I always lose from the beginning

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jousef9

So I got into chess 2 weeks ago and I play whenever I have free time, I went through a lot of the “lessons” offered in the app, even though they’re enjoyable for me but i still keep losing most of the tutorials and books I’ve seen focus on the late game, ok I can spot checkmates, forks, skewers ..etc but these things rarely happen when I play, in most of my games I completely lose the game from the beginning, after the first like 10 moves I find myself taking a bad trade and the game is just gone after that, 

i don’t memorize any opening or anything, but I try to develop my pieces and keep all pieces defended, but I always end up in a very bad position, it’s kinda frustrating makes me feel like this game just isn’t for me 

zsemlekutya

I recommend you to check a few youtube videos about openings preferably with people who explain their moves. I personally watched the videos on the Saint Louis Chess Club channel to grasp a few basic concepts. Not sure if thats the perfect resource for beginners but the videos are enjoyable for me and theres a quite few recorded while teaching very young kids so the explanations range beyond the usual "this is a great move.. do this if your board looks like this". I am far from being a decent chess player but since I started I feel these resources helped me out a lot. I also play a lot of chess w my girlfriend who got me into the game so having someone available for practicing can boost your morale and enjoyment of the game a lot as well.

kindaspongey
jousef9 wrote:

... I try to ... keep all pieces defended, ...

This advice turns up from time to time. There are some principles that work most of the time, but this is one that, in my opinion, is almost never appropriate. Almost any good game involves pieces moving into positions where they are not defended.

 

kindaspongey

"... for those that want to be as good as they can be, they'll have to work hard.
Play opponents who are better than you … . Learn basic endgames. Create a simple opening repertoire (understanding the moves are far more important than memorizing them). Study tactics. And pick up tons of patterns. That’s the drumbeat of success. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (December 27, 2018)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/little-things-that-help-your-game
https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-start-out-in-chess

https://www.chess.com/blog/michechess89/8-tips-to-increase-your-online-rating
https://www.chess.com/news/view/a-new-years-resolution-improve-your-chess-with-new-lessons

https://www.chess.com/article/view/mastery-chess-lessons-are-here
"... In order to maximize the benefits of [theory and practice], these two should be approached in a balanced manner. ... Play as many slow games (60 5 or preferably slower) as possible, ... The other side of improvement is theory. ... This can be reading books, taking lessons, watching videos, doing problems on software, etc. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627084053/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman19.pdf
"... If it’s instruction, you look for an author that addresses players at your level (buying something that’s too advanced won’t help you at all). This means that a classic book that is revered by many people might not be useful for you. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2015)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-best-chess-books-ever
Here are some reading possibilities that I often mention:
Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
http://dev.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Simple-Attacking-Plans-77p3731.htm
Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1948)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
Back to Basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233537/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review585.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-back-to-basics-tactics
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5856bd64ff7c50433c3803db/t/5895fc0ca5790af7895297e4/1486224396755/btbtactics2excerpt.pdf
Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/

https://www.chess.com/blog/ForwardChess/book-of-the-week-openings-for-amateurs
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Chess Endgames for Kids by Karsten Müller (2015)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf
A Guide to Chess Improvement by Dan Heisman (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105628/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review781.pdf
Studying Chess Made Easy by Andrew Soltis (2009)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090448/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review750.pdf
Seirawan stuff:
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092617/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review560.pdf

creisman61

Good advice given here.  I think that there is no substitute for playing a lot of chess if you want to get better at it.  Part of playing is accepting that you will lose roughly half your games on Chess.com. It is designed that way.  You just have to not get too hung up about it.  Certainly, if you don't enjoy the game, there are other ways to spend your time.  A friend told me that his father's last words were, "I wasted my life playing chess."

benhunt72

jousef9, I've started a channel where I try to help beginners and improving players to get up to - and beyond - the 1000 rating point mark.

Start with this one and go from there. Also, if you have any games that you'd like me to analyse on the channel, I'm more than happy to do that.

jousef9
I enjoy the game and I enjoy learning and reading about chess, I just don’t like losing all the time :p
st0ckfish

Me too, I was destined to lose before the game even started........! 😱 

qrayons
jousef9 wrote:

So I got into chess 2 weeks ago and I play whenever I have free time, I went through a lot of the “lessons” offered in the app, even though they’re enjoyable for me but i still keep losing most of the tutorials and books I’ve seen focus on the late game, ok I can spot checkmates, forks, skewers ..etc but these things rarely happen when I play, in most of my games I completely lose the game from the beginning, after the first like 10 moves I find myself taking a bad trade and the game is just gone after that, 

 

i don’t memorize any opening or anything, but I try to develop my pieces and keep all pieces defended, but I always end up in a very bad position, it’s kinda frustrating makes me feel like this game just isn’t for me 

 

You say you can spot checkmates, forks, skewers, etc. but they rarely happen, yet in looking at your games, they happen all the time.

Here is a mate in 1 that you missed.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4218214573?username=jousef9

 

A common beginner mistake is to look for tactics that you can make but ignore the tactics that are available to your opponent. Before each move, you should check that the move you make is safe (that you are not opening yourself up to a tactic by your opponent). You will need to play longer games in order to develop and apply this habit. If you do this, then you will quick;y see your ability improve.

jousef9
qrayons wrote:
jousef9 wrote:

So I got into chess 2 weeks ago and I play whenever I have free time, I went through a lot of the “lessons” offered in the app, even though they’re enjoyable for me but i still keep losing most of the tutorials and books I’ve seen focus on the late game, ok I can spot checkmates, forks, skewers ..etc but these things rarely happen when I play, in most of my games I completely lose the game from the beginning, after the first like 10 moves I find myself taking a bad trade and the game is just gone after that, 

 

i don’t memorize any opening or anything, but I try to develop my pieces and keep all pieces defended, but I always end up in a very bad position, it’s kinda frustrating makes me feel like this game just isn’t for me 

 

You say you can spot checkmates, forks, skewers, etc. but they rarely happen, yet in looking at your games, they happen all the time.

Here is a mate in 1 that you missed.

https://www.chess.com/live/game/4218214573?username=jousef9

 

A common beginner mistake is to look for tactics that you can make but ignore the tactics that are available to your opponent. Before each move, you should check that the move you make is safe (that you are not opening yourself up to a tactic by your opponent). You will need to play longer games in order to develop and apply this habit. If you do this, then you will quick;y see your ability improve.

 

first of all i want to thank you for looking at my games i really appreciate that you're trying to help happy.png

i know i might have overrated my abilities a little bit xd, but what i was trying to say in this post is that i struggle to find good moves in the early game, i guess i was too salty when i wrote that lol

USAuPzlBxBob

 

Play the computer, low Level in the beginning.  Every day… often.

As you get better, raise the Level to your ability, and then beyond.

(you can take back moves and there's no consequence)

Stick with e4 openings; the d4 openings are much more active.

If you're only two weeks into your chess career… you've got a long way to go.

Learn from the resources on this site.

You're lucky… it is so much easier than when I was young

Enjoy the journey.   happy.png

 

RussBell

Chess Openings Resources for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/openings-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell

Also, from your profile you play exclusively bullet and blitz games. Try to play mostly longer time controls, including "daily" chess, so you have time to think about what you should be doing. It makes sense that taking time to think about what you should be doing would promote improvement in your chess skills.
This is not to suggest that you should necessarily play exclusively slow time controls or daily games, but they should be the greater percentage of your games, much more so than speed games (rapid, bullet, blitz, etc.) which do almost nothing to promote an understanding of how to play the game well.

Speed chess tends to be primarily an exercise in moving pieces around faster than your opponent while avoiding checkmate, in hopes that his/her clock runs out sooner than yours.
Here's what IM Jeremy Silman has to say on the topic...
https://www.chess.com/article/view/longer-time-controls-are-more-instructive

By Dan Heisman, famous chess teacher…
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627052239/http:/www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman16.pdf

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/dan-heisman-resources

and the experience of a FIDE Master...
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/how-blitz-and-bullet-rotted-my-brain-don-t-let-it-rot-yours

 

weakleyjh

I played for a few years before finding success. when I did, it was because i began to study the game, read books on basic principles and pay some attention to opening theory. Give yourself time to develop.

Zaldbathar

The "opening tutorials" are all complete bs... I literally did what the hint said every single move and still lost. It doesn't show you how to play correctly and it's extremely frustrating 

EdwinP2017
jousef9 wrote:

So I got into chess 2 weeks ago and I play whenever I have free time, I went through a lot of the “lessons” offered in the app, even though they’re enjoyable for me but i still keep losing most of the tutorials and books I’ve seen focus on the late game, ok I can spot checkmates, forks, skewers ..etc but these things rarely happen when I play, in most of my games I completely lose the game from the beginning, after the first like 10 moves I find myself taking a bad trade and the game is just gone after that, 

 

i don’t memorize any opening or anything, but I try to develop my pieces and keep all pieces defended, but I always end up in a very bad position, it’s kinda frustrating makes me feel like this game just isn’t for me 

You cannot expect to play like a GM after two weeks of play, but you play definitely a lot better than you think. I checked some of your games. You do not play like an absolute beginner but much better. You get quite high accurancies in some of your games as well (90+ %).