Hello all. I am new to chess. I have played for about 6 weeks but hundreds of games in that time period because I am hopelessly addicted. I have a problem that I do not know what to do with. I am stupid. I mean seriously mentally deranged when it comes to chess. I consistently give away pieces in the middle and end game. I do not do it sometimes or even often. I do it almost every game!

Let me back up. I have only read one book on strategy and it was "Bobby Fischers Teaches Chess" which was only about puzzle solving in the end game to finish off your opponent. However, I am not convinced that any book is going to help me overcome this handicap of mine. When I say I give away pieces, let me elaborate. I was playing against the online computer at chess.com and had it's king in a world of trouble with 2 rooks all around it and several checks it survived. I wanted to use my queen to finish it off and slid it where? Perfectly diagonally from it's pawn. Queen disappeared and actually, I still won the game on the next move with my rook but you get the point. I do this all the time. I am an experienced professional when it comes to giving away my queen. No one can compete with my idiocy.

Has anyone, new or experienced ever had this problem to this degree? I know everyone makes mistakes but for the love of Pete, what is going on with me? Does it just take time to cut down on mistakes or do I just not have the mental ability to play this game? Thanks for any advice!

Brett

I hear ya...! It used to happen to me. I might suggest some turn based chess sites like Queen Alice for awhile & really take your time in moving your pieces. The main questions to ask yourself before each move are.. 1) is this move safe from attack? 2) is this capture safe? 3) if I move X piece here what can my opponent do? When you start asking this of yourself you will slowly improve until you wont even have to think about it much again as it becomes automatic in your chess thinking.

Hey there, welcome to chess! It's an uphill battle friend, but worth it. Yes, if you're just starting out, it's likely you're going to make a lot of mistakes. Very few people, if any, start chess winning all their games. It takes time and experience. Vitor has some good suggestions. One key thing I'd like to add is, for now, you should stay away from fast (blitz) games. They don't give you enough time to think or really learn from your mistakes. You can do that stuff later when you have a better grip on the game.

B.

Yeah, I do not play any blitz games. I got so tired of everybody on Yahoo beating me like a stepchild that I just play against the computer for now which does not care how long I take to move and it moves immediately. In fact, I make less mistakes against the computer than against my 7 year old son who also does not care how long it takes to move. Go figure!

Brett

You'll learn playing more against people.

If you've played 100s of games in six weeks, you're playing with too fast a time control. Slow down. Everybody hangs material at high speed.

Make you thought process conscious. For example, when I was less experienced, I noticed that I usually hung material to knight moves or bishop moves. So before I made my move, I looked at the board, and said to myself, "What squares can his knights attack? Does him moving there cost me material? Where are his bishops? What moves are available to them?"

When you're just getting started, you should "talk to yourself" silently a lot during games. It'll help you.

Make sure your pieces are either protected or hidden from capture.

Blunders are a lapse in concentration. I wouldn't get too worked up about it. Grandmasters make blunders. If you are doing it every game then you should rejoice. All you need to do to improve is to stop blundering. I wish I had it that easy.

I suggest that you apply a blunder checking formula until you get through this phase. If you are into reading chess books then the work of Cecil Purdy or Jeremy Silman might be worth your perusal time.

Crash

Get a book of easy chess puzzles. Just looking for the solutions to any types of puzzles will get you used to looking for your opponent's responses to your moves, which will help you stop hanging pieces. And learning common tactical patterns will help you to spot those tactics as they come up in your games.

--Fromper

Thank you all for you advice. Yeah, I am better at juggling that chess too, Fromper but I still have not mastered 5 balls!

Which book by Jeremy Silman can someone recommend?

While Jeremy Silman's a good author, his books aren't going to help with the types of problems you're having. His books on middle game strategy kind of assume you're past the point of hanging pieces and can spot basic tactics.

You might want his "Silman's Complete Endgame Course", since it has stuff starting at the absolute beginner level, but don't bother with "How to Reassess Your Chess" or "The Amateur's Mind" until you've done a ton of tactical puzzles.

As for juggling, I can do 5 balls well. I've worked on 6 and 7 quite a bit, but I'm not quite there with either. I really don't practice much any more, or I'd probably be a lot better with those, too.

--Fromper