Any one on here play Chess?

[MoonSylver]

Back when I was in my late teens/early 20's I decided I wanted to learn how to play chess. I taught myself the rules, bought a book & an electronic set & began playing. I learned the basics, could once in a GREAT while pull off a win on the EASIEST setting, but never got great at it. Honestly, back then I preferred RPG's & more luck & theme driven board games & the pure strategy & logic was too much, coupled with the fact I couldn't really get much better or see what I was doing. Also it gets DAMN frustrating to get your ass beat over & over by a machine (as this guy can attest...) So, I never really got into it, picked it up off & on over the years, that was about it. Recently, however, I found my old electronic set again, pulled my books back out, started fiddling around with Chess again & am REALLY ENJOYING IT. I've been going to http://www.chess.com & reading articles, solving the puzzles, checking out the openings, playing out master games, as well as studying openings & playing through games at home, as well as playing the computer. I'm winning more, but still getting beat a lot, but I don't feel the frustration I did when I was younger (don't know if this means that I'm becoming more patient as I get older or not..) , it just makes me want to play more & get better. I don't have any thoughts of joining a club or playing competitively or anything like that, right now I'm just enjoying the ride. Can't explain WHY I'm finding it so appealing now as opposed to when I was younger (other than #1 I feel like my personality as changed A LOT in recent years & #2 My RPG & Board Game career is dead & probably ain't coming back). So...anybody else play?

[Danny]

i used to when i was younger and got into shogi and pai'sho when i was older. if you like chess i recommend shogi, its just chess but slightly harder.

[Trin]

I've played since I was really young. And suck.

[Yojimbo]

I've played since I was really young. And suck. I too have played chess since I was a kid. And like Trin I am still lousy at it.

[MoonSylver]

if you like chess i recommend shogi, its just chess but slightly harder. Trust me, I think regular Chess is hard enough to keep me busy for the rest of my life. I've played since I was really young. And suck. I too have played chess since I was a kid. And like Trin I am still lousy at it. It's true what they say, minutes to learn, a lifetime to master. But it's cool to me that at least learning some about opening play, pattern recognition, etc, etc can make improvements in your game. I guess you get as much out of it as you put in, it's not a destination but a journey, & all that.

[DjfunkmasterG]

The NERD in me had me joining the Chess Club in 7th Grade to which I stuck with it until I graduated High School. I was an ok player... had a about a 60/40 Loss/Win Record. Stop playing until I graduated College and then played my friends dad who was an avid player... and a prison guard to boot, so he played with some inmates who were good while being a guard, we would play almost daily and the win/loss record stayed about the same, although my first game against him I remember vividly as I beat him in 7 moves. Never had a game that easy again. Then when I moved to MD I only play via YAHOO Games online... get my ass kicked quite a bit, but sometime I pull out a squeaker of a win. One of my strategies that seems to work is to lose my queen early. When I lose her I tend to have a 80/20 Win ratio compared to keeping her the whole game, still haven't figured out why that is and I have tried implementing the same strategies I use when I lose the BITCH compared to when I keep the HO... and it never works the same. I still enjoy it on a monthly basis... and since i have been home sick from work I was playing 5-6 times a day and on Monday I won all 5 games I played... but on Tuesday I got my ass kicked in all 6 or 7 games I played... so it is a completely screwy situation. However, I love the game and will continue to play as much as I can.

[AcesandEights]

I know how to play, but I do not do so well. I just picked up on my late teens/early twenties with friends, but anyone whoever played a few games would have me in check in no time.

[clanglee]

I know the rules, suck at the game. I'm of the opinion that your mind either works that way or it doesn't. You can train yourself all you like, but if you face someone with a brain suited to Machiavellian forethought . . .you are screwed. Unless of course you also think that way. . .. . .I do not. I can at most predict and plan ahead maybe 2 moves. . .and even then I miss some angle. I'm not saying that you shouldn't play and enjoy the game however. . .not at all. The game does indeed hone your mind. . .. . and it is fun. . . . .

[Trin]

@clanglee - that post may be the most damning evidence that you aren't thinking 2 moves ahead.

[MoonSylver]

I know the rules, suck at the game. I'm of the opinion that your mind either works that way or it doesn't. You can train yourself all you like, but if you face someone with a brain suited to Machiavellian forethought . . .you are screwed. Unless of course you also think that way. . .. . .I do not. I can at most predict and plan ahead maybe 2 moves. . .and even then I miss some angle. I'm not saying that you shouldn't play and enjoy the game however. . .not at all. The game does indeed hone your mind. . .. . and it is fun. . . . . Playing too far above or below your own level of skill can be not as much fun. I don't know if I think of it in terms of "Machiavellian forethought", just more in terms of of planning, executing, & adapting as things change. I'm pretty good at sound opening development, & thinking ahead in terms of what I'M going to do, but I'm usually so busy with my own plans I don't see what the other guy is up to... Either that or if both I & the other player both develop well & don't make any mistakes I get to a frustrating point where I'm stuck in a "I can't go here or he'll do this, if I move here, he'll do that" pattern where if I try to force openings there ends up being a brutal exchange of material that I come out on the losing end of. Or he'll launch the offence first with the same results. The wins I do pull off usually either involve some subtle maneuvering to get a couple of pieces in place for the mate w/ very few pieces taken on either side, or a lot of sacrifices of more valuable pieces on my behalf while moving a couple of key pieces in place.

[clanglee]

@clanglee - that post may be the most damning evidence that you aren't thinking 2 moves ahead. See I knew you would say that . . .. but I was completely blown away by Moon's comment.

[LouCipherr]

I used to play chess with my father quite a bit when I was younger. Me being young and him being and extremely intelligent electrical engineer, you can imagine how most of the games went. I think I probably got my ass handed to me 9.5 times out of 10. That being said, it was still enjoyable - and playing someone 100x better than you just makes you work harder to be a better player. I can't say I got that much better, but I tried like a mofo, and I felt I improved a bit. I can't really play it now because my son hates chess, as does my wife. I guess I could play on my computer, but it's just not the same as matching wits with another human. On a side-note and along the lines of games similar to chess, my father and I used to play a game called "All The Kings Men" which was very similar to chess, however, there were arrows on the board that dictated which way you could move on what square. The board looked like this: Your first row of men moved like pawns (one square at a time) and the knights in the back row could move as many spaces as you wanted, as long as they were in the direction of the arrows on the square you were currently occupying. Quite fun, but again, I usually got my ass handed to me when I played my dad.

[MoonSylver]

but I was completely blown away by Moon's comment. Don't be too impressed. I probably talk a better game than I PLAY. . I guess I could play on my computer, but it's just not the same as matching wits with another human. It's not, but it is useful for helping to improve your game, try different things out, etc. Especially if you have a "take back" feature so that you can take back different moves & try others & see what happens.

[clanglee]

Don't be too impressed. I probably talk a better game than I PLAY. I wasn't THAT impressed , I just couldn't predict what you were going say two posts ahead. . . . .

[Trin]

My post from earlier today got gobbled up, which I didn't see coming. I like to play a defensive game. Let the opponent open and watch their setup. Get a sense for what they are trying to do. Look for opportunities to take pieces for a gain. I tend to play long games. I don't go for the quick kill. Bide my time and try to make few mistakes. Look for opportunities.