AboutLouis Lima Expertise I can answer questions on proper self-training and chess tactics, but feel free to ask me anything related to chess and if I cannot answer it I will tell you.
Experience I am a category A player with a FIDE rating of 1963, and a USCF rating of 1965. I have several instructional chess videos at http://www.youtube.com/chesslearning and author a review column for http://www.chesscafe.com and teach a Sunday chess class to kids at Tzu-Chi Foundation's Chinese School.
Organizations Nassau Chess Club, Queens Chess Club, Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR)
Education/Credentials Masters degree in Organizational Psychology with a specialization in Training and Development.
Awards and Honors 51st Nassau FIDE Futurity 2009 (3rd Place)
Queens July Open 2007 (1st Place)
North American Open 2005 (3rd Place in the U1600 Section)
2nd FCC Winter Swiss 2009 (3rd Place)
32nd Freeport Spring Swiss 2006 (3rd Place)
9th Queens Teams Champtionship 2009 (3rd Place)
Question Hello, I am a beginning chess player and have a question about how to build tactics quickly. Prior to starting my process I had played less than 10 chess games and was only familiar with where each piece could move. I set a goal to play 1000 games on each of 10 levels my computer has for chess (100 games at each level). I won by checkmate 24 times on level one, 18 times on level 2, 15 wins on level 3. I am currently 26 games into level 4 and have only won by checkmate once. In level 4 I noticed the computers incredible use of the queen and its quick finishing abilities. I struggle with having my pieces in worthy positions late in the game. I tend to open with e4, c4 as white and have grown to like the freeness of my queen. However, I have read that the queen should not be opened up so early in the game. I have experimented with the Ruy Lopez but struggle with blacks answer to my moves. Prior to level 4 I thought I played a good 'game within the game'. I feel that if I had a better opening to get later into some games with a few white pieces I would have more success. Overall, I need help with good attacking openings. Also, do you think I should throw the 1000 game regime out the window, go back to level 3, and try to work against an opponent I am more comfortable with.
Answer Dear Jacob,
I like how you have developed a specific goal, which allows you to measure your chess improvement. Very good!~
Generally speaking computers's strength lies in their ability to calculate well. Therefore, the higher the level the more difficult it becomes to beat them. I have never been able to beat Fritz 8.0 at its highest level, and have only managed a couple of draws.
My recommendation would be to play an anti-computer opening. Anti-computer openings tend to get into closed positions, blocking things up. The more pieces on the board the more difficult it is for the computer to calculate well. Of course, as I mentioned at the start, it depends what type of computer program you are using. Today's chess engines like Fritz, Shredder, Hiarcs, etc play very well in all types of set-ups. As White, some examples of closed openings would be systems like the Colle-Zukertort, the Kopec System against the Sicilian (This one has similar ideas to the Ruy Lopez so you might like it). As Black, the Modern, Hypermodern, Stonewall Defense might work. Unfortunately the opening is not my strength, so I cannot give you much information on the details of this opening. The opening is not important as important for your chess improvement as it is your tactical and positional play. It is only until you pass the chess expert level that chess openings start to become a key factor.
Finally, I would suggest quality over quantity. It is best that you play ten games that you can analyze to find areas of improvement, than just play 100 without looking at them. I tend to analyze deeply my tournament games to find areas of improvement, and then make a little action plan for the next games. For instance, if I blunder a piece then I would make sure to triple check my moves for errors in the next game.
