Chess

[eric/]

Does anybody here play chess regularly or anything?

I learned how to play when I was young, and my dad bought me a pewter chess set when he went to Mexico a long time ago, but I never really developed any strategies or learned the finer points of the game.

Any recommendations, books, etc?

#generalchessthread

 

[andalusia]

I know how to play. I'm not very good though. My dad is brilliant and beats me every single damn time.. I've no patience for it!

 

[Peace]

I've played chess for most of my life. Started as a kid. Like a real kid. About 8 years old. Been playing off and on ever since.

A fond memory comes when I was in a chess competition onboard my ship while in the Navy. It was an anybody can play competition. Enlisted and Officer. Well I beat 3 players and came up to play a Lieutenant ( O-3 ) and I beat him in about 15 moves. I eventually lost though.

One of the best days of my life !

 

[Tomorrow]

One of the websites I frequent is www.chessgames.com. There are daily puzzles, strategy discussions, and a searchable library of historical games. Definitely worth checking out.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I used to play as a kid, a lot as a teenager and then a bit when I was a student; these days, as I haven't played in ages, I just enjoy watching others play. I enjoy the logic and thought that goes into playing.

 

[eric/]

I used to play as a kid, a lot as a teenager and then a bit when I was a student; these days, as I haven't played in ages, I just enjoy watching others play. I enjoy the logic and thought that goes into playing.

I always thought what was interesting was that the best chess masters aren't necessarily logical, it's that we're (humans) really good at pattern recognition. I wish I knew where the video thing was that I saw about this topic, but they discussed the IBM computer thing specifically against the world chess champion. We as a species don't think logically (for example, it's why we have a hard time reciting the alphabet backwards) but we recognize patterns and operate based on experience with those patterns.

 

[Peace]

To a degree playing chess is akin to card counting. The better you can memorize and calculate all possible moves the better you will be . This is of course dependent on your mastery of chess. This is why the IBM supercomputer was good at chess.

For example Garry Kasparov .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Kasparov

 

[mscriv]

I learned to play chess as a child and played some through school, but haven't played in quite a long time. My son just turned eight years old. I think it's time to break out the old board and teach him. At least I will probably win the first few games.

 

[Russinator]

Before I switched from a PC to an iMac I used Chessmaster to improve my game. I've been unable to locate anything like Chessmaster for my iMac. Chessmaster stopped making their Mac software many years ago and their Mac software, I've been told, is poor. Can anyone recommend a chess software download for my iMac. I've read recommendations for iPad and iPhones but not for iMacs. Thanks in advance - Russ

 

[adk]

Pick up a copy of "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess" ... It is an absolute classic and the best book for beginners.