How To Win Chess Games

The most common question among chess players while starting out is, ‘How to Win At Chess?’

The answer is

Education – Read as many chess books as possible. I know most of the chess players are reluctant to agree that chess knowledge winds more games than talent alone, but this is a fact. A case in point being the recent emergence of the current world number one - GM Magnus Carlsen.

Everyone in the chess playing world agreed that Carlsen was a prodigy at chess. That he had it in him to be World champion. However after many years in the chess circuit he wasn’t able to defeat the top ranked chess players on a consistent basis. Only after he started to work on his repertoire with the Great Gary Kasparov have we seen him emerge as a consistent player at the highest level of chess.

Practice- Playing a lot of games gives you experience of being in the situation before. From here you can think of the variations played before and then experiment your way forwards towards the best possible outcome.

In the recently concluded world chess championship GM Boris Gelfand won the title against all odds. At the beginning of the tournament hardly a few chess aficionados would have given him a chance to win the title, let alone call him a favourite. After all this was a gruelling schedule for the 40 year old, a game every day for almost 45 days , with some days having as many as 4-5 blitz and rapid games in between. With the average age of the competing players being in the mid-20’s , to have won the championship shows the amount of practice and experience that makes a champion.

Attitude - Your goal in chess must be to always keep learning, playing interesting chess games and to understand chess rather than to humiliate your opponent. Express your personality through the game rather than through words. Two very good examples of this are the Current world champion GM Vishwanathan Anand and GM Vassily Ivanchuk. GM Anand always has a good word about his opponent, never indulging in controversial statements and plays only on the chess board. GM Ivanchuk on the other hand keeps an element of impish delight in his games, plays chess as though he were still in his teens and often is the sole entertainer in the tournaments.

Always keep at heart the foundations of theses great teachers.

How to Win Chess Games Quickly
Be a good sport - If you care only about winning, then you will just play mechanically and will not create interesting options. Also you will not be able to expand your repertoire. At the same time you should be uninhibited in your games, have a tactical drive. But most of all be a good sport. Winning and losing are part of the game. Do not unnecessarily spoil the atmosphere by charging your opponent or giving rash statements. This will make you an outcast and you might not be invited to many tournaments.

How to Win Chess Games Quickly

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