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Date: 08 Mar 2006 01:26:05
From: 42N83W
Subject: Newbie intro and some questions
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Long time Usenet junkie, first time on a chess newsgroup. I fully admit to
breaking the 1st rule of newsgroups by posting without the requisite lurking
period. With that said, I just played my first game tonight in about 5
years (Yahoo! Games). I used to play a lot and was somewhere around decent.
If you don't mind I have a few fundamental questions about this newsgroup
and chess resources in general.
1) Is there a FAQ for this newsgroup?
2) Can entire games be posted here? Certain game positions?
3) Software: Google is indeed my friend, but sheesh! It will be a long
time before I can seriously consider purchasing one of those fancy chess
databases. In the meantime, what freebie software is out there that can
serve as an interface with some minimal game storage capacity? How about
freebie software that can actually play chess? I'm not adverse to dropping
a few bucks on some software, but I seriously wouldn't even know where to
begin.
Lastly, a question about the game I played. I suppose a good chess player
shouldn't get ruffled by unusual openings or tactics, but I have little
experience with this. The people I had grown accustomed to playing against
pretty much adhered to traditional openings and such. Tonight, I played
white and started e4. That was about as familiar as it got - my opponent
moved pawns his first 11 moves. Is there a general strategy to cope with
this situation? It seems to me that a good player would pick this opponent
apart. I was always taught to develop early and to try to not move the same
piece twice in the opening (within reason). Anyway, I found the pawn-wave
attack disconcerting. The game played out where I got a material advantage
early, although it was mostly pawns, and my opponent had the better attack
lines. Eventually I just out waited him and won (that or he didn't take
advantage of my blunders). Any general comments on this situation are
certainly welcome.
Thanks!
-gk-
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Date: 09 Mar 2006 23:48:37
From:
Subject: Re: Newbie intro and some questions
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Try this link for software
http://wbec-ridderkerk.nl/html/newspage.htm and browse around
I would suggest fruit, crafty, or pro-deo for engines. You will also
need winboard or arena for a gui. Scid is a pretty good free database.
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Date: 10 Mar 2006 08:42:07
From: James
Subject: Re: Newbie intro and some questions
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42N83W wrote :
> In the meantime, what freebie software is out there that can
> serve as an interface with some minimal game storage capacity? How about
> freebie software that can actually play chess? I'm not adverse to dropping
> a few bucks on some software, but I seriously wouldn't even know where to
> begin.
>
If you are looking for a free database program, scid is the answer.
http://scid.sourceforge.net/download.html
Even if the program hasn't been maintained for quite a long time, it is
still an excellent one. There are versions for Unix and Windows, and you
can download large sets of pgn games from many different locations, such as
http://www.chesslib.no
and there are certainly lanu others.
For playing chess, download arena as a gui
http://www.playwitharena.com/
There are many free chess engines, all of them extremely strong.
You can even download a free beta version of rybka (one of, if not the,
strongest engine) on
rybka website:
http://www.rybkachess.com
James
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Date: 09 Mar 2006 19:38:53
From: Nick
Subject: Re: Newbie intro and some questions
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42N83W wrote:
> Long time Usenet junkie, first time on a chess newsgroup.
I shall write some comments about rec.games.chess.* in general
rather than just rec.games.chess.analysis in particular.
Rec.games.chess.analysis is one of the better chess newsgroups.
Rec.games.chess.politics (which is a de facto US political newsgroup)
is the worst chess newsgroup and probably one of the worst newsgroups
in Usenet. It's dominated by trolls and pathological liars who like
to devote their time to insulting and lying about one another and
some innocent bystanders who happen to get in their way.
It's hardly possible to learn anything by reading RGCP except
to find out how disgustingly dishonest (and often how racist
or sexist) very many of its most prominent writers are.
Many RGCP writers also cross-post to rec.games.chess.misc.
Rec.games.chess.misc has some interesting discussions but
also a large proportion of writers who are trolls, idiots, liars, etc.
If you are a new reader of rec.games.chess.misc or particularly
rec.games.chess.politics, then you will initially underestimate
the dishonesty of many writers there. You have been warned.
> I fully admit to breaking the 1st rule of newsgroups by
> posting without the requisite lurking period.
You may regret having begun to read and write in the Usenet
chess newsgroups, though you are less likely to have such
regret if you do so only in rec.games.chess.analysis.
I have made some friends by writing in rec.games.chess.*
Several of my friends have told me that they have quit
reading and writing in rec.games.chess.* on account of
the abuses and dishonesty of too many of the writers there.
Several of my (white) friends have told me that they are
appalled by the racism (which they did not expect) of
many American writers in RGCM or RGCP.
I may sound rather discouraging about RGC* to a newbie, but
I think it's more important to be realistic about the bad things
in RGC* and not pretend there are only good things in RGC*.
> With that said, I just played my first game tonight
> in about 5 years (Yahoo! Games).
Yahoo is not a serious place to play chess.
> I used to play a lot and was somewhere around decent.
> If you don't mind I have a few fundamental questions
> about this newsgroup and chess resources in general.
>
> 1) Is there a FAQ for this newsgroup?
> 2) Can entire games be posted here? Certain game positions?
> 3) Software: Google is indeed my friend, but sheesh! It will be a long
> time before I can seriously consider purchasing one of those fancy chess
> databases.
There are online chess databases (e.g. at www.chessbase.com).
> In the meantime, what freebie software is out there that can
> serve as an interface with some minimal game storage capacity?
> How about freebie software that can actually play chess? I'm not
> adverse to dropping a few bucks on some software, but I seriously
> wouldn't even know where to begin.
>
> Lastly, a question about the game I played. I suppose a good
> chess player shouldn't get ruffled by unusual openings or tactics,
Even experienced players can be surprised by some unusual openings.
> but I have little experience with this. The people I had grown accustomed
> to playing against pretty much adhered to traditional openings and such.
> Tonight, I played white and started e4. That was about as familiar as it got
> - my opponent moved pawns his first 11 moves. Is there a general strategy
> to cope with this situation?
That depends on the position. Without knowing your position, as a
general comment, if you have a major lead in development, then you
could consider sacrificing material to break through your opponent's
pawn structure and attack the king.
--Nick
> It seems to me that a good player would pick this opponent apart.
> I was always taught to develop early and to try to not move the same
> piece twice in the opening (within reason). Anyway, I found the pawn-wave
> attack disconcerting. The game played out where I got a material advantage
> early, although it was mostly pawns, and my opponent had the better attack
> lines. Eventually I just out waited him and won (that or he didn't take
> advantage of my blunders). Any general comments on this situation are
> certainly welcome.
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Date: 17 Mar 2006 05:08:59
From: ben carr
Subject: Re: Newbie intro and some questions
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this guy is absolutely right about what to do against that opening. you
secure your king, develop, develop some more, and open the center to
expose blacks king. with your lead in development an attack, even a
sacraficial one, should be availble to you.
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Date: 08 Mar 2006 18:43:28
From: Ron
Subject: Re: Newbie intro and some questions
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In article <[email protected] >,
"42N83W" <[email protected] > wrote:
> 3) Software: Google is indeed my friend, but sheesh! It will be a long
> time before I can seriously consider purchasing one of those fancy chess
> databases. In the meantime, what freebie software is out there that can
> serve as an interface with some minimal game storage capacity? How about
> freebie software that can actually play chess? I'm not adverse to dropping
> a few bucks on some software, but I seriously wouldn't even know where to
> begin.
If you're on a Mac, there's a great inexpensive shareware program called
Gambit. (Find it on versiontracker or macupdate). On windows, someone
else can probably help you out.
> Lastly, a question about the game I played. I suppose a good chess player
> shouldn't get ruffled by unusual openings or tactics, but I have little
> experience with this. The people I had grown accustomed to playing against
> pretty much adhered to traditional openings and such. Tonight, I played
> white and started e4. That was about as familiar as it got - my opponent
> moved pawns his first 11 moves. Is there a general strategy to cope with
> this situation? It seems to me that a good player would pick this opponent
> apart. I was always taught to develop early and to try to not move the same
> piece twice in the opening (within reason). Anyway, I found the pawn-wave
> attack disconcerting. The game played out where I got a material advantage
> early, although it was mostly pawns, and my opponent had the better attack
> lines. Eventually I just out waited him and won (that or he didn't take
> advantage of my blunders). Any general comments on this situation are
> certainly welcome.
First of all, you won, so great.
It's very tempting, when you see someone who plays "bad" moves, to want
to be able to refute them with a stunning sacrifice. After all, that's
what you often see when you look at a game of Morphy or Tarrasch. The
cannonical advice is to create a development advantage and then open the
position favorably - even if it requires a sacrifice.
However, while it's true that you will often have tactical
opportunities, I suspect a lot of those tactical opportunities will be
beyond the abilities of most beginners to see. Certainly if you see a
way to win a few pawns easily and carry them through to the endgame, you
should do that.
-Ron
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Date: 08 Mar 2006 14:50:30
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Newbie intro and some questions
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In article <[email protected] >,
42N83W <[email protected] > wrote:
> Long time Usenet junkie, first time on a chess newsgroup. I fully
> admit to breaking the 1st rule of newsgroups by posting without the
> requisite lurking period.
Like anyone does that anymore. :-(
> With that said, I just played my first game tonight in about 5 years
> (Yahoo! Games).
Avoid Yahoo like the plague: it's a stinking pit of abuse (I mean that
mainly in the sense of `abusive language', which I have seen for
myself; many people also believe that cheating by using computers is
very common on Yahoo). Try FICS (http://www.freechess.org/) instead.
> 1) Is there a FAQ for this newsgroup?
Not as far as I'm aware. There is a FAQ for rec.games.chess.misc,
which Google will give you the URL. It's rather out of date, though
(copyright 1995-1999).
> 2) Can entire games be posted here? Certain game positions?
Yes. Yes.
> 3) Software: Google is indeed my friend, but sheesh! It will be a
> long time before I can seriously consider purchasing one of those
> fancy chess databases. In the meantime, what freebie software is
> out there that can serve as an interface with some minimal game
> storage capacity? How about freebie software that can actually play
> chess?
Windows? Go to
http://www.playwitharena.com/
You can download an interface and as many engines you can eat, all for
free. Further questions about chess and computers are best asked in
rec.games.chess.computer.
> Lastly, a question about the game I played. I suppose a good chess
> player shouldn't get ruffled by unusual openings or tactics, but I
> have little experience with this. The people I had grown accustomed
> to playing against pretty much adhered to traditional openings and
> such. Tonight, I played white and started e4. That was about as
> familiar as it got - my opponent moved pawns his first 11 moves. Is
> there a general strategy to cope with this situation?
As you say, develop normally and wait for the weaknesses to become
apparrent. With that many pawn moves, it sounds like he's going to
have to leave his king without protection.
> It seems to me that a good player would pick this opponent apart.
There's a common misapprehension that, if your opponent plays a bad
opening, you should be able to beat him in twenty moves. That's not
necessarily the case. Sometimes, the only way is to get into an pawn
endgame a couple of pawns up, promote one of the pawns and checkmate.
That can take a while, even if your opponent never had any real chance
of winning.
Dave.
--
David Richerby Evil Mouldy Dish (TM): it's like a
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ fine ceramic dish but it's starting
to grow mushrooms and genuinely evil!
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Date: 08 Mar 2006 00:46:07
From: RayGordon
Subject: Re: Newbie intro and some questions
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> Lastly, a question about the game I played. I suppose a good chess player
> shouldn't get ruffled by unusual openings or tactics, but I have little
> experience with this. The people I had grown accustomed to playing against
> pretty much adhered to traditional openings and such. Tonight, I played
> white and started e4. That was about as familiar as it got - my opponent
> moved pawns his first 11 moves. Is there a general strategy to cope with
> this situation? It seems to me that a good player would pick this opponent
> apart. I was always taught to develop early and to try to not move the same
> piece twice in the opening (within reason). Anyway, I found the pawn-wave
> attack disconcerting. The game played out where I got a material advantage
> early, although it was mostly pawns, and my opponent had the better attack
> lines. Eventually I just out waited him and won (that or he didn't take
> advantage of my blunders). Any general comments on this situation are
> certainly welcome.
>
> Thanks!
>
> -gk-
He is trying to get you to think he's a weak player while taking you
way out of the books and trying to get you to overextend with a
premature attack.
I usually just build a big central fortress with normal development,
stick a pawn or two in his territory, then once I'm fully developed,
let the pieces unwind and do their thing.
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Date: 08 Mar 2006 14:40:00
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Newbie intro and some questions
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RayGordon <[email protected] > wrote:
>> Lastly, a question about the game I played. I suppose a good chess
>> player shouldn't get ruffled by unusual openings or tactics, but I
>> have little experience with this [...] That was about as familiar
>> as it got - my opponent moved pawns his first 11 moves. [...]
>> Anyway, I found the pawn-wave attack disconcerting.
>
> He is trying to get you to think he's a weak player while taking you
> way out of the books and trying to get you to overextend with a
> premature attack.
Ray, there's a Friar called William of Ockham outside, and he wants to
talk to you about this new razor he's worked out.
Dave.
--
David Richerby Homicidal Salted Cheese (TM): it's
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ like a brick of cheese but it's
covered in salt and it wants to
kill you!
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