Hope this is the right spot to throw this out there. Whatever.
I'm an amateur chess player. My dad taught me how to play, but he didn't have formal training, and I don't have formal training either, but I have the rules. If I had my elo rated though, it would probably be in the double digits. And that's totally for a lack of trying.
I want to learn chess a bit more formally, but chess tutors are making a fucking racket and anyways that's more of a kids things. I've always been good at self-teaching, anyways, so is it possible for one to self-teach themselves formal chess, and what resources are available to me that are at least relatively cheap?
>>47450623
Go to ANY used bookstore and ask for their chess section. It might be in with their board games.
There have been THOUSANDS of books written that will do exactly what you want.
>>47450639
I suppose I should have mentioned, I live in a place where I don't speak the language right now. I'm moving but that takes time.
>>47450687
Many of the books will have diagrams. And most used bookstores have books in all kinds of languages. I used to work at one.
Other then that, cheap Amazon books.
>>47450623
Play with someone and read a chessbook together. That's how me and my cousin learned and he's a district champion while I'm a lowly chess player in my school's scholastical competitive chess team.
>>47450623
>I want to learn chess
There's no magic pill. Here's how the pros do it:
Play.
That's it.
Play enough, and you'll get bored. The day you sigh because you already know how the other abrasive sociopath is going to move - usually the next three moves - BUT HE'S JUST SITTING THERE, you'll know you've made it. Those who can grit their teeth and grimly plow forward to victory - no matter how much they want to kill the insufferable faggot across the board - are called "Grand Masters." Usually, they have traded every shred of their humanity in order to make a stupid board game the whole meaning of their lives so, your call.
>>47451538
>Here's how the pros do it:
>Play.
>That's it.
pretty sure you're leaving out a lot of reverse engineering that I wouldn't call play.
Play a fuckload of chess on chess.com, check out Chessnetwork on youtube for some sick tutorials and learning
>>47451538
This and only this. OP, get a life, faggot. Board games are supposed to be fun. Not bored games.
>>47450623
This was a pretty good movie.
>>47451538
Great Scott!
Doc Brown has been reincarnated by a druid into a Pomeranian!
>>47450623
>before anyone asks, it's Noelle Easton Chess Club XXX
>>47451538
This
Once you know all the basic rules, that's it. All that memorising opening strategies and such is just a crutch for new players who aren't really able to play the game on their own yet (or for people playing at such a high level that they need even the most incremental advantage they can get).
You play chess by thinking through all the possible moves. Being good at chess means being able to trace as many paths the game can take as possible and hold them all in your brain together so you can evaluate and compare them. Relying on 'strategies' is counter-productive because 1. your opponent is likely to have been taught the same things, so relying on set attacks is just making it easier for him, and 2. plans just lull players into running through a set of moves without really considering what their opponent is doing.
The only way to get good at this is to play, constantly. It's like developing basic cognitive skills such as language or arithmetic: repeat it over and over and over again until your brain just does it naturally.
>>47455661
Noelle Joins the Chest Club
>>47451538
>Usually, they have traded every shred of their humanity in order to make a stupid board game the whole meaning of their lives so, your call.
So they're like mathematicians but with social lives?
>>47450623
Like some other people suggested play a lot.
Also you can try to solve chess problems, as those help you to improve your board vision
You can look at grand master games as well, and analyse them, but it's hard to do alone.
A chess program can help you with the last point though
>>47450623
Search youtube for some game analysis videos. They'll give you a play by play of what every move means that can give you a fantastic insight into how some of the greats think/thought.
You should also try making an account on a site like chess . com. You can match with random opponents around your ELO from around the world and get a lot of practice that way.
>>47456224
As a mathematician I....you know what, that's fair.
>>47456199
You're essentially right, but you give the top chess players too much credit.
They aren't looking into all the possible moves/permutations of the game like a computer would. They're thinking of all the established strategies/attacks/counterattacks that have been published and publicized in the chess playing community.
That's why they struggle against the computer chessbots. The computers are doing raw, data-driven predictive playing, while the humans are still trying to use established techniques and stratagems.
That's why one of the early human vs. deep blue setups ended up with the human player basicly throwing up his hands and declaring defeat. He said in an interview that playing the computer was infuriating because it didn't respond the way a human player would to the standard gambits and strategies.
>>47451538
This is all you need to do. Chess isn't so much about knowledge as it is about experience. Play enough that you've seen all of the standard tactics and you'll be on your way to becoming a good player. Develop counter-tactics to disrupt your opponent's moves while setting up your own to become an actual good player.
The easiest way to do this is to find a chess club. You may be in a new country and can't speak the language, but this will just be another chance to practice your language skills as well as learn to play.
>>47451810
>>47451538
>Usually, they have traded every shred of their humanity in order to make a stupid board game the whole meaning of their lives so, your call.
This tbqh familia
Chess means nothing beyond having some fun with a friend or family member. Can you imagine being on your deathbed saying "Well at least I played some good chess games"?
>>47450623
train your memory a bit. watch how your opponents beat you. learn by playing.
Also read books. train with chess-computers. but more importantly with players.
>>47463249
>"Well at least I played some good chess games"?
Probably still better than what most people would say: "Well, at least I watched some fun tv shows and movies."
