Answers.Body: <p>IMHO if you are struggling with the middle-game it makes more sense to study that particularly (as well as the endgame) instead of focusing on openings. I would advise you to learn to record your games in Algebraic Notation in order to learn from your mistakes (preferably with a stronger player). As far as online material you can use I can recommend <a href="http://www.chesscafe.com/archives/archives.htm#Novice%20Nook" rel="nofollow">Novice Nook by Dan Heisman</a> and <a href="http://www.openchessbooks.org/reti-mic/chapter1/combination.html" rel="nofollow">Modern Ideas in Chess by Richard Rèti</a></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2013-01-31T15:53:17.333Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2013-01-31T15:53:17.333Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: retrodanny
Body: <p>Can anyone recommend sites that they have personally had experience with to be good for learning by novices? I play chess regularly, but I have never studied theory and while I am doing fairly well against most of the regulars I play against, there are several people who are able to have a clear advantage by the midgame.</p>
  
  <p>I'd like to improve my openings by studying theory, but I've never looked at it before, so I wouldn't be helped much by a dry treatise on how to develop a pawn line against, for example, <code>1.d4</code>. I'm looking for an objective analysis of websites that teach the theoretical principles of openings, with good examples and a minimum of references to various famous openings.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2012-12-28T19:31:07.840Z
Comments.Text: here is a related question http://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/1335/free-learning-material , but they are mostly about improving tactics though :(
Comments.UserDisplayName: ajax333221
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2012-12-30T08:20:06.217Z
Comments.Text: [ICC - The Internet Chessclub](http://www.chessclub.com) has a lot of material available to members including videos from GMs explaining popular openings and positions (I play there, but am otherwise un-associated with them).
Comments.UserDisplayName: Travis J
Tags: <opening><theory>
Title: Which sites offer good tutorials for novices to improve?
ThreadText: # Which sites offer good tutorials for novices to improve?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2012-12-28)
  
  Can anyone recommend sites that they have personally had experience with to be good for learning by novices? I play chess regularly, but I have never studied theory and while I am doing fairly well against most of the regulars I play against, there are several people who are able to have a clear advantage by the midgame.
  
  I'd like to improve my openings by studying theory, but I've never looked at it before, so I wouldn't be helped much by a dry treatise on how to develop a pawn line against, for example, `1.d4`. I'm looking for an objective analysis of websites that teach the theoretical principles of openings, with good examples and a minimum of references to various famous openings.
  
  **Tags:** opening, theory
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: here is a related question http://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/1335/free-learning-material , but they are mostly about improving tactics though :(  
  > **username_2**: [ICC - The Internet Chessclub](http://www.chessclub.com) has a lot of material available to members including videos from GMs explaining popular openings and positions (I play there, but am otherwise un-associated with them).  
  
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  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2013-01-31. Score: 2
  
  IMHO if you are struggling with the middle-game it makes more sense to study that particularly (as well as the endgame) instead of focusing on openings. I would advise you to learn to record your games in Algebraic Notation in order to learn from your mistakes (preferably with a stronger player). As far as online material you can use I can recommend [Novice Nook by Dan Heisman](http://www.chesscafe.com/archives/archives.htm#Novice%20Nook) and [Modern Ideas in Chess by Richard Rèti](http://www.openchessbooks.org/reti-mic/chapter1/combination.html)
  
  
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