How and What to Learn, How to Progress

ok chess.com forum, i am asking for your insight. i've been a member here for a short while and have been trying to absorb as much as i can. the problem is, i don't feel that i have progressed, and i feel dumb because i constantly lose and don't learn anything.

so i ask you folks, what is the best way to learn and progress? i have acquired but one chess book so far (jeremy silman's "the complete book of chess strategy") and i like it a lot. i still feel that much of the general strategies, ideas, and nuances are over my head. i think i mostly get in trouble right from the opening, because i try to use the same basic moves every time and when confronted with a problem, then i don't know what the best move is. i feel like i'm at a loss.

please enlighten me if you would. what should i focus on to increase my playing strength? 

Good strategy is the key to your improving your game. Chess.com offer good aid in this direction through their training facilities,(i.e. Chess960 and Chess Mentor etc.)

Good luck in your progress.

Follow estragon's (Fine's) opening advice, and as for your games you need to play a lot before getting good, how long have you been playing?  I don't mean did you learn the rules at 5, I mean how long have you been playing at least 5 games a week?

Work tactical puzzles and always go over your completed games to find mistakes.  Remember at least 1 mistake from each game and you'll be on the right track to improvement.  Strategy isn't important at your level, and if you have Silman's book then you already know more than enough about strategy.  You should focus on solving tactical puzzles instead.

During a game, after each move ask "what did my opponent threaten?"  "what's my opponent's intent by moving that piece there" and then look for your reply.  When you find a move that looks good to you ask "what's the most annoying move my opponent can respond with" don't ever ask "what's the move I really hope he plays"

Of course no one spends a whole game thinking "what's the move I hope he plays" but invariably amateurs will have a few moves like this during the course of a game -- usually when they find a "sneaky" trap and hope the opponent falls for it, not looking at what else might be played.  Or maybe it's as simple as capturing a piece and assuming your opponent will re-capture, not noticing he threatened checkmate with his last move.

If you get to where out of habit you're "answering" those questions ON EVERY MOVE (you don't have to talk to yourself in you head, I mean out of habit looking for your opponent's threats and his most annoying response) then your rating will jump about 600 points... obviously it takes a lot of practice to be able to do it EVERY MOVE, 49 out of 50 moves wont cut it, so start right away :)  Obviously you'll still miss things and make mistakes (we all do) but you won't be playing sloppy chess or what Dan Heisman calls "hope chess."

Also, I should mention again, work on tactics by solving tactical puzzles.

Basic tactics and endgames.

When you feel like you've mastered those, study some basic tactics and endgames.

Once you've got that down, spend some more time studying basic tactics and endgames.

You can probably guess what step 4 is.

thanks for the insight, everyone. i've only recently gotten into playing chess, i'd say about 4 months ago. i play often enough... probably around 5 games a week. it really depends just because my computer broke a little bit ago so i am limited in my internet access. i do the daily puzzles here every chance i get, and i try to look at my games and analyze them (although you know, i sometimes need to know what i should be looking for).

i'll continue working on my game. i appreciate the info

You're still super new :)  As for losing all the time don't feel dumb, you have a nice rating for how new you are, you're doing well.  This site can give a new person information overload -- the golden rule of improvement for beginners is tactics.  There are other basics people put on their lists of advice, and they're important things, but no one leaves out tactics.

I remember when I first started getting interested in chess, there was still that feeling that chess games had something to do with intelligence and losing a game meant you weren't as smart somehow.  But that's part of the benefit of losing a lot of games in the beginning, you get over that feeling and realize losing a game of chess only means one thing, your opponent can play better chess than you can (for that 1 game anyway ;) and has nothing to do with intelligence.

Even the best players in the world lose games regularly, but they stay the best because they continually try to squeeze every lesson they can out of each loss (ok and the fact that they're super talented too heh).

another thing i have wondered about is if i should try playing people with higher ratings. i figure that they would give me a better game and i could learn more from their moves as opposed to someone who plays erratically (of course, i might fall into that category ). but i have noticed many times when i join a game with a higher ranked player they usually abort. i am guessing this is because my rating is much lower than theirs and somehow affects the point system. 

but if i just shoot to play people ranked equal to or less than myself i don't know if that's necessarily helpful. and if i lose to a 700 then i feel really bad! yoinks

Tactics, tactics, tactics. You will find all your losses at that level could have been prevented by tactical sight. Do many, many tactics, and then study endgames when you're bored of tactics.

You can expect to play players up to your rating + 200 pts., but not higher than that.

Nasty-Nate, I was in your position not too long ago.

I would recommend studying tactics first. Not necessarily the daily puzzle, but something which explains in detail what you need to look for. Try looking at Ward Farnsworth's Predator at the Chessboard or something similar. You need to master basic tactics before you move on to any other part of the game.

If you like Silman, you could pick up his Complete Endgame Course and read through the first few chapters.

You could also look at Irving Chernev's Logical Chess, which goes through master games, and explains them move by move. This will help you to understand a bit about openings and what types of moves ought to be made.

I agree with hicetnunc. You should play people at similar ratings and slightly better. If you challenge an 1800, neither of you will benefit much. But if you play someone closer to your own rating, you can start to draw conclusions as to why you are winning and losing.

well... i have concluded that i suck. really. no matter how much i play, i never learn. i have read a decent amount for what i have available, and i don't retain much information. i am at my wit's end. it depresses me.

the chess gods are turning me into a chess atheist.

Reading is overrated. Training is where it's at. The difference is subtle but very, very important, and the difference is why so many people don't improve.

 Like you, I started playing only a matter of months ago. I'm delighted with my progress. I put it down to developing a good understanding of general principles and positional factors and not to any tactical training beyond a basic understanding of various tactical motifs (pins, distraction etc.). It's true that most of my losses still come due to tactical oversights but as long as I stay out of wild positions I'm fine.

So I'm gong to recommend not stuffing your head full of tactical patterns just yet, but learn about positional imbalances, endgames (including B+N+K vs K and 2B+K vs K), space, minority attacks and all that other boring stuff.

For books, I think The Amateurs Mind by Silman is sufficient for now. I'm also recommending Chessmaster XI: Grandmaster Edition which helped me immensely...it's worth the price 10 times over. Chessmaster in combination with Google will teach you all you ever need to know about endgames.

Good luck, and don't get discouraged

Get a OTB coach that that help you.

thank you, folks. i just had to whine for a minute because i've had some tough losses lately. and this was right after i had a decent winning streak, i go ahead and make blunder after blunder. it's so frustrating.

chessmaster is a computer program, right? i think they also make it for xbox, unless that's just a game. i know everyone likes fritz, too, but right now i only have access to my mom's computer because mine crapped out a few months ago. i actually saw fritz 7 in a half-priced books the other day for like 7 bucks, but it was for pc and this comp is a mac.

i was at the library looking for chess books just a few days ago and all of them were in the juvenile literature section, which looked like a daycare center and was full of kids... so i didn't venture there because i didn't want to look like a weirdo hahaha.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Think-Ahead-Chess-Techniques/dp/0671211382/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294498714&sr=1-1

Read this book: How to think ahead in cess by Horowitz and Reinfeld. Than you will know what to do.

The best way to make progress is to join a chess club and play real chess players. It is a completely different experience  sitting at the chess board, heart beating and to be in a cold sweat. The progress you will make in real life chess is promising to be considerable when playing - say - 50 games (2hrs for 40 moves) per year and study according to Estragon citing Reuben Fine. Forget the idea to learn via internet. A couple of good books and mates in a chess club are far better.