Is it possible to improve alone?

Originally posted by FabianFnas
What do we mean by 'alone'?

With a couple of good book I can take part of the authors best mentorship, but I'm still alone.
With the aid of RHP, I can play without seeing another face and therefore I am completely alone.
With a computer chess program, like chessmaster and such, I can play the program without even be near anouther person.

Yes, I th ...[text shortened]... improve myself, all by myself, conciderably without even playing a single game face-to-face.

well i meant without people pointing your mistakes out to you....

Originally posted by theamateur
well i meant without people pointing your mistakes out to you....

I think that's possible, yes. But......
I also think it's very beneficial (even neccessary) to socialize with good players. This is part of the education towards being a very good player, IMO

Originally posted by theamateur
do you think it is possible to improve alone? without help from coaches and such. If so , what must be done to improve at the game?

Yes. Play a lot, read a little, but you have to play against good players, not fish who barely know how the pieces move.

Originally posted by theamateur
do you think it is possible to improve alone? without help from coaches and such. If so , what must be done to improve at the game?

Absolutely -- I've never had benefit of a coach and merely played online, over the board and studied chess literature.

Regarding your second question: What must be done to improve at the game? Answer: Lots of study. Whether you like it or not, you're going to have to put in time studying the games of the great masters. Start with a book on Morphy, Steinitz, Rubenstein, Capablanca, Nimzovitch and then Alekhine. You're also going to have to study the endgame, including "Rook Endings," by Smyslov and Levensfish. If you get through all this, then it might be okay to study openings.

Originally posted by der schwarze Ritter
Absolutely -- I've never had benefit of a coach and merely played online, over the board and studied chess literature.

Regarding your second question: What must be done to improve at the game? Answer: Lots of study. Whether you like it or not, you're going to have to put in time studying the games of the great masters. Start with a book on Mor ...[text shortened]... yslov and Levensfish. If you get through all this, then it might be okay to study openings.

but by studying what do you mean? you might play through the game and then forget it right? It won't be as beneficial as studying tactics

Originally posted by theamateur
but by studying what do you mean? you might play through the game and then forget it right? It won't be as beneficial as studying tactics

Chess is a matter of accumulating ideas and patterns. The more books you read and the more positions and studies you see, the better player you become. Since you're in the 1500 range, studying tactics might be better for you; eventually, however, you are going to have to learn how to win with a 3 vs. 2 Pawn advantage on the queenside, how to play with and against an isolated Pawn or how to determine when the two Knights are superior to the two Bishops. At the highest levels of the game, very few checkmates occur.