Hobbies And Interests
Play Chess
The best way to improve your chess game is to play. Set up the 32 pieces on the board and find an opponent, or load your computer with a chess program. Many chess programs available on CD-Rom cost less that $10 and offer excellent value, with tutorials, suggestions on the next move and a variety of difficulty settings that make the game more challenging as you become more experienced and advanced. Use the tutorial that comes with your software package to evaluate different opening moves and see what the computer does in response to your strategies. In time, you will learn many combinations, and the strengths and weaknesses of each. But do look for live opponents as well.
Read Books on Chess
While there is no substitute for playing chess to improve your game, reading a good book on opening moves can give you insight into improving your playing strength that you may miss under fire. Two classic books on this topic are Nunn's Opening Chess Moves by John Nunn, and Modern Chess Openings by Nick di Firmian. These books are considered must-haves for any chess library. Both offer a wealth of information to the beginner and intermediate player on incorporating (and defending against) strong opening moves.
Play and Solve Chess Puzzles for Practical Training Exercises
Look up chess puzzles online and set up your board according to the diagram of each puzzle. Work on opening-game puzzles to improve your early chess game. Puzzles are an absorbing way to encounter and learn from the sort of problems you may encounter in a real game. Think of them as training exercises for a big tournament some day.
Try tested, but unusual, opening moves. Launch with the knights, moving the pieces to the center to control more of the board, then move your pawns guarding the king and queen. In four moves you can have decisive control over the most important area of the chessboard: the center squares.