How to learn chess as an adult (2021) • Hacker News Board

Re: How to learn chess as an adult (2021)

#91

Post by diffeomorphism » Tue, Dec 19, 2023, 9:35 AM UTC

PaulRobinson wrote: post #58

DeathArrow wrote: post #17

Is there a well known strategy game where AI doesn't have better chances to win than a human? Is there possibly, math wise, that such games exist? I kind of dislike not having a chance when playing against bots.

Can I suggest you consider why you’re playing? We are taught from a young age that winning is the objective of playing a game, but what if it wasn’t? What if it was to learn some hidden truth, or to explore your own tendencies to over-react, to become too rash, to become overly-defensive or to be disappointed when things didn’t always go your way? What if you took each game as a learning opportunity? If you take a di…

That does not quite seem to be the point. There is a huge difference between "better" and "crushing".

> We are taught from a young age that winning is the objective of playing a game, but what if it wasn’t?

No, we aren't. The are multiple players in a game. So you win some, they win some and sure, you are taught to try to win more than 50%. But if you win 90+% of the time, you are wasting both players' time.

Re: How to learn chess as an adult (2021)

#92

Post by grzaks » Tue, Dec 19, 2023, 9:40 AM UTC

My biggest frustration with chess online is the huge number of cheaters on platforms like chess.com and lichess. It really takes the whole fun away.

I never really understood WHY people are cheating in online chess games. There is no fame, no money in it. This is puzzling for me.

My frustration is that chess.com and lichess are extremely week at finding and banning cheaters. Sometimes is sooo obvious, when for example somebody blunders a piece in first few moves and from this moment starts playing just perfect moves.

Re: How to learn chess as an adult (2021)

#93

Post by dabeeeenster » Tue, Dec 19, 2023, 9:41 AM UTC

xboxnolifes wrote: post #65

qingdao99 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What did they mean? Can't figure it out.

Educated. Access to good schools.

What has that got to do with being good at chess?

Re: How to learn chess as an adult (2021)

#94

Post by stavros » Tue, Dec 19, 2023, 9:42 AM UTC

kzrdude wrote: post #81

I don't like losing, I want to always win. That's why I don't play. I've been thinking recently that I should play anyway so that I could grow out of this condition. Any tips for that?

I'm the same, but I haven't managed to grow out of it. I just get frustrated and keep playing in anger until I win, which sucks for my social life.

Oddly, the only sport where I'm chill about losing is tennis, where I think "nice, they played really well". Everywhere else, including chess, it's "how could you do this to me".

The only time I managed to be chill in chess was after I'd taken MDMA, and then when I'd lose I'd think "they played better, they deserve it". It went away after a few days, though, never to be repeated (presumably without more MDMA).

Re: How to learn chess as an adult (2021)

#95

Post by modernerd » Tue, Dec 19, 2023, 9:43 AM UTC

kzrdude wrote: post #81

I don't like losing, I want to always win. That's why I don't play. I've been thinking recently that I should play anyway so that I could grow out of this condition. Any tips for that?

Losing hurts, but:

1. Instead of thinking, "sheesh, I suck" after losing, start thinking, "well played" (even if your opponent was in a losing position and beat you on time or with a sneaky pre-move; they still won). This simple reframing makes it less about the gaps in your abilities and more about having found an opponent who outplayed you that game. Finding better opponents is a good thing; you will learn more.

2. Actively make loss about growth: review games you lost. Find (a) the losing move and (b) the reason you made that move (harder, but important). Use that info to change your thought process to reduce future mistakes. This can be as simple as, "it's 2am and I've been playing blitz for 3 hours, I'm too tired to play my best, I'll stop playing after midnight". Or "I keep missing mate threats. I will say "checks, captures, threats" in my head after my opponent makes a move to train myself to systematically seek dangerous intent, until that process is so internalised that it's natural. I will also solve mate-in-one[1] or mate-in-two[2] puzzles on Lichess for 10 minutes a day until they feel obvious."

3. If you lose three games in a row, stop playing for a while (a few minutes/hours/days, whatever you need). If losses hugely affect your mood, a long string of them can make you feel really low. Pre-emptively break that cycle and do something else for a while.

[1] https://lichess.org/training/mateIn1

[2] https://lichess.org/training/mateIn2

Re: How to learn chess as an adult (2021)

#96

Post by concordDance » Tue, Dec 19, 2023, 9:43 AM UTC

ACow_Adonis wrote: post #69

DeathArrow wrote: post #17

Is there a well known strategy game where AI doesn't have better chances to win than a human? Is there possibly, math wise, that such games exist? I kind of dislike not having a chance when playing against bots.

come join us at Beyond All Reason :) https://www.beyondallreason.info/ or if you're an AI maker come join us also and make a better bit for us to play against :)

cough https://zero-k.info/ cough

Re: How to learn chess as an adult (2021)

#97

Post by isyuricunha » Tue, Dec 19, 2023, 9:47 AM UTC

oh, nice!

Re: How to learn chess as an adult (2021)

#98

Post by hinkley » Tue, Dec 19, 2023, 9:52 AM UTC

washmyelbows wrote: post #18

"Only about 10% of players ever gain more than 100 points, and only about 1% of players gain more than 200 rating points given years." This seems like a wild claim. On chess.com I've gone from 500 to ~1050 in a handful of months without any real study, just some light YouTube watching. 500->800 felt like all it took was learning a few openings and not blundering pieces. 800-1050 felt like it came mostly from getting…

I’ve known this guy off and on for years. When we first met 15+ years he was slightly better at Go than me, which was middling amateur. All the Go books say if you want to be a pro you have to start as a child.

But he studied, and studied, and last I knew he was 3 dan, which is about the point you can entertain the idea of becoming a pro (if I just worked harder).

Kids have a lot more free time to sink into a singular concern. Warnings about how something are out of the reach of adults aren’t actually hard rules, they’re just really good rules of thumb. But if you can make the time, it’s not impossible.

I don’t think chess is any different there. Small improvements may set reasonable expectations, but there are people who can blow right past them.

Re: How to learn chess as an adult (2021)

#99

Post by 8n4vidtmkvmk » Tue, Dec 19, 2023, 9:54 AM UTC

INTPenis wrote: post #86

My dad was a master chess player in my country when I was growing up so I know all the moves but I never had the interest to go further than that. So what I really need to study are the famous openings and the responses to various openings. Seems like a memory game. Computer games were always more fun.

This is why I've been avoiding chess. Anything that feels too memory intensive just doesn't seem fun to me. It's not creative strategy it's just rote memorization. Same goes for Rubik's cubes.

Re: How to learn chess as an adult (2021)

#100

Post by thisisauserid » Tue, Dec 19, 2023, 9:56 AM UTC

I learned about the Woodpecker Method from HN, bought it through the Forward Chess app so I could plough (plow?) through it on my phone.

You won't feel like you're getting better with this method but you will start to sense opportunities consistently (and then recognize them specifically).

Yes, you still need to then go learn a couple openings.