January 21, 2003

My goal is to one day be a Master-level chess player. Given my current talent level, I've got a long journey ahead of me. I've got no problem with that. I'm having a great time studying the game, and every time I play it seems like I learn something new.

I'm studying a couple of openings in depth and will post my findings (in terms of tactics and strategy). My hope is that you'll be able to learn something from my chessic adventures as well. Please remember that if you have some kernel of truth (or line of analysis) to contribute to my efforts, I am always interested in what you have to say. Let's learn together.

Assuming you're willing to share analysis afterward, feel free to email me if you'd like an email game. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to take you up on your offer immediately (I can only juggle so many games, and, unbelievably, I have a life off the chess board), but if nothing else I'm happy to put you in the que. (Or perhaps we can meet on FICS.)

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Recommended Reading

For Beginners

Seirawan, Yasser and Jeremy Silman. Play Winning Chess. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press, 1990. ISBN 1-55615-271-X.

For Intermediates

Fine, Reuben. The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings. New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1989. ISBN 0-8129-1756-1.

Seirawan, Yasser and Jeremy Silman. Winning Chess Strategies. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press, 1994. ISBN 1-55615-663-4.

Silman, Jeremy. How To Reassess Your Chess. Los Angeles: Summit Publishing, 1993. ISBN 0-945806-10-8.

Soltis, Andrew. The Inner Game of Chess. New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1994. ISBN 0-8129-2291-3.

For Masters
I am not qualified to recommend books to master players. If you're a chess master, though, perhaps you could recommend a few books to me?

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Recommended Chess Links

Chess Notation
A primer on Algebraic chess notation. Relatively easy to learn and utterly essential if you want to study chess.

U.S. Chess On-line
Home of the U.S. Chess Federation. Online membership sign-up available.

Exant Software
The home of ExaChess Pro and ExaChess Lite for Macintosh. The Lite version is freeware, and though it's not as full-featured as Pro, it's an excellent chess database. Recommended. Mac OS X versions coming soon.

FICS—Free Internet Chess Servers
How to play lots of chess for free over the Internet. Download software and learn all about using the Free Internet Chess Servers.

Novice Nook
National Master Dan Heisman's columns about chess. Good reading!

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