Chess

Do you guys play chess? I mean, not professionally, it's a very time demanding game if you want to be good. I play just for fun. Also I would like to ask you if school killed this game; I'll explain: here in Italy school doesn't have chess club of things like that, so chess is just a board game, not a game for "nerds" or people that don't like to exercise or are socially inept - because that's the kind of image my usual american friend have when talking about chess. Maybe school killed chess , by associating it with an image nobody wants to stick to his person? Chess helps me relax and focus, I like to play correspondence chess so I have full days at my disposal instead of live games where you only have minutes and staring at a board for a lot of time gets akward. When I'm confused, when I feel lost during the day, I go to my computer and reflect on the possibilities of my next move, it is not demanding for my brain in that moment, it's like reading a book and writing the next chapter. Also, since I got a little better in chess,I also got better in remembering things and decision making in general. Sometimes when we can't pay the bill for the light (it happened every 6-8 months in the last 10 years of my life, its is like kicking dead whales down the beach) I spend those weeks by playing with battery operated gameboy (stealing batteries 20% of the time sadly, it's better to buy some flour and yeast) or by studying famous games in my chess board reading them from an old book i found long time ago. It's so good to make 2+ hrs pass so easily in that kind of situation. So do you guys play chess, if not, why? if yes, what do you like the most about it?

I've been wanting to play for a long time, but I don't own a set and I'm afraid of playing against experienced people on the internet. Any chess software recommendation for light playing?

>>546 Most people on the internet aren't very good. The rating system (glicko2? i don't think they use ELO online) is really good at getting people where they should be. Unless they spend 2 months practicing with books and not playing, they'll obviously blow through a few games before it sets them where they should be, but that can't be helped.

I haven't competitively played chess ever, being mostly self-taught. I play when I can and the two relatives that I've played against, I've been able to beat (close games, they are both very skilled and have far more experience). My strong suit is sensing patterns and relationships in space which seems to translate well to chess. The whole "think x steps ahead of each move" philosophy seems overly cautious and too easy to get slowed down by self-doubt, so I usually just play what feels right - though I'll admit it's good to know the basics such as pins, forks, taking initiative, when you can move pawns en passant, etc. But past that all the tactics seem to devolve into describing set-piece plays which depend too much on certain circumstances. The only higher learning in chess that I have done has been to play against veteran opponents. It's a nice stress reliever because I can play as relaxed as I want or blow off steam by being aggressive, and because it's one of the few things I seem to be good at. I haven't tried correspondence chess yet but it'd be nice to have a regular opponent!

I've played chess "professionally"when I was kid until I was 12 years old. Then I decided it's "boring" and all about learning openings. Now I play occasionally via Internet. My ELO hasn't changed much and is around 1700.

Thanks for your replies ! :D Cypher, you can download Chessmaster for PC, thei Grandmaster edition. It's a full course really, very valuable. Or try Lichess.org , they have a good selection of lessons. I started with a PSP version of chessmaster on an emulator, but this doesn't have even 10% of the lesson the WIN version haves. I was intimidated by this game at first, but then the idea of a virtual tutor made me feel better and enthusiastic so I said to myself "let's try, it's another challenge, like when I'm fixing software problems" So I suggest you start with lessons on Lichess, and when you understand the basics you can go ahead to Chessmaster softare (it runs under wine too, with some minor workarounds) and either repeat the basics or go ahead and ply some simulated tournaments with weaker opponents, also, you can play with me, I play since one month only, just give me a holla at Lichess, account MarcoCasanova. William, our minds are similar and also our way of thinking, would you like to play with me on Lichess.org? I'm MarcoCasanova there. Correspondence chess is perfect there, you can use an analysis board to try variation and basically see what your moves will do on the board before playing it (no engine of course when your playing, but a good sandbox, like a real chess board) And Void, whoa, 1700 it's not bad, especially for a kid. It doesn't change now because you are playing casually and that's ok. It's about having fun. I'm like 750 lol - it's true , its only been one month since I started, but I like this game and I'll surely improve fast.

chess dot com rating system is pretty good. and it also offers a huge amount of beginner and tutorial material. opening theory, tactics, endgames. i think they use ELO. and you get to watch the pros play if you want to. there's nothing better than practicing. play play and play, thats the best way to learn. watching Tal's matches is also nice pic related: what to listen when playing

I learned when I was a kid, then again in middle school for a short while, then seriously picked it up in college. I don't think my high school had a chess club so I can't say that school killed it for me, just nobody to play with IRL. classical rating on lichess is > 2k, USCF rating > 1800 but provisional still. It's aesthetically pleasing and I like to win, and I'm relatively good so that might sum up what I like about it. On a side note, what really keeps me motivated is that there are several coffee shops in my big city with frequent chess players - I've been playing in coffee shops for over a year now and I know most people now since they tend to be regulars. I see them at different shops too, sometimes in tournaments, get their numbers, make friends, soykaftalk them into flagging in blitz games, all fun. Also fun to beat titled players.

I have no one to play with and no internet at home. I was playing against my computer and starting to beat it more often than lose at the current difficulty level and was going to go to the next level when the computer died. Now I only have a sillyphone and still no internet. I thought about challenging someone to play text message chess since all my friends have moved away. I got the idea from Tyrell and JF Sebastien playing phone chess. There is no reaction image for > tfw poor and friendless and no chess I also thought about volunteering at a senior's complex because geezers probably like to play and are probably lonely too.

I used to play competitively mostly in the tournament circuit in Vegas. Especially the Bally's Open. Now I enjoy chess on http://en.lichess.org, they have a great analysis tool/engine (Like Fritz) online for analysis and study. I still enjoy playing competitively around PDX. Blitz only feels right in person. That rhythm using the clock. Can't be replicated online.

I would love more chess threads on lainchan. I've played chess off and on since I was a kid, but this last month I started getting more serious about learning. I was the same in that I thought getting good involced mind numbingly memorizing openings. How wrong I was! Learning basic Tactics improved my game far more than an opening ever did. Lainchan chess tournament when? (I'll lose, but still might be cool)

>>619 What doyou want to learn? I'd suggest an online chess site, register and get a rating that is above a provisional one (15 games or so). And that'll gauge where to essentially start as its a quantitative measure of your strength. I can help with a teaching syllabus for self study. I used to teach chess.

>>620 I wasn't really looking for learning advice, and especially not a syllabus. I'm way too busy with work for that. However I have started getting more serious about my playtime with chess, and have been doing some studying.