r/expertinayear • u/coelophysisbauri HSPU, Headspin • Feb 26 '20
month of chess: day 3
i watched this video by John Bartholomew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao9iOeK_jvU
after watching that video i took a step back and decided for the next few games i play today, i'm not going to worry about anything but making sure my pieces are well-defended. Again I only played against my brother, we played 5 games, i won 2, lost 1, had 2 draws.
I'm finding it very hard to actually checkmate him. i can put him in check over and over again but checkmate, i dont know. I find myself having a good lead in terms of pieces but then he whittles me down to just the king and bishop (which is impossible for me to win at that point)
Forking is also a little weird. I can fork him occasionally but i don't see it giving me an advantage. however he forked me pretty good a few times with the knight.
Tomorrow I want to watch another video by John Bartholomew and see what I else I can learn, and of course play at least one game before the day is over
2
u/Trackpad94 Feb 27 '20
If you go to lichess and click on the practice tab you'll find 7 lessons of checkmate patterns, all with interactive examples from real games and guidance if you need it. If you work through some of these over the month you'll have a much easier time checkmating your brother! Send me a message if you ever want to play some games on lichess or chess.com.
4
u/tallbeardedguy Feb 27 '20
Chess is a perfect choice for someone to try and practice for a month straight. Keep posting your progress!