pawns, isolated pawns, and backward pawns 25) Avoid creating holes. (squares that can no longer be defended by a pawn) 26) Minimize the number of pawn islands (pawn clusters separated by files with no pawn) 27) Advance hanging pawns with caution. Don't create holes. 28) Identify the opponent's backward pawns and harass them. 29) Force your opponent to advance hanging pawns 30) Try to create passed pawns (pawns that cannot be defended by pawns) 31) ALWAYS blockade your opponent's passed pawns (knights are best. or bishops) 32) A pawn majority far from the enemy king is good J 33) On the side with a pawn minority carry out a minority attack to create an isolated pawn 34) Trades are good when your opponent has tempo 35) ….. when you have a material advantage 36) …. it will weaken your opponent's pawn structure 37) ….your piece is passive and his is active 38) ….eliminate an important defender 39) ….simplify a complicated position 40) The value of a piece varies according to its position 41) Use rooks to control open files 42) Try to place your rook on the 7th or 8th rank (from white's perspective) 43) Two of your rooks on the 7th rank is a strong position 44) Keep knights close to the center 45) Knights on the edge have limited mobility and those in a corner can be trapped 46) A bishop blocked by its own pawns is a bad bishop 47) A bishop that can move more than 1 square in more than one direction is a good bishop 48) If your opponent has only one bishop …. 49) ….. keep your pawns in squares of the same color as the bishop 50) ….keep your king in squares of the other color 51) A good bishop is worth more than a knight 52) A bad bishop is worth less than a knight 53) Knight on the 5th or 6th rank protected by a pawn is an Outpost 54) Outposts are good J 55) Two bishops are worth more than any other 2-piece combination of bishops and knights 56) If your opponent has a pair of bishops block their activity with pawns 57) If you have only one bishop keep your pawns on the other color 58) Place your bishop at the head of your pawn chain 59) If your opponent has two bishops try to trade off one of them 60) Keep your eyes on the squares controlled by your opponents bishop 61) A bishop can dominate a knight 62) When your opponent makes a move ask yourself ….. 63) …. what new threats does that move create? 64) ….what new opportunities does that move create? 65) ….why did he make that move? 66) ….what does the move attack or defend? 67) ….where has defense or attack been withdrawn by that move? 68) ….which diagonals, ranks, and files are obstructed by that move? 69) ….which diagonals, ranks, and files are opened by that move? 70) Beware of back rank mate. Keep back rank protected. 71) Beware of overloaded defenders. Don't let that position linger too long. 72) Don't automatically recapture. Think of what intermediate moves you could make. 73) Intermediate moves are those that force your opponent to respond while the recapture opportunity waits. 74) If a piece is attacked you can defend it or counter attack a similar piece. 75) Don't mess with your king safety pawns unless absolutely necessary 76) If your king is in danger of a check, move it 77) If you are cramped, open your position with trades 78) Try to identify your opponent's best piece and trade it off the board. 79) Keep your pieces defended 80) If your enemy has only one bishop keep your pieces on the other color and your pawns on the same color. 81) Guard against pins and break pins as soon as possible. 82) If your opponent attacks on a side, counter attack in the center 83) Trade off your opponents fianchettoed bishop. 84) Identify opponents weakness to launch an attack 85) In an attack your pieces must work together in a coordinated way 86) Open ranks, files, and diagonals 87) Identify key pieces in your opponent's defense and get rid of them 88) Whenever you have material advantage, trade to simplify the board 89) After a failed attack, re-organize your pieces 90) In the endgame, centralize your king! 91) The king must be active in the endgame 92) Flank pawns are good against knights because knights are not strong on the edge 93) Rooks must be active in the endgame 94) Always place a rook behind a passed pawn 95) Centralize the queen in the endgame 96) Don't expect your opponent to make the weak move that you need him to make

There is a very good chess game that can play the role of an IQ booster, it is a good workout for the brain. Chess can help you gain the ability of good thinking and make creative strategies, if you don’t know how to play chess, then either check for the rules online before playing, or just jump to the next game. Chess is really a good way to help you better manage your life, because it teaches you how to think of the best strategies in the game, increase your spatial intelligence, enables your brain to think far, and ultimately boost your IQ. As Intelligence is considered one of the most important factors to success, it’s extremely important to try games which can put it into the test, such as chess. And since many people associate intelligence with a high I.Q level then it’s worth it to give it a try. Spatial intelligence especially the ability to perceive possibilities for movement is clearly crucial to chess thinking, as is the capacity to build up a system of knowledge and experience. This system must be stored (memory) and well managed (rules), analogies and operating principles must be constantly abstracted, adapted and improved perhaps not always on a conscious level. Chess thinking often involves a complex, hierarchical structure of problems and sub-problems, and the capacity for retaining such complex structures of data not getting confused, and for keeping objectives clear and well organized, all correlate with having a high IQ. Playing Chess Instructions: To start playing this IQ booster - choose the Group "SENIOR CHESS", Then REQUEST TO JOIN . Caution: Once you become a member of this group, you will automatically find yourself making new friends, spending more time associating with players from everywhere around the world and some in your own home town. We may never think of ourselves as the next Bobby Fischer (or maybe we do), but we bring our best to each and every game we play. So what are you waiting for, come on join up with more mature players, our only requirement is that you be over 55 years of age and have a desire to belong to a group that has more granddads and white hair then chessmasters. So come on all you that qualify age wise, come join the group that was made with you in mind. If you look like this on a bike? And your not ready for this? Then you are just right for this !!!!