Chess move by move

This is so simple, and I hope I am the only one who makes the mistake of not turning/flipping the board when I study other people’s games.

A few days ago, I was studying the Dutch Defense. I had downloaded Alekhine’s games and I was going through them. I played a couple of games, and I felt that something was not right. The default for the board is White (closest to me and) playing up the board. This is not the normal way when I play Chess with the Black pieces. I would be playing up the board with the Black pieces! So I need to turn the board around, that way I see things the way I would see them during the game. The idea is so simple that you wonder why anybody has to say that you should do it. However, it was not so easy for me, especially if I am playing through the recorded game online. There may not be an option to turn the board around. My suggestion is copy the moves down, and play it on a normal/physical board, and see things from the side that you are interested in.

Even here, at www.chess.com, there have been times when I want to see if my opponent has made his move, and I click on “waiting” and if I am taking Black, the board shows me playing down the board, and it takes me a while to get my bearings right. I found out that if you click “details” and then select “flip board”, you will see the game the way you were seeing it when you were playing the game.

So, here is tip #8, if you are playing through somebody’s games or you are studying an Opening, make sure the right pieces are facing you. If you are studying White’s moves, make sure the White pieces are playing up the board. If you are studying Black’s moves, make sure the Black pieces are playing up the board.