How to Get Good at Chess Quickly: Learning Tips for Beginners

Posted by IchessU on March 5th, 2015

Chess is first and foremost a tactical game. So if you want to get better at this game, you need to learn strategies and tactics that will help you win, regardless of whenever you play professionally or recreationally. One of the best ways to get better at this tactical game is studying and practicing tactics instead of memorizing all kinds of opening variations that might provide you with an early advantage. Raid any pro player's tournament gig bag and you will find books on improving tactical strategies and battered and dog-eared copies of some of the best chess books available. If the pros trust these books enough, novice players should also consider reading good books about the game. Here are some of the best books ever to be written about chess:

• My System by Aaron Nimzovitch – Excellent for beginners and trusted by amateurs and pros, alike.
• Logical Chess Move by Move by Irving Chernev – Great for learning attack moves on the king, and playing positional chess using queen-pawn openings.
• Think Like a Grandmaster by Alexander Kotov – This book shows how to analyze variations for playing mid-games at higher levels.
• Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur by Max Euwe and Walter Meiden – This book explains how masters beat amateurs by making appropriate moves based on positional needs.
• Judgment and Planning in Chess by Max Euwe – This book is a classic in the world of chess. It explains how you can judge positions based on space advantage, pawn structures, king attack, combinations, and endgame advantages.
• Practical Chess Endings by Irvin Chernev – This showcases endgames that begin with simple moves but end with complex tactical defenses.
• 1001 Checkmates by Fred Reinfield – This book showcases strategies to help you anticipate checkmates as well as calculate variations.

There are many other good books on chess that you can use to get better at the game. However, if you are not a big fun of reading as you are about practical applications, you can always enroll yourself in chess classes and training programs or find a community where you can improve your skills.

There are also plenty of online resources that you can turn to if you want to truly improve your game. Joining good clubs where you can find your game and improve tactical skills through the appropriate program is also a good way to get better at chess and quick.

About the author:

Albert Fishman has been involved in teaching chess since 1996 and is part of the IchessU coaching staff.