Author: Bob Durrett
Date: 08:18:11 01/15/04
Go up one level in this thread
On January 15, 2004 at 09:58:13, Neil Fulton wrote: >I'm an adult who has played and understands the basic rules of chess but would >like to learn the game well. I live in a small town, however, and have limited >outlets to be taught and to play. I would like to buy a good teaching computer >or software to both play and learn. Any suggestions for the best options to >teach a pretty novice player but that also have room to really grow? Putting things into their proper context: Before answering your question directly, let me comment on certain relevant generalities. Depending on whether you are an introvert or extravert, there is no substitute for lasting friendships. I suggest that you find people like yourself who share your [hopefully many and varied] interests and do whatever it takes to get them to become your friends. [You have to earn friends.] Remember that chess is only one of the many things you can share with friends. You can also start attending your town's City Council meetings [and maybe similar meetings in a church] and volunteer to do things. You would be surprised at how popular you would become. Chess should be kept in it's proper place. Chess is merely a pastime, and is insufficient to keep one happy. When you are alone, there are a variety of chess activities which may keep you content. But remember: "One man's meat is another's poison." You may enjoy going through chess books as I do or you may hate doing that. You may enjoy playing speed chess on the internet or you may hate doing that. You may enjoy going through a programmed chess lesson set such as the one offered by Chess Mentor or you may hate doing that. Etceteras. The above is only a very small set of possibilities. Some people actually amuse themselves by developing chess opening repertoires which they will never use in practice. The "really weird" people in this world actually amuse themselves by trying to produce chess-playing programs. The "truly super-weird" specialize in design of GUIs. : ) These weird types seem to frequent chess programming bulletin boards. The makers of Fritz seems to be making a real effort to make Fritz be fun to play with. You might start by trying that. Better, however, is to find a chess club or chess-playing friends. Whatever you do, do NOT play chess with your spouse! Bob D.
This page took 0 seconds to execute
Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.