Well... of JSS Loyalty in Baghdad, Iraq. We had an MWR tournament a while back and I won. But this is just against other Soldiers - not a real tournament against "real" chess players.

On Yahoo my rating is Generelly in the mid-1300s. On rare occasion if I've had plenty of sleep, I'm patient and play with no distractions I can jump into the high 1300s - low 1400s.

Even in the "Beginner" section of Yahoo I'm just OK.

When I first picked up "Chess for Dummies" my goal was to be able to beat any 'casual player' on the street. Even though I feel like my skills are infantile, I've pretty much reached that level.

My next goal is to play at a level where I bounce between 1400-1500 and that seems to be a tough nut to crack.

With white I usually start with Queen's pawn and if I'm black I play the Sicilian.

I picked up Chessmaster 9000 and I learned the Sicilian from a book (I don't remember the name). But I'm having a hard time getting past the level I'm at. Is it usually difficult to break into the 1400s? I'm in Iraq so my resources are limited. I can order books and software, and of course I can play online.

What would you suggest to break through the ceiling I've hit?

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Off topic: I've also found most casual players have never heard of en passant. It always makes me uncomfortable when it comes up in a game and I have to explain it to them [even though I offer to let them take their move back]. Anyone else have this problem?

What exactly are you the champion of?

JSS Loyalty, Baghdad

I won the chess tournament at the WMR center. I was a joke, it wasn't meant as a real boast.

Welcome to CF!

At that level, I'd guess your biggest issue is probably tactics. Post a couple of your games (preferably losses), and we can give some advice based on your specific strengths and weaknesses.

I will point out my usual recommendation for low/intermediate level players - Head to chesscafe.com, click the "archives" link, and dive into Dan Heisman's Novice Nook column. Dan's a master and professional chess coach, and he's been writing that monthly column for 6 or 7 years now, so there's plenty of good material there. I'd say start with the column on the generic study plan.

Also, if you can (not sure what your computer situation is), I'd say dump Yahoo chess and head to freechess.org to play. It's just a better site with more features (random/alternating colors in games, automatically emailing the moves of your games to you, etc) and less cheaters. And as the name implies, it's completely free.

--Fromper

Hi,

Welcome!

Fromper's advice is spot on. Mastering tactics will probably make the most dramatic difference in your game at this point. There are some good sites that offer tactics tutorials and exercises:

Chess Tactics Explained in English: A Complete Tutorial.
Chess Tactics Server
Chess Tactics Trainer

Of course, there are also lots of good books with puzzles such as, Sharpen Your Tactics.

Also, as Fromper said, Dan Heisman's columns are excellent. Here's another excellent site that offers all kinds of free resources: Exeter Chess Club.

Aside from that, play as often as you can, preferably against players who are just a little better than you, so that you are stretched, but still have the possibility of winning if you play your best. Also, I recommend playing turn-based correspondence-style chess or at least really slow games, as opposed to playing blitz, as I believe it's important to take your time and develop the habit of analyzing positions and picking the very best move you can come up with, as opposed to playing quick moves by reflex under constant time pressure.