Chess advice required

[dangie]

For the Chess players on here which I’m sure there are a few.

My 8 year old grandson is learning to play chess. Already he’s quite good, he’s beating me. However that’s not difficult as I haven’t played since I was a teenager and even then I was useless. I basically know where the pieces move but not much more. I therefore would like to improve. I want to give my grandson some opposition at least. I’ve tried watching YouTube videos but they are not for me. I’m quite old school so would like a book on how to play chess starting from a beginners level. I’ve studied Amazon and there are plenty, but need some help. Any recommendation would be most appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Trackman]

I would highly recommend chess.com for learning chess. They have lessons, puzzles and so on, plus you can play opponents at your same level.
I am not sure what the free package offers, but they do offer a diamond package on a free trial for a month now and again.
Also the lessons start from beginner to a higher level, like trying to checkmate with two bishops and so on.
Dont worry about openings and so on to start with, start with the basics.

 

[class17]

Some books can be very basic, some too technical.

Books by Richard James are very good. Look for books with plenty of pictures, rather tan too much text and analysis.

Also look for puzzle books, such as check mate in one move.

Try a local chess club.

I know you said you prefer not to use the internet, but you might find this website useful, he explains chess moves quite slowly - https://www.thechesswebsite.com/

Get an account set up on Lichess.org. There are lots of online puzzles, as well as playing chess.

Try to get his school signed up to the UK Chess Challenge. - https://www.delanceyukschoolschesschallenge.com/

Follow the links for Chess Booklets on this webpage - https://www.englishchess.org.uk/new-to-chess/

 

[Purple Train]

I would highly recommend chess.com for learning chess. They have lessons, puzzles and so on, plus you can play opponents at your same level.
I am not sure what the free package offers, but they do offer a diamond package on a free trial for a month now and again.
Also the lessons start from beginner to a higher level, like trying to checkmate with two bishops and so on.
Dont worry about openings and so on to start with, start with the basics.

Seconded. I may not be a good person to take advice from on this, as my style of chess is popularly known as "kamikaze"; however, while chess.com hasn't improved my attention span, it's invaluable for simply teaching me what I'm doing wrong when. Chess is such a fluid and complex game that books haven't really worked for me.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I do download chess games and try to play a minimum of one game per day. Try learning all the basic classics such as Queens Gambit etc.

 

[Trackman]

I do download chess games and try to play a minimum of one game per day. Try learning all the basic classics such as Queens Gambit etc.

Yes, learn the basics first.
Learning openings is important, you can just learn a couple to start - this can also give you the basics of controlling the centre and developing pieces, which is a must.
For a newbie for white, I'd recommend the London System. You can't really go wrong with what they throw at you for a while, and there are traps for the basic opponent. Sometimes I play the Jobava London System too (and so does Magnus!), loads of videos of it on you-tube for beginners, it's really easy to learn.
The easiest black move to learn against white is the King's Indian Defence, I think the Sicilian/Open Sicilian is easy to learn, again loads of videos. Also, the Czech Pirc is worth a mention for black as once you learn the basics, loads of traps.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Yes, learn the basics first.

The easiest black move to learn against white is the King's Indian Defence, I think the Sicilian/Open Sicilian is easy to learn, again loads of videos. Also, the Czech Pirc is worth a mention for black as once you learn the basics, loads of traps.

Excellent advice. I also try to play people better than me - I learn more that way.