Want to play chess better?

Of course you do! Every chess player's favorite topic is how to improve.

It's hard to know where to go after learning the basics.

Motivation is an important factor and just asking the question -- 'How
can I improve?' -- is a first step. Second Step is to find the Answer.

Here's How:

1. Learn chess notation it's not difficult.

2. Practice puzzles : Get a book of chess problems to practice and
work on them or find resources from Internet. Try to solve them on the
chess board.

3. Make your opening perfect by practising : Your opening should be
perfect. If you start losing from the opening itself there are less
chances for you to win. It doesn't matter if your middle and end game is
weak if your opening is perfect.

4. Learn tricks and tactics: If your tactics are bad, you'll lose
quickly. If your strategies are bad, you'll lose slowly. In either case
you'll lose, but you'll suffer longer if you lose strategically.
Positional play and strategic thinking are first cousins.

5. Study endgames : End games are also important because if you
struggle from opening itself to get better position and in the end if
you lose than your opening skills are worth nothing. If you like to
study (not everyone does), tackle a good book on the endgames. An hour
spent on the endgame is worth more than an hour spent on the openings.

6. Play, Play and Play : The proverb Practice makes the man perfect
should be implied here. Play as much as you can, including face-to-face
and online. Try to find a few opponents who are significantly better
than you are. You'll probably lose to them, but you'll learn.

7. Record the moves of your games : Analyze your losses and try to
determine why you lost. Probably next time you will not make the mistake
again.

8. Play some games at a slower pace, like using email :
Correspondence chess gives you the time to research the opening in depth
and to study each position in a way that is impossible during a fast
game.

9. Teach someone else to play : There's nothing like someone asking
simple questions to expose your own weaknesses. Knowledge increases by
sharing.

10. Hire your own teacher, if you can afford it : A good teacher is
worth the money. Great players aren't necessarily good teachers, but
great teachers are generally good players.

11. Balance all of the above techniques. Don't be surprised if you
progress in one area but seem to regress in another.

12. Analyze an occasional game with your Grand Master Player. It will
help you determine how much you are seeing during the game.

13. Play against your computer. Don't be too discouraged if you lose
consistently. Computers have different strengths and weaknesses than
human players do.

14. Don't just read this but imply it in your game: Your reading the
above tips will be waste if you do not imply it in your game.
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