How Beginners Play

When you first learned how the pieces move, how did you play? As you developed from a beginner to an intermediate player, what changed? Did you learn chess from someone who hindered your progress by losing on purpose? Do you understand the principle of contacts as the fundamental base for all tactics, as outlined by Yuri Averbakh, Chess Tactics for Advanced Players (1992)? 

Chess players need to learn basic contacts in order to play well (see https://www.chess.com/blog/RoaringPawn/is-chess-a-contact-sport and many other posts along these lines on @RoaringPawn's blog).

As a chess coach to young children, I have spend many years observing players new to the game. Chess takes time to learn. Of course, we have all heard stories about youngsters who get it immediately. For most people, it takes years before they stop giving away pieces nearly every move.

In this thread, I intend to examine some games by low-rated players with an aim to understand why their play causes me to tear out what little hair remains on the top of my noggin.

A 200ish player was suggesting that players at that level on this site are suspect.* I watched this player while playing. There is nothing suspect about that opponent, rather I think the player needs to face the honest truth about how bad they play. In the end, in a losing position the player gracefully resigned. But, in my opinion, resigning against a player who likely cannot find checkmate in twenty seconds is a mistake.

Zero board vision was exhibited.

*Said player legitimately complains about speedruns by GMs, but cannot produce a game where there is any evidence he was a victim. Cannot Handle should pick up a copy of Beginning Chess by Bruce Pandolfini. The 300 exercises in that book offer a good foundation in elementary contacts.

Is this about CooloutAC?

ah yes the extremely underrated 200s who should really be 800...

chess.com's rating system is soooooo messed up, don't you agree @Ziryab?

Here's another game between beginners. The lower rated player appears to have much better board vision than Cannot Handle the Truth, but is lower rated. I came to this game because she asked for help on Facebook. I offered to play an unrated game where I would kibitz during the game to help her see threats. Hasn't taken place yet.

I know nothing about Advanced Beginner, but clearly this player can make threats and coordinate pieces.

Naturally, this game does not call for sarcasm.

Was looking at some stats for players below 400. More than 40% of the losses are due to resignation, mostly to other players below 400. Players at this level should never resign. Rather, assume your opponent is playing blindfold and will not find checkmate in one, should the opportunity arise. This game fragment is from an atypical game--one that did end in checkmate.

Goddamn that white queen got a work out. 

But yeah. A lot of people are unaware of what using an engine actually looks like. I've heard numerous people complain that someone who got high 90s accuracy in a single game is cheating and claim that's impossible. When the reality is even rubbish players get high 90s sometimes, but just not every game. 

looking at some of these games makes me feel that i might be a gm in a year!

This game is a an example of much better play on the part of one of the players featured above. But, in the end, the old practice of giving away pieces emerged, possibly in time pressure.

Its Amazing. Also Take a look at https://sewinglogs.com.

The play in this game reminds me of the 1960s and early 1970s. I was a beginner for many years because chess was just a game in my small world. My opponents--usually siblings--and I would often move all of our pawns first, then start exchanging.

Before COVID, I watched a lot of beginners play chess in clubs and at tournaments. Sometimes it was painful to watch a queen chase a king for fifty moves, check, check, check, ... and the game end as a draw. These players rarely wrote down the moves of their games, and when they tried the game score was often illegible after several moves. One reason, I suspect, stems from the large number of illegal moves that are played by beginners. Leaving the king in check for several moves is not uncommon, and sometimes both kings are in check while both players go on pawn grabbing expeditions.

COVID drove chess online. The websites where beginners play now do not allow illegal moves. Another benefit is that we get full and accurate game scores.

Do not laugh. Do not cry. Watch with an aim to understand the mind of the beginner. This game shows two players very new to the game struggling to learn. One of them has learned to capture pieces that are undefended. That player even knows one way to checkmate.

Lmao I love this forum 

When I was a beginner

Just a trap

Me when I was a beginner (as White).

That was also one of my pet openings. Early on, I was more comfortable with my understanding of how to use my rook. The first time I was able to force checkmate was with two rooks. That may have been the only way for quite some time.

Imagine being a beginner and coming to this thread to maybe learn something. Just to be made fun of for no reason whatsoever. Everyone starts with blundering all the pieces. Only after a lot of practice that gets better. Imagine how you'd feel if I started doing a thread bashing all the 1700s for their awful play, while you've spent so much time getting to that rating. And then knowing that a strong GM can do the same to me. Disgusting. This game is for everyone and this thread shows an absolute lack of respect to your fellow chess players. 

If it was out of context then yes. But there is a certain beginner (possibly of the troll nature, or perhaps not) who says people rated around their level (200 - 400) are mainly alt accounts and a few more statements that irritated some people (because the individual proceeded to arguably being toxic) in the last few days. I somewhat believe this topic has something to do with that.

@Ziryab

When I was a kid, me and my brother did this pawn formation in a few games:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzEPmYDPnYA

Though we completed it with an agreement that we will not do the crushing queen moves. 

I appreciate the honest criticism. But I do think you should read the first post a little more carefully. This thread emanates from study of typical errors made by players who are just beginning. It is an effort to understand how they might improve, and to offer directions for doing so.

That was a funny game and instructive.