What is the best way to improve your chess results?

Memorizing an opening encyclopedia, learning endgame theory, solving puzzle positions … there must be an easier way. How about making the most of your existing talent? In a new and enlarged edition of a highly popular work, John Nunn helps you to do precisely that. Drawing upon more than three decades of experience, he provides advice that will help players of all standards, playing styles and temperaments to achieve improved results. His methods take into account psychological factors and are firmly based on good common sense and the objectivity that has made John Nunn one of the world’s favorite writers on chess.

This new enlarged edition contains 45% more material than the first edition, published nine years ago. It includes a greatly expanded section on chess computers, and how their use can assist over-the-board players in opening preparation.

Unlock The Secrets

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By
Kenton Newby 

One of the hottest prime-time shows right now is "Are You Smarter Then a 5th
Grader", pitting grown ups against kids in a battle of wits. Now I’m not sure if
it’s rigged or if people really are that "lost" (to put it nicely) but
regardless of how you would fare on a show like this, here are a few tips to
make sure that at least your chess game is "smarter than a 5th grader’s".

Read up on Chess and Chess Strategy

While you may be thinking that you can only improve your game by playing it,
this is not true. You can actually find many helpful tips and strategies by
reading books and magazines that are about chess. Try to internalize what you
learn when you are reading, and then play a game using what you have learned.
Then, go back and read some more until you have what you read down pat.

As you are reading, you may also want to take some notes on what you are
reading as well. Keep a notebook of new strategies and moves that you read about
so you can study them over and over again. Writing them down will also help to
imprint them into your mind more deeply as well. Later when you are playing you
may want to look at your notes for a bit of help until you can remember the
moves on your own.

Play with Advanced Players

Another great way that you can work to improve your chess game is to play
with advanced players. Usually it is best if you play with a handicap to make
the game more interesting for both players. While you are playing with a more
advanced player you can learn from the strategies they use and learn how to
combat their strategies as well. The more you play with an advanced player, the
more skill you will develop as well.

Practice by Using Computer Software

One way of improving your skills that many people overlook is by using
computer software. There are a variety of different computer chess games that
you can get so you can play chess against the computer. You can also purchase
portable chess games as well so you can play almost anywhere. These games are
developed to not only allow you to play the game, but many of them also have a
special teaching mode as well that will help you learn how to pick the best
moves.

Just taking the time to use these methods of learning can help you enhance
and develop your chess skills. While they will help you improve, you probably
should not expect to be winning against seasoned players overnight. Learning and
improving takes time, but the more you work, the better you will become at this
game. Using just one of these methods will help, but using them all together
will bring about the best results.

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REEM-A, humanoid robot. Playing chess

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By
Kenton Newby 

Chess is a marvelous game to learn how to play and is as popular today as
ever. With a near perfect balance of offense and defense, strategy vs. tactics,
it requires you to think about how your current move will impact the game
several moves ahead. The very best way to learn how to play and to develop a
keen sense of strategy is to play with others. But as a beginner you should
first get a handle on the basics of the game.

Surveying the Battlefield - Aligning the Chess Board

The board is made with eight columns and eight rows. When you are sitting at
the chess board the bottom right hand square should be white so if it’s not,
rotate the board as needed. The columns are identified with letters, so when
looking at the board from the white side, a - h, going from left to right.
Numbers are used to identify each of the rows, so again using the white side as
the reference, the rows are numbered 1 - 8 from bottom to top. Of course, this
is all reversed when looking at it from the black side, so column "A" is on
black’s right side and row 8 is closest.

Amassing Your Troops on the Battlefield - Setting up the Board and
How Each Chess Piece Moves

There are six different types of chess pieces. Each piece looks different and
should be placed on the board in the correct order.

The Pawn: You have eight Pawns and they are the smallest
(and arguably weakest) pieces on the board. You should place them on the second
row from the bottom and all the way across. The first time you move the pawn,
you may move forward one or two places. After that, it can only move one space
forward at a time. When using your pawn to capture your opponent’s piece, you
must move one place diagonally. That’s one of the things that makes the pawns
unique in that they capture differently than how they move. Another reason the
pawns are unique is that if you get one all the way across the board, you can
declare it any piece you want. So for instance, you could name it a queen and
have more than one queen in play…a very powerful strategy.

Next, we’ll work place pieces on the bottom row, working from the outside in.

The Rook: The two pieces that look like castles are Rooks
and they go on the board next and are placed on the bottom row in each corner,
so on the outermost squares for that row. The Rooks moves forward or sideways as
many places as it wants, so only along the columns or rows, not diagonally. In
addition, the Rooks can’t jump any pieces (in fact only one piece can). You
capture a piece with your Rooks by landing directly on the same square as the
opposing piece.

The Knight: Next are the Knights, and they usually look like
horses and they sit next to the Rooks. The way the Knights move is a little
trickier. They move in the shape of an "L". You can move up one space and then
over two places in either direction. Or you can move up two spaces and over one
in either direction. This is the only piece on the board that can jump another
piece but captures are still the same…you must land on the same square as your
opponent’s piece.

The Bishop: The Bishops are placed next to the Knights. The
tops of these pieces are usually shaped like a hat worn by a bishop (imagine
that!). The Bishops move similar to the Rooks since can move any number of
spaces, but they only move diagonally as opposed to along the rows/columns like
the Rooks move. The Bishops can’t jump other pieces either but can capture them
by landing on the same square as the opponent’s piece.

The King: Your King is the tallest piece on the board and
goes next to bishop on your right side. The King moves in any direction but only
one space at a time, making him a rather weak piece in terms of movement, but
still the most powerful piece on the board by at least some measure since
capturing the King is how the game is won.

The Queen: The Queen is placed next to the King and if the
board has been setup correctly, she should be on her own color. Arguably the
most powerful piece on the board (at least in terms of movement), the Queen can
move in any direction and as many places as you choose. Of course, like the
other pieces, the Queen can’t jump other pieces, so her power is limited.

When the board is setup properly, both sides should mirror each other.
Meaning your queen should be directly across your opponent’s queen, your king
across from their king, and so on down the board.

Prepare to Do Battle - Basic Gameplay

The game is played by each player taking alternating turns and each player
must make a turn…you can’t "pass". The white pieces always make the first
move. The goal is to put your opponent in "checkmate", meaning that there’s no
place for the King to move and the opponent can’t position any other pieces in a
way that keeps you from capturing the King. Leading up to putting your opponent
in checkmate, you’ll want to strategically move your pieces throughout the game
board while capturing as many of your opponent’s pieces as possible to weaken
them. Of course, at the same time, you’ll need to keep your king from being
captured.

Chess may take a while to master, but it is a game worth learning. This is
just a broad overview of the game, as you become more experienced, you’ll learn
more advanced strategies, terminology and sequences of moves you can make to
baffle your opponent and make winning even easier.

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Chess Explained is a new series of books about chess openings. They are not theoretical works in the traditional sense, but more a series of lessons from a chess expert with extensive over-the-board experience with an opening. You will gain an understanding of the opening and the middlegames to which it leads, enabling you to find the right moves and plans in your own games. It is as if you were sitting at the board with a chess coach answering your questions about the plans for both sides, the ideas behind particular moves, and what specific knowledge you need to have.

The c3 Sicilian is one of White’s most popular and poisonous ways to avoid the main lines of the Sicilian. White denies his opponent the chance to demonstrate his preparation in some chaotic system; instead he will have to fight carefully for equality in a more rational position of White’s choosing. There are plenty of tricks and traps in the c3 Sicilian, and the open piece-play that often results can lead to quick attacks and means that careless play will rarely go unpunished.

About the Author:
Sam Collins is a young International Master from Ireland who won the Irish Championship in 2002. He competed in several World and European junior championships and has represented Ireland in four Olympiads, winning a gold medal at Bled in 2002. He is also an experienced chess teacher who has lectured at the Berkeley Chess School in California. His previous book for Gambit was the highly successful general opening work Understanding the Chess Openings.

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