I think he wanted to trade knights which is what he took. But oh man

I’m wondering if this is a sign of low intelligence am I genuinely an idiot? Like I miss so many things and blunder so much and I’ve been playing for a while now and I’m still so bad. like this game makes me lose respect for myself and I genuinely get depressed playing this game because it makes me realize how low my iq is

I’m so proud and happy

Been playing about a year, self taught, sitting in the 750s on chess.com rapid and playing 4-5 games a day. I’m not lazy about it. I’ve done the chess.com lessons, tried Chessable courses, even the Duolingo chess thing. They all have the same problem: they tell me WHAT the move is, none of them teach me WHY it’s the move.

I can play book openings fine. Then move 12 arrives, there’s no book left, and I genuinely don’t know how to decide between three sensible looking moves. Game review shows me the eval dropped, cool, but “you should have played Rd1” with no reasoning teaches me nothing. Next game, same type of mistake, different square.

What I’m looking for is anything (book, course, video series, method, whatever) that teaches decision making itself. How you choose a move when nothing is forced. How you build a plan from the position instead of memorising lines.

I know the title might seem like a stupid question, as you could join a chess club at any level and have something to learn, but hopefully I can make my point clear.

I've played chess on and off since being a kid (with a few month long stints on chess.com some years ago), but mostly with my dad, who is quite into it. Since April I've been playing it and studying it much more regularly, and managed to improve a fair bit (my elo has gone up about 300 points to 770 ish in that time, with ups and downs). Despite this, I'm well aware that it still puts me right in the beginner category.

(Main bit) My actual point is that soon i'll be starting my 2nd year at uni, and I'm considering joining an actual OTB chess club. I had already assumed that my elo on chess.com would translate to being bottom of the barrel at any club. I wouldn't mind this, but I've seen a lot of stuff (probably exaggerated) about the standards at OTB chess clubs being very high, and how even people pushing the 1800-2000 rating range aren't considered particularly skilled. From this, i ask if anyone has any experience with these kind of clubs (although it will vary between them), especially if you joined as a beginner? was it worth it to you, and was it different to what the consensus online seems to be? For any more experienced club players, do you find it annoying or frustrating playing beginners who might not be able to give you the most challenging game? (this latter point is one of my main concerns).

Thankyou for any advice)

From a game I played today, really liked the position

I'm Looking to find a new main opening for White and wanted to hear you guys/gals opinion on the Queen's Gambit.

My Current main opening is the Jobava London

My 2nd main opening is Colle-Zuketort

My 3rd Opening which I barely play (Have not played in a Year+) is the London

I have tried both the Catalan and English and they are too complicated for me.

The main reason I want to change opening is due to having a low win % rate with White and I honestly don't know what are the middle game Ideas behind the Jobava.

I missed a smothered mate and then blundered check mate

Just hit 1300 today, now I'm logging off for the day to not tank any points😁😁😁

Check out this #chess game: bigsaucesmokey vs yousef5051 - https://www.chess.com/game/171923138548

I did not see the continuation to winning the rook back when I played it . Opponent resigned after hanging a knight shortly after anyway !

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i have been back into the game the last month and i went form around 250 to 580 the i had a horrible string of games and it kicked me back down to 490 its very demoralizing. how do i deal with this felling?

I know people say Bullet is bad for practice, but the flipside is that going back to Rapid makes you feel like you have *eons* of time to work with. It's amazing

My kid (5+) is interested in chess. How can I help him? He knows the rules and can sometimes play a 1 move tactic. I would estimate him at around 300-400 elo.

What do you recommend for him to get better at the game?

I was hoping a book that has easy puzzles for him to do. Do you have any recommendation?

Game I had just now. There is only 1 move to keep the advantage. Black to move.

Yeah but my real elo is only 530

One of my biggest chess flaws is that I always feel the need to do something “big” - like moving a piece to somewhere not attacking an undefended piece is a waste of tempo.

In doing so I often just compromise my position.

I’m doing a study on the Sicilian and found a perfect example of this. I see in theory why this makes sense but my problem is spotting moves like this in game (even though this is just opening theory). This is partially compounded by the fact that you’re told to connect your rooks - so why not Qc7?

What are some tips that could help me with this?