How to Learn Chess at 50: Learning the Basics

It’s been a few weeks since I kicked off this series following my progress learning chess at the somewhat older age of 50. Some interesting things have happened! Read on to find out what a few weeks of chess training can do in part two of How to Learn Chess at 50.

Reviewing the premise: My name is Rebecka Ratcliffe. My previous article, How to Learn Chess at 50: Getting Started, is the introduction to this series of posts about my attempt to learn (and relearn) chess from the board up. I hope you enjoy my honest, light-hearted recounting of a chess journey taken a bit later than most.

My Discipline and/or Lack Thereof

My initial goal was to fit 15 minutes of chess into my day. I’m finding it harder than I expected to fit that time in every day. However, when I do sit down to study, I get sucked in for a long session. I’m taking that as a good sign, but I’m disappointed that I’m not getting daily study.

The benefits of daily study are numerous, and not just for chess improvement. Studies on chess and cognitive function indicate that regular play and study can help maintain cognitive sharpness. Reinforcing what you’ve learned consistently can help it stick. Beyond chess, however, routines can be great for our mental health. Pulling out the puzzle book instead of scrolling social media is definitely better for my well-being.

I’ll be trying to hit more days of the week going forward to enjoy the peace of a routine and reinforce what I’m learning. Planning a specific time of day, like morning coffee time, will probably help.

Most Helpful Things So Far

Analyzing Your Games

I have yet to win a full chess game online, as I’m not very good at holding the whole board in my mind. As I imagine many beginners do, I get caught up in my attack and leave myself undefended. One of the best and worst aspects of online play is the post-game analysis. Letting the computer point out my mistakes and blunders does help me learn, albeit in an ego-bruising way.

Analyzing your games after the fact allows you to see the choices you made (and the ones you didn’t) with time to think about why something didn’t work. A lot of online play is rapid or blitz, and the pace doesn’t allow you to think too long about any one move. Use the tools in your app to go over every game and understand why you won or lost.

Real, Actual Paper Books

My book of puzzles has been great on a couple of levels. I’m using “Learn Chess the Right Way” by Susan Polgar, starting with Book One: Must-know Checkmates. First, focusing on one-move solutions has already made some patterns click. It forces me to practice my chess notation on paper. Additionally, a physical book is great for waiting rooms or waiting in the car for my kids. It’s also easier to focus when there aren’t notifications and news alerts popping up to distract and worry me.

Also of great value in my chess education has been my other book, Chess for the Gifted & Busy by Lev Alburt and Al Lawrence. Puzzles and exercises can give you lots of practice, but a thoughtful reference text can walk you through the game in a more thorough way. I’ve been reading along through the foundations of chess, including refreshing the most basic things and notation. This particular book is meant to be a firehose of information, rather than a drip, so I’m reading a little more slowly to keep pace with the lessons on Chess.com. Whatever you choose as your reference book, don’t be afraid to dip in and out of it as the subject interests you.

The Wide Online World

I’ve got a basic “Gold” subscription to Chess.com, and I’ve been following the lesson path on there. It provides a solid foundation in chess basics. My main quibble with it is that each lesson only has five or six exercises, and I would like more practice of each concept. I can say that I’m getting better at spotting the “best” move, and the concepts are getting increasingly complex.

I’ve been doing puzzles on several platforms, as well as on paper. If your online puzzle platform has explanations for why a solution is the “best” move, I think that’s helpful for a beginner. There are daily puzzles and puzzle challenges that may be an incentive to log in regularly. Puzzles are already helping me recognize patterns in online play and move more confidently.

I’ve played a few games online, both with human and bot opponents. It is slightly more comfortable to challenge a bot as a novice, mostly because you can pick a difficulty level. There’s no worry about what your opponent thinks of your moves. That said, it’s quite easy to match with chess players to play online. The most common formats are rapid or blitz games, so clock pressure is a real factor. I’ll continue to play games and test out the new skills I’m acquiring.

Progress Toward My Goals

Being confident enough to play online with actual humans is a big step toward my goal of playing in a tournament. Even though I’m not winning, I’m no longer losing in a handful of moves like I did the last time I downloaded Lichess.org. That said, my goal of attending a local chess group meeting or signing up for a tournament is still months away. While I’m not envisioning sweeping through the club regulars as the next 50-year-old phenom, I’d rather not embarrass myself in the first few moves.

I said I wouldn’t worry about ratings, and I’m not. I’m not worrying. I swear. I am not bothered that my first extremely low provisional rating on Chess.com is now even lower. Well, mostly not bothered. As a very metrics and numbers-driven person, I can’t help but think about it. Once I’m able to win a few games, it will improve. At the end of this learning process, I might even share it! There is more to life (and chess) than ratings, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ratings.

Coming Up Next:

Over the next few weeks, I’ll continue to learn more about chess using the tools I have. I’ll also be reading more about best practices for learning chess to glean more tips and tricks for older learners. Adding chess to a daily routine should also yield significant benefits.

In our next installment, I’ll hope to be able to share some wins. We’ll review any adjustments I’ve made to my learning approach and the results. I’ll also be playing over the board with my husband to see if playing in person requires different or additional skills. See you again in a few more weeks!