Want to improve your chess skills? – play with two minds

Chess – the King of Games – requires a person to put on his thinking hat while playing. It is a game that calls for logical and deep thinking, critical analysis, foresight, planning, decision-making and effective execution on the part of the players.

The game, played between two players across a square board comprising of eight rows and eight columns, is in a state of equilibrium at the start. Both the players were distributed equal number of pieces at the beginning. Now, with the Internet and computer revolution, any person having knowledge and passion for the game can play chess using the technology. All he needs to do is to visit an online chess site, learn the game online and play the game either with the computer or with a partner available in the virtual chess rooms in the online website. Playing chess online is the best alternative to improve the skills and also get relaxation as well as fun, without looking out for partners.

The objective of the game is to make the opponent’s King immovable and say, “checkmate”. This is a turn-based game and one has to wait for his turn to make the move. A player cannot force the other player by coercion or other means to gain any undue advantage.

While it is very easy to learn the game, mastering the game and gaining expertise is quite difficult and calls for more practice.

The only way by which you can win over the opponent and say “checkmate” to him is when he makes a mistake and you seize the opportunity provided by that mistake. The same is the case for your opponent as well. If you make a mistake, then it will be the chance for your opponent to say “checkmate” to you. In other words, if you are to ensure that you do not hear the word “checkmate” from your opponent, you should not make mistakes or wrong moves.

How to improve the chess skills and gain expertise in the game? First, try not to make any mistakes on your part so that you can ensure that the possibility of losing the game is eliminated.

Before making any move, try to ask questions for yourself and find suitable answers for the same. The questions you should ask yourself include – What will I gain by moving this particular pieces? What will be the reaction of the opponent to this move?; What advantages can he get if I make this move?;

You should find the answers for these questions, evaluate them and choose the optimal one before making the move. Here comes another tricky part. You should put yourself in the position of the opponent and view from his angle the counter-moves and again your possible response to his counter-move. This is what I had referred to as “playing with two minds” – looking at the position from your angle and also the same position from the opponent’s angle. By doing so, you will try to ensure that there is no flaw in your move. This foresight and analysis will help you understand the game and its nuances very well.

By looking from the opponent’s angle and anticipating his next move or a series of moves and visualizing the position of the board for the next 2-3 moves, you will be having a better control over the board and the positional features. If the opponent comes out with a different move other than what you have perceived, then your ideas will expand and you will learn new things.

You will also be in a position to instantly find out any flaw in his move that is different from what you have expected and then, you can immediately seize upon the opportunity and try to gain material and positional advantage over the opponent.