Real Chess

Chess is a thinking game and calls for serious thinking and attention on the part of the player to say “checkmate” to the opponent. There is no short-cut or any specific formula to win the game and one has to learn the game only by practice and thorough understanding of the basic tenets or guiding principles of the game.

There is no room for luck or chance in this game, and, as a player, you will decide the fate of the outcome. Put in simple terms, you can win a chess game only if the opponents commits a mistake and you can lose the game only when you make the mistake.

This leads to the conclusion that one should not only have a thorough grasp of the basics of the game, but also needs to play a number of games. It is quite natural that, as a novice, one would invariably hear the “checkmate” more than braving to say one to the opponent. There is nothing wrong in losing a game, but it would be a crime if nothing is learnt from the loss and ensured that mistakes are not made again in the subsequent games.

As long as the passion for the game and the will to learn from the mistakes is there, one can speed-up the process of learning by playing more number of games. The concept of Online Chess – playing with a virtual partner using the World Wide Web or the Internet using the computer and the broadband network – has further eased the process of learning this noble game. Using online chess, one can play with different types of partners or the same partner, separated by distance, at any time. The physical presence of the player across the board will be the only disadvantage in online chess.

Play with experienced players

If you are in the early stages of learning the game, try to play the game as many times as possible and if an experienced player in comparison with you offers to play a game, never refuse the offer even though you may be aware that you will most probably hear the word “checkmate” from the experienced player. It is this play with the experienced players that teach you practical lessons about the pieces, their importance in the board and many such invaluable lessons that books will not teach.

Avoid playing with novices or players less experienced than you

It might sound harsh to suggest this tip to you, since you are still a novice. But, if the first tip is followed, you will be playing with experienced players and would have gained some sort of understanding and expertise relative to the initial stage. If, with that new experience, you indulge in playing with amateurs, it is quite possible that you will be saying “checkmate” to your less-experienced opponent, and this moments of pleasure or joy might lead to neglect or indolent habit of playing on false sense of expertise and will impact your further progress in gaining expertise.

Do not move your hand over the board

Unless and until you have decided to zero-in on a specific move of a piece, do not hover your hands on the board. If you keep moving your hands around the board, though not touching any of the pieces, unable to decide which one to move, you are sending a signal to the opponent about your uncertainty and indecision, which may prove fatal to success.

Be patient or do not exhibit impatience

It is quite possible that the opponent takes time to make a move. He might be reading the board closely or analyzing the tactics to be deployed. Sometimes it so happens that he or she takes inordinate time to make the move. In such circumstances, you, as a player, have no other alternative but to wait for his move. Do not express any sort of impatience while you were made to wait for your turn. You should exercise patience and use the valuable time to study the board more critically.

As a novice, it is better that you learn to play the game slowly or do not exhibit haste or impatience. Remember that you can lose the game only when you make a mistake and traits of haste and impatience are barriers to thought process and might lead you to make mistakes.

There are also a lot of great chess strategies available on different blogs and I highly recommend the 50 chess strategies at mychessblog.

Correspondence chess means playing chess on the internet. The rules of the game are the same as an old board game. Only then, online chess games are being played using computers and other electronic devices. As one of the popular online games today, correspondence chess has a vital role in providing an access to other chess players. With the cutting edge technology used in networking, correspondence chess enables international friendships and tournaments.

Getting an access to correspondence chess games is not that hard. Since computers are in everyone’s house in this hectic lifestyle, you can access as many chess versions as you can anytime of the day or night. Visiting specific sites will always be the number one way to play your favorite board game. Some sites offer game servers wherein the best of the best chess players are situated. Tournaments are categorized according to skill level. If you’re good in playing chess then, you should go with other experienced players and grandmasters. But if not, then you have to increase your ranking first before you decide to go on to the next level.

As usual, before you get an access to chess games or tournaments you have to sign up as a member of a specific site. Some sites charge a small amount for membership. There are also premiums that cost additional amount. But most of the time, membership is absolutely and completely for FREE. Actually, there are two ways to play live chess games. The first one is to play with an opponent who is online at the same time and the other one is to play with another opponent which is offline at that time.

In playing with an online opponent, you only have a limited time to finish a single game. This is due to the fact that live chess games must be finish within a specific time frame. As a result, the player who loses the game is automatically eliminated and the other player must also leave after the time runs out. It could be better if you choose the second option. Here, there’s no time frame being settled. As long as you’re finish playing, you’re free to leave the room. Likewise when playing in this option, you can access multiple chess games at a time.

As you wish, you can make a move on one game then another move on the second game and so on. Your opponent can also see your moves as long as he or she gets online. Likewise, it’s up to both of you to decide on time frame if any. But what’s more interesting is that you can opt to chat with your opponent and ask for advises or raise your reactions in the game. You can also agree the number of moves before deciding to log off.

Today, more and more people are playing chess games online. And because of the unstoppable enhancements, hybrid sites are being established. These sites can be played using both options. Hybrid sites also allow game pause. As the player wishes, he or she can leave the game and go back later. Similarly, these sites also allow downloading and saving game for later analysis. Moreover, there’s not time limit in playing with hybrid sites.