How to Get Good at Chess, Fast • Hacker News Board

Re: How to Get Good at Chess, Fast

#41

Post by pavs » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 5:10 AM UTC

tzs wrote: post #26

Speaking of getting better at chess, someone on Reddit pointed out that Shredder for iPhone/iPod and iPad went on sale at half price ($3.99 [1]) for the world chess championship. There are stronger chess engines for iOS available for free (Stockfish and Smallfish), and Shredder has some interface annoyances (the move list only shows the last couple of moves, making it annoying if you want to jump around while analyzi…

I remember the days when Shredder was practically unbeatable in computer chess tournaments and ratings but now it's not even on the top 15 in terms of strength (Check CCRL: http://www.computerchess.org.uk/ccrl/4040/). Oh how the mighty have fallen! The strength of chess engines have improved immensely in the last 5 years and none of that has anything to do with processor speed.

Re: How to Get Good at Chess, Fast

#42

Post by xerophtye » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 5:15 AM UTC

danielbarla wrote: post #25

rmrfrmrf wrote: post #21

> "One big mistake is to rely heavily on computers for chess analysis. Computer analysis should be done only after you analyze the game on your own." This isn't correct information anymore, in my opinion. Chess engines have improved tenfold over the last four years (when the author says he stopped playing). The increase in the strength of chess engines has subsequently caused an increase in the "humanity" of chess en…

Excellent points all around. > I agree that you should analyze games with your opponent after the game (and also with stronger players), but keep in mind that, if you're both sub-2000, you'll both miss obvious tactics even as you review the game, which doesn't really improve your chess thought. This is very true, although there might be an additional benefit to that. If you miss something during a game, you can alway…

Ah yes, you should give yourself another shot to figure out different possibilities. It gives u better insight into whether or not you are getting better at identifying tactics

Re: How to Get Good at Chess, Fast

#43

Post by phaus » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 5:17 AM UTC

EdwigePelagia wrote: post #8

who is this guy and why should i take him seriously? he doesn't explain why his advice is worth a damn

Since when did we start demanding background checks on people that publish free tutorials on the internet?

But since you asked, he explains in this article that he was rated around 1800. He also clearly explains what that means. He then described a system he used to boost his rating by 600 points in 15 months. I'm impressed, but you aren't obligated to feel the same way. You also aren't obligated to take his advice. He gave it to us for free, and you returned his kindness with unnecessary hostility.

Re: How to Get Good at Chess, Fast

#44

Post by xerophtye » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 5:19 AM UTC

chendry wrote: post #32

tzs wrote: post #26

Speaking of getting better at chess, someone on Reddit pointed out that Shredder for iPhone/iPod and iPad went on sale at half price ($3.99 [1]) for the world chess championship. There are stronger chess engines for iOS available for free (Stockfish and Smallfish), and Shredder has some interface annoyances (the move list only shows the last couple of moves, making it annoying if you want to jump around while analyzi…

I wrote a website ( http://nextchessmove.com/ , GNUChess-backed) and corresponding iPhone app (Stockfish-backed, $0.99, mostly covers website hosting). Both let you drag pieces around "freestyle" and ask the engine for a move. I've gotten absolutely clobbered with traffic lately, presumably tournament-related. I'd love to hear what you all think about the site's applicability to learning the game.

That's a pretty cool idea. will check it in my free time. Btw Does it just give ONE next move? or a series of moves until a significant accomplishment? because sometimes a move is only epic because of the subsequent moves it allows you to make. A sacrifice on its own doesn't seem like a good move. Its only when you see what opening that gave you, that you truly appreciate it.

Re: How to Get Good at Chess, Fast

#45

Post by xerophtye » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 5:22 AM UTC

thewarrior wrote: post #28

Is there something like this for programming ?

Here, use this: http://norvig.com/21-days.html

Re: How to Get Good at Chess, Fast

#46

Post by e12e » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 5:30 AM UTC

joe_the_user wrote: post #17

Tloewald wrote: post #9

Anyone care to provide similarly practical tips for Go?

I'm not good to give quick Go learning tips but I think it's interesting that the general consensus is that Go and Chess quire significantly different "mindsets". Both are games of perfect information but it seems that the greater complexity of Go yields quantitatively different requirements for good play - in Go, people teaching generally talk about having the right attitude, avoid "greed" and similar "fuzzy" criter…

I wonder if it is still the case that Japanese Chess (shogi) is also considered "too hard" for AI. I'm by no means a proficient shogi player -- but found it a refreshing "variant" of chess. The main difference from chess, is that the board is 9x9, and crucially, that you get to play captured pieces.

I like the idea of Go, but I'm afraid it's a little too simple for my tastes...

Re: How to Get Good at Chess, Fast

#47

Post by chendry » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 5:34 AM UTC

xerophtye wrote: post #44

chendry wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wrote a website ( http://nextchessmove.com/ , GNUChess-backed) and corresponding iPhone app (Stockfish-backed, $0.99, mostly covers website hosting). Both let you drag pieces around "freestyle" and ask the engine for a move. I've gotten absolutely clobbered with traffic lately, presumably tournament-related. I'd love to hear what you all think about the site's applicability to learning the game.

That's a pretty cool idea. will check it in my free time. Btw Does it just give ONE next move? or a series of moves until a significant accomplishment? because sometimes a move is only epic because of the subsequent moves it allows you to make. A sacrifice on its own doesn't seem like a good move. Its only when you see what opening that gave you, that you truly appreciate it.

Thanks! It does indeed only give one move. I'm really just standing on the shoulders of the chess engines (GNUChess, Stockfish) and they simply tell me what the computer would do given a position. I'd like to get more insight into why the engine prefers one move to another, but my understanding isn't quite there yet.

Re: How to Get Good at Chess, Fast

#48

Post by pk2200 » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 5:37 AM UTC

charlieflowers wrote: post #39

rmrfrmrf wrote: post #21

> "One big mistake is to rely heavily on computers for chess analysis. Computer analysis should be done only after you analyze the game on your own." This isn't correct information anymore, in my opinion. Chess engines have improved tenfold over the last four years (when the author says he stopped playing). The increase in the strength of chess engines has subsequently caused an increase in the "humanity" of chess en…

Would you mind naming some good chess engines for Mac, Windows and Linux? (I know this can be googled, but I value the recommendation from a credible source).

Stockfish (ranked #2 on the various computer rating lists) runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, Android. It's also free and open source!

http://stockfishchess.org/

https://github.com/mcostalba/Stockfish

Re: How to Get Good at Chess, Fast

#49

Post by makeset » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 6:00 AM UTC

valarauca1 wrote: post #29

Tloewald wrote: post #9

Anyone care to provide similarly practical tips for Go?

play, play, play, play. A lot of videos and guides aren't hugely useful until post Still videos are good. There are dozens on youtube "Bat's lectures" are one I follow (He's a 2Dan American) "Youtube user dywrin" also https://www.youtube.com/user/gocommentary gets an honorable mention he's very useful but is no longer making videos. The biggest piece of advice I can offer is learn joseki's, and not only learn them. B…

It can't hurt to deeply study joseki, but it's unusual advice before single-digit kyu, if not later (and hardly a way to get good FAST).

Re: How to Get Good at Chess, Fast

#50

Post by pk2200 » Mon, Nov 25, 2013, 6:09 AM UTC

pk2200 wrote: post #48

charlieflowers wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you mind naming some good chess engines for Mac, Windows and Linux? (I know this can be googled, but I value the recommendation from a credible source).

Stockfish (ranked #2 on the various computer rating lists) runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, Android. It's also free and open source! http://stockfishchess.org/ https://github.com/mcostalba/Stockfish

The Stockfish team has made tremendous progress recently, thanks to 1) putting the code on Github and accepting patches, and 2) building an open, distributed testing framework that tests every patch by playing thousands of games.

http://tests.stockfishchess.org/tests