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How to learn about opening theory in chess?

What are really good sources for chess opening theory?

  • I've mostly used the computer to learn so far, but sometimes you really just need it spelled out for you, and Chess Databases or Fritz can't do that so well (The chess openings wikibook is really cool, but it usually quits really early in the opening). The array of books out there is kind of bewildering, so I'm just looking for recommendations for something verbose (i.e., way more info than a games collection where the author added ?'s, !'s, and a one-sentence roundup).

  • Answer:

    Check out chesskids.com.au. You can also play games of chess on there. Edit: Ignore Slumbering. Practice makes perfect. Dude you say not playing a lot doesn't help you? When you play more you see what your opponent does when he beats you and you learn from that. After all you need to put your skills into practice sometime.

Matt F at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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Unfortunately, there are no really good books on general opening theory in print right now unbelievable as it may seem. Probably the best book on the subject is: "The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings" by Gary Lane There are also two other books: "More Basic Chess Openings" by Gabor Kallai "Mastering the Opening" by Byron Jacobs There are also a few older books on the subject. The best know of these is probably: "The Opening Game in Chess" by Ludek Pachman and John Littlewood Also, Pachman wrote a set of books called "Complete Chess Strategy" and volume 2 covers opening principles in depth.

blinkenlights7

Thechesswebsite.com is very good as well as jrobichess.com and jrobichess.blogspot.com. I know that this is vague. I also have Fritz which is a great analyzer. Besides that Fritz doesnt do too much. I hope I helped and good luck. I also do semi coaching online for everything at chess.com using the username pawnpusher3 so feel free to contact me.

Lucario

chessgames.com is good.

Winston Smith

Try Chess.com

S

Ignore any answer that tells you to "play a lot" or "play people who are better", all that does is reinforce your mistakes. "Play a lot" is like saying if you stand next to an airplane you learn to fly. The absolute best way to improve is to hire a chess coach that is rated by their national organization. If you are in the Unites States, that organization would be the USCF (United States Ches Federation). You can go to a local chess club and ask for referrals to local coaches, they should have a minimum USCF rating of 2000, although 2200 and up would be better. The reason that you need a coach versus reading chess books is that you need to be shown why a certain move in a position is weak and a book can't answer questions "on the fly". A coach can also give additional examples to fully and clearly explain the position. People talk about strategy in chess, but forks, skewers, pins, x-ray attacks are TACTICS which also must be learned. Visit the USCF website for more info. Source(s): main.uschess.org/content/view/7328

slumbering_paladin

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