You now have been playing the game of chess for a few months against your family and friends. You are noticing more and more that you are beating them all and usually for you it no longer requires you to do a lot of thinking and planning on your part when you challenge them to a game.
Congratulations, you are now moving past the point of being a beginning player and now are moving towards the intermediate level of chess. But to keep your interest in chess and continue to increase your skill level, what can one do? Where are other chess players with the same or even greater skill-set as you? The following are three places or areas where you can visit to find a higher caliber of chess player.
For most casual chess competitions, one doesn’t have to look further than their own public park. Many parks offer concrete chessboards, all you need to bring are your own chess pieces. While at the park, other people will want to challenge you. Take them up on it. Many chess masters have gotten their start due to the exposures of varying style of chess play with the different players available. If no chess areas are available at your local park, check your phone book for chess clubs and / or organizations in the surrounding area. Getting in touch with these local chess clubs will help you and introduce you to many other chess lovers in your own vicinity.
When you finally decide that you are ready to try your hand at chess tournaments, always remember if there are any certain “rules” that you need to follow and watch for, as well as paying attention to certain etiquettes associated with the tournaments. One of the most common forms of chess tournament rules is the use of the chess clocks. During a tournament game, players cannot think about their move forever, so types of time limits have been installed to ensure a quicker game play. Using a time clock, a device that contains two clocks will keep track of the amount of time for each player during his or her turn. Typically in tournament play, a player will have a maximum of 30 minutes to finish the entire game. If either player exceeds his or her allotted time, then he or she forfeits the match.
The third way a player can go about and find better opponents is through the internet. Many sites, such as Yahoo, will offer a place on their site where chess players from across the world can meet online and challenge one another to an exciting game of chess. The chess players meet in the “game” section of the website. From there, they click on the link for chess, and they are ready to begin. Playing online has become one of the fastest ways to increase one’s knowledge and tactics for chess. You can literally have a chess game anytime you want—twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. You finally now can have a chess game that finally fits your schedule.
