Look out for the Luzhin Defense!

December 28, 2003 10:58 PM

Chess games. Study William Steinitz, Aaron Nimzovitch, Jose Capablanca, and check out some people who try to rediscover the games they played. Learn openings, endgames and everything else.
posted by Pseudoephedrine (8 comments total)

Excellent post. I was surprised to find the game history lets you cycle through the moves and let you watch them unfold, rather than just presenting you with a chart. Endgame scenarios are fantastic for people who like little problems and puzzles to unravel, often requiring some degree of lateral thinking.
posted by nthdegx at 12:08 AM on December 29, 2003

Yes, an excellent history - thanks.
posted by plep at 5:02 AM on December 29, 2003

Chessgames.com is one of my favorites. Here's another great link for beginners.
posted by eastlakestandard at 6:51 AM on December 29, 2003

One of the best parts of chess is that it's so easy to record games. We don't have video of 15th century sports, but we do have chess games of Napoleon Bonaparte.
posted by callmejay at 8:08 AM on December 29, 2003

It is cool to be able to see the games unfold, move-by-move. I wish they did that with the catalog of openings. I've long had a lazy desire to get all the main "book" openings under my belt, but not enough so as to sit down with a book and a board and go through them multiple times. Anybody know of a Web resource that takes you through them move-by-move, with the variations?
posted by soyjoy at 8:44 AM on December 29, 2003

My perception of a good opening: don't litter the board with pawns - advancing two or three to begin with is plenty. Throw your bishops and knights out there as aggressively as humanly possible. Castle. Save your Queen 'til later.
posted by nthdegx at 9:26 AM on December 29, 2003

I've long had a lazy desire to get all the main "book" openings under my belt,

Isn't there some chess saying about players who, having memorized 100 different "openings," end up playing "openings like a master, midgames like a beginner, and endgames like a child?"

For my money the second-best way to improve your chess game is to analyze games played by masters. The best way to improve your chess game is to play complete games (not just games where someone quits after move 14 because they get bored/frustrated/called away) against a variety of opponents, and study what you did afterwards.
posted by profwhat at 11:41 AM on December 29, 2003

That's all true, profwhat, but if you're playing against someone who knows the book openings, you're going to be at an advantage if you know the best way to counter them rather than having to figure it out on a case-by-case basis, as I have so far. It's not like I get creamed at the outset, but later in the game certain patterns that were inherent in the opening become manifest, and I think "aw, if only...."
posted by soyjoy at 2:46 PM on December 29, 2003