Help with Chess
Probably the best site for players from the learner to intermediate levels would be: The ChessKid site (part of Chess.com).
For an introductory video: Learn to play chess
For a very beginner level description of chess try AAA State of Play as recommended by Zach who is learning chess as part of his Boy Scout Chess Badge.
For puzzles: Test your chess skills
To play a computer (various levels) online: Play QWERTY
How to write down your moves: Chess Notation
Online Chess Etiquette
The club has not had any formal position on how to deal with players who consult outside assistance while playing their games. We have had the approach that this is a very rare occurrence among club-mates. I just wanted to run through what is permitted while playing chess on chess.com and what we should do if we think our opponent is breaching ‘fair play rules’.
I use the term ‘fair play rules’ as that is the terminology used by chess.com . That site has set the rules very clearly about how we are expected to behave towards one another while playing. Abuse is never acceptable and good sportsmanship should be a given and we should never use outside assistance when playing live online chess. Outside assistance can mean analysing the game on a chess board, consulting a chess book, getting a friend to play on your account, consulting an opening database, engine or endgame table-base. The exception is when playing Daily Chess (Correspondence) where board analysis, books and databases are permitted.
After discussions with the club committee we agreed that dealing with suspected breaches of fair play rules should be handled in a similar way as they would be at the club during Over the Board tournaments. Concerns should be brought to the attention of the event organiser or arbiter. Players should not take it upon themselves to confront other members publicly or privately. Players can also choose to report anyone they like to chess.com for a fair play analysis. Chess.com ban thousands of accounts each week for violations and they dedicate a lot of resources to keep our game fair and fun for all.
Here is a link “What do I need to know about Fair Play on chess.com
https://support.chess.com/article/648-what-do-i-need-to-know-about-fair-play-on-chess-com
This covers most of what I have said above and how to report violations of the fair play code.
Scott Stewart
Online Organiser
Some other sites:
Chess Variants - The rules of chess
So you wanna learn how to play chess?
US Chess Federation - Let's Play Chess
Chess Coaching in Ballarat
There are several options for group or individual coaching in Ballarat, or online.
Ballarat Junior Chess Club: Every Thursday evening at the BMI: For details see BJCC web page.
Scott Stewart Chess Coaching: Please see info about Scott's Chess Coaching Services here...
Jasan Barnett: Please see info and contact details here....
Chess Ideas (in Melbourne but Rob Bailey coaches locally as well)
Chess Kids (also in Melbourne - Ruari Coffey is a local contact for Chess Kids)
Too young for chess? Too old?
Playing chess benefits people at all stages of life: the young players learn how to plan, how to control emotions brought about by winning and losing, they learn spatial awareness and concentration techniques. Older players benefit neurologically in many ways, staying sharp mentally as well as enjoying social interactions through playing at the club. Here is a short video of our youngest member, Darel Stewart, who turns 4 in April.