Hobby Shop Blog

If you’re a birder, you want to keep a list of sightings when you bird watch. Your life lists should be kept in a bird watching journal.

Life List

A life list is a record of the species of birds you’ve sighted over time. Typically, the list is kept in a journal. Each entry notes the bird species, the date, location and any notes you want to add. Depending on your particular bird watching exploits, you can keep one global list or separate lists as you see fit.

For many bird watchers, one life list simply isn’t enough. So, how can you break down your lists? Here are a few ideas:

1. House Lists – A list of birds sighted around your home.

2. Yearly Lists – A list for each year you bird watch.

3. State Lists – A list for sighting by particular state.

4. Trip Lists – Journals for particular bird watching vacations or tours.

5. Wish Lists – A list of birds you haven’t seen, but hope to. You simply cross them off as sightings occur.

Computer Life Lists

You can purchase computer life list programs or use online variations. Each program is different, but most come in a checklist format. You enter information and the program spits out your list.

The problem with using computer programs is…well, the computer aspect. Unless you are willing to lug a laptop around with you, there is going to be a delay between sightings and your journal entries. Using a computer program is also troublesome if you want to keep a collection of sketches of particular species you’ve identified. For most birders, a computer list is a supplement to a good journal, not a replacement.

Bird watching is an extremely personal passion. If you’re just starting, you may think you don’t need to keep a life list. The problem with this approach, of course, is you will regret the decision if you later decide to do so. All those sightings will be gone with time…

If you’re going to start bird watching, make sure you keep a life list journal from the outset.

Knife is one of the necessary utility in our daily life. There are various types of knives available in the market. Many numbers of knife makers are there to build in exclusive design that you are looking to purchase. Here is the article for you providing the best information on knives and different knife makers with a brief description. Even you should not forget to find out each one of these exclusive knifes at their own website comfortably.

Al Warren - The famous knife maker Mr. Warren exercises the finest techniques and products to design his products that will endure the test of time and durability to help you to perform your tasks that you expect the results.

Arctic Circle - It will be wise to invest on Arctic Circle knife liners for a quality handmade product that will endure the test of time. These products are really very effective in your expecting results.

Center Cross - Center Cross knife liners has been in the business for over 25 years with their excellent designs. Significantly these knives have also withstood the test of time and durability for the customers. Their experts are getting someone who has not only created the products time and time again.

Glenn Waters - Almost from 15 years as a knife maker Glenn Waters has the knowledge of the process to being an artful knife maker exclusively. For their outstanding products sets them apart from the rest of the knife industry.

Morrow Custom Knives - If you are willing to invest on the Morrow Custom Knives then you will get utmost satisfaction. In fact these knives are available in a slightly higher price than other knives.

Rocket Knives - You will get excellent satisfaction with a greater appreciation from Rocket Knives. And you will be helped by “how to” tutorials to understand the knife making process with sufficient satisfaction.

You can search on internet for all these designers and makers which are readily available and accessible. But you should not forget to be careful while choosing to do business on internet though it is a part of our lives. In fact the internet is still up above the old Wild West.

There are many numbers of different knife makers who produces excellent design of knives for the through out national retailers or internet customers. They only focused to the customers demand. Al Warren is the best example for the choosy knife selection which you will get a help from this article to make a quality decision. Make sure that what is important to you in the knife purchase and in your decision.

Al Warren is the respected industry in the community world of knife line which provides custom quality knives. Mr. Warren applies the finest methods and products to design his products for durability to help you to complete the tasks for your desired results. You will get a quality product from a well respected, personally accountable and reliable designer with much peace and comfort.

You can get information about all his designed products are tested by Al himself on his website to realize just what it is that you are buying from your pocket. Al Warren provides guaranteed the most durable and high quality woods and steels in the world. So Al Warren knife is the best for your choose. They simply focused on a personal basis to create just what you are looking for in a knife for your wants and needs by this competent and respected designer only for your willingness.

So visit their website to get a good product for what is obtainable to you from Mr. Warren. You can get the on-demand availability of knives on the internet the most out of your experience by taking advantages.

Chinese embroidered paintings are entirely hand embroidered with silk threads by embroidery craftswomen in Suzhou, China. The embroidered paintings are comaprable oil paintings in colors and are as realistic as photographs.

Mounting an embroidery painting is an art in itself. There are two ways of mounting a Chinese hand embroidered painting: hard mounting and soft mounting.

1. Hard Mounting

Glue a finished embroidery piece on a piece of wood veneer and make it smooth and solid on the panel. Make frames according to the panel size. The frame materials can be wood or imitation wood as to your preference. Cut a piece of glass cover according to the frame size. (optional) Assemble all pieces together and that is a framed Su embroidery painting. The hard mounting technique is really easy to master.

2. Soft Mounting

Mounting a finished embroidery piece on paper with a silk border. It is suitable for large pieces - making them easy to carry. The soft mounting technique is relatively difficult to master. A piece with soft mounting is more valuable due to the nature of the mounting technique.

Note

To save more money, we recommend our customers buy our embroidery paintings with no frames. All our embroidery paintings are either hard mounted or soft mounted. They are ready to be framed. You can frame your embroidery paintings in your local place. It’s easy. Anyhow it’s absolutely unnecessary to pay high shipping cost for the frames which can be bought everywhere in your local place.

In patchwork and quilting, understanding fabric grain is helpful in achieving the results you want in your finished quilts. What exactly is fabric grain? In woven fabric, threads are what comprise the grain.

The Lengthwise Grain - Warp Threads

Long threads form the lengthwise grain in fabric. These threads are the warp threads and run parallel to the selvage. Fabric has the least give on the lengthwise grain.

The Crosswise Grain - Weft Threads

The shorter threads that make up the crosswise in the fabric are the weft threads. These threads run perpendicular to the warp threads and selvage. Fabric has slightly more stretch on the crosswise grain than on the lengthwise grain.

Selvage

The lengthwise bound edges of the fabric, is the selvage. Many times the selvage is printed with the name of the fabric, the manufacturer and coloured markings. These coloured markings can be helpful in selecting coordinating fabric.

Bias

The diagonal of woven fabric is the bias. The true bias is at a 45° angle to the selvages. In quilting, any cut that is not along a straight grain is referred to as a bias cut. Even without selvages, you can find the bias by stretching the fabric slightly. The bias is quite stretchy.

Straight Grain

Pieces cut parallel to the lengthwise or crosswise grain are straight grain cuts. These pieces are less likely to stretch out of shape than pieces cut along the bias, as there are no threads along the bias to keep it stable.

Becoming familiar with how fabric stretches will enable you to identify lengthwise and crosswise grain in scrap patches with no selvages. This is handy as quilters end up with lots of remnants.

To test your fabric, cut a small square with edges parallel to the straight grains. Tug on the fabric. Check how it feels and looks when you pull one way, then compare this to how it feels when you tug in the opposite direction. Do you feel a difference? The crosswise grain will have a bit for strength. Now yank on the piece diagonally from one corner to the other. This is the bias and you would have felt quite a bit of stretch. If you pull hard enough you will end up distorting the square of fabric.

Now that you are familiar with fabric grain, and how to determine the direction of the grain in material, you may still be wondering why you need to know this.

Why is the grain important?

1. Cutting you fabric squares with edges along the straight grain will minimize stretching during measuring, marking, cutting and sewing.
2. Quilt borders and sashing, are best cut along the lengthwise grain of fabric. You want the least stretch for these pieces to support and aid in squaring up blocks and quilt tops.
3. Triangles will always end up with at least one bias edge. Knowing which one is the bias edge will allow you to plan the placement of the patch, so you are able sew to a straight grain piece where possible.
4. Bias cuts are easier for turning under in curved appliqué shapes.
5. Making strips for appliqué using bias cuts makes it possible to do curves in stained glass and other bias appliqué.
6. Stretchy bias strips are also great for use in binding a quilt with curved edges.

Establishing which way the grain runs will allow you to plan you project for a professional result.

You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your newsletter as long as you reprint it as is, including the contact information at the end. Website URLs must be active links. You are welcome to use this article with an affiliate link, http://www.freeplants.com/resellers.htm.

In the past few years I’ve read about and have seen more interest in wildflowers, so I figure it’s about time I jump in and add my two cents.

I have watched in despair as some of my friends have created a wildflower bed in their yards, and have ended up with the biggest, ugliest patch of weeds I have ever seen. Why did they get weeds instead of wildflowers?

Two reasons.

One, they were armed with a lack of good information, and two, they were led to believe that planting a beautiful bed of wildflowers is so easy that a child could do it. Actually, a child could do it, and with great success. But only if that child were extremely lucky, or had a basic understanding of exactly how to plant a bed of wildflowers and achieve incredible success.

In the next few minutes I intend to arm you with enough good information so you can successfully plant a beautiful bed of wildflowers, and have your neighbors hanging over the fence asking you how ya did it.

First of all, you’ve got to understand what kind of a neighborhood wildflowers like to live in. They tend to prefer wide open spaces with at least 8 hours of sunshine each day. It’s true, they are sun worshipers. They also like the soil to be rich in nutrients, and well drained. They don’t like hard packed soil, and they don’t like to get their sneakers wet, only for short periods of time.

If you have an area that tends to be wet, wildflowers are not the answer.

Wildflowers can be used for weed control, and with a great deal of success. But you have to give the wildflowers a running start, or the weeds will keep the area “Wildflower Free”. Weeds and wildflowers are both sun worshipers, so whoever reaches the top first wins. Neither will grow well without adequate sunlight. If you use this to your advantage you can have a beautiful bed of wildflowers that requires little maintenance.

The secret is proper bed preparation. You must create a bed that is as weed free as possible. You can do this by removing all the vegetation from the area you intend to plant in, and then prepare the soil for planting by tilling or raking to a depth of just one inch or less. Do not disturb the soil any deeper than that, or you will just disturb dormant weed seeds that are just waiting to be brought back to the surface so they can grow. You should consider spraying the existing vegetation with Roundup before you remove it. This will kill all the roots that might still be in the soil.

Keep in mind that you need to spray the weeds or grass with Roundup at least three days before you disturb them. If you feel that the area you have chosen has a significant amount of weed seed near the surface, you might consider letting the soil sit for about six days after you work it, then work it again. Do this over and over, but don’t work the soil more than one inch deep. The longer you continue this process the more apt you are to get the bed as weed free as possible.

Most weed seeds germinate rather quickly, so when you bring them to the surface through your cultivation efforts, you are giving them a chance to germinate. But then when you work the soil again in six days, you will actually interrupt the germination process and the seed will be spent. The longer you continue the process, the fewer viable weed seeds you will have to contend with. Of course additional seeds are blowing in all the time, so it’s unrealistic to think that you can create a planting bed that is free of weed seed.

The most important aspect of this process is to have your bed as ready as possible, at the ideal time for planting wildflower seeds. The secret of success is to plant the wildflower seeds at the ideal time so they take off growing immediately, and beat the weeds at their own game.

The ideal time? Depends on where you live. If you’re in zones one through six, you should plant in the spring. If you’re in zones seven through 11, you should probably plant in the fall.

Wildflower seeds like warm soil. They will germinate best with a soil temperature of 68 to 70 degrees F. So if you live in a cooler region, you should wait until later in the spring to plant. There’s no point planting when the soil temperature is 45 degrees and have the seeds just lay there while some of the weed seeds germinate. You’d be much better off to continue working the soil as described above until the soil temperature is up to 68 degrees.

I’ll say it again, just in case you missed it earlier. Don’t work the soil any deeper than one inch.

Now for planting the wildflower seeds.

The best way to plant your wildflower seeds is to distribute them with a small hand held broadcast spreader, or to apply them in a manner that mimics that technique. In order to get the best coverage you should thoroughly mix the seeds with dry sand, vermiculite, or potting soil to increase the volume before you spread them. It’s a lot easier to evenly distribute five pounds of granular material over an area than it is 8 ounces.

As you spread the seeds, walk in straight lines from one end of the bed to the other. Then do the same thing from the side of the bed in a crisscross pattern to the first set of footsteps you made. This will give you thorough and even distribution. This is why you should mix the seeds with some sort of filler material before you start, so you have plenty of volume to work with, and will be able to cover the area completely and evenly.

I urge you to visit www.wildseedfarms.com and ask for a catalog, or call their toll free number. 1-800-848-0078. This company publishes one of the most complete and informative catalogs I’ve ever seen. They have a color photo of each variety, along with a good description. They even tell you what percentage of seeds you can expect to germinate, and this varies from variety to variety, so they list this information for each variety.

They also tell you how long each variety takes to germinate, and what the ideal soil temperature is. They tell you how many seeds are in each pack, how many seeds in a pound, and how much seed you need to cover a given area. Wildflower seeds have germination periods of 6 to 28 days, so you have to keep this in mind as you plan your garden. If you select a variety that has a 28 day germination period, you should select a second variety with a much quicker germination period and mix them together before sowing.

If you were to sow only seeds with a 28 day germination period, the weeds would get a jump on the wildflowers, and you would likely end up with a weed garden. When you mix seeds with different germination periods, the faster germinating seeds will come up very quickly, and act as a nurse crop for the seeds that need more time, keeping the weeds and birds at bay until all the seeds can germinate.

Good luck with your wildflower garden! Have fun, and enjoy.

Entering competitions may give you a chance to experience challenges or experiences you wouldn’t normally enjoy without this fantastic hobby.

I had a fantastic day out and all because I won ‘an audition’ to stand in for the weatherman whilst he was on vacation, on a UK television breakfast programme.

It sounded great fun, so I thought, why not give it a go.

Although, when the alarm clock went off in the early hours of a freezing cold and dark wintry March morning, and faced with the prospect of a four hour journey to Liverpool’s Albert Docks, I wasn’t quite sure ‘weather’ or not this was such a ‘bright’ idea.

The competition was organised in conjunction with a television programme and a national newspaper. The task was to complete the limerick:

‘”There once was a met man called Fred, who told bosses I’m feeling half dead…”’

A number of entrants were to be selected for audition on the Albert Dock weather map, from which ten would be chosen to stay overnight in Liverpool, returning next morning for a second audition. From these ten, five winners would be selected, who would each read the weather forecast for one morning, whilst Fred Talbot the weatherman, was on holiday.

Fifty of us turned up for audition. What a marvellous day it was. My first shivering reaction, peering down at the weather map, is unprintable. Any misapprehensions about leaping from Scotland to Northern Ireland on the floating weather map soon disappeared as my friend Jane and I went into the studio with the other 49 hopefuls.

Fred and members of the television staff greeted us warmly and, over cups of coffee, discussed the morning’s programme. We were told to dress in bright colours, and there I was sporting my winning Ramsey Street sweatshirt, with its brightly coloured houses. I always knew it would come in handy. However, compared with some of the outfits, this was anything but bright. For those of you watching the programme, you couldn’t fail to see the outstanding red and yellow duck umbrella, the tiger, nor the brave man in his kilt playing the bagpipes. We had a whale of a time, and the atmosphere was terrific.

Fifty of us standing on the weather map, ready to go out live to three million people. We didn’t need Fred to read the weather. We could feel the flurries of sleet and our numb fingers were blue with cold. But the smiles were warm, the coffee hot and the day was fun.

For the announcement of the winner, the producer came and thanked everyone for attending and couldn’t emphasize enough how impressed he was with the marvellous atmosphere, the shouts of encouragement and general camaraderie of competitors. He revealed 3,200 people had entered the competition from which fifty of us had been selected. Even though I wasn’t a winner, it was an experience I wouldn’t have missed.

I thought, quite wrongly, that because it was a competition, most of the people there would be “compers” (people who enter competitions). Chatting to a few, I discovered people had entered for a variety of reasons, ranging from “dares” to, “always wanted to appear on TV”; “thought it would be fun”, and “my friend entered my name”.

Whatever your reasons for entering competitions, one thing is for sure. It’s an exciting and fun pastime. So never mind about sitting at home watching the weather on TV, pick up your pen and get comping!

Make a pretty flower-shaped basket with easy crocheting instructions and pattern.

Materials: 2 balls of closely-covered white and silver, and 1 ball of pink and silver twine; a crochet needle.

For the bottom: Make a chain of 4 stitches and unite it, work 3 long, 3 chain, and repeat three times more.

2nd round: Work 3 long into the 1st 3 chain, make 3 chain, work 3 long [200] into the next 3 chain, make 3 chain, work 3 long into the same place, make 3 chain, and repeat.

3rd round: 3 long, 3 chain, working twice into the 3 chain of last round.

4th round: 3 long, 3 chain, increasing in every other 3rd chain by working twice into it.

5th round: Increasing in every 3rd chain, repeat.

For the leaves: Make a chain of 32 stitches, then work a row of 1 long stitch and 1 chain stitch with the silver twine.

2nd round: Work 1 long stitch into each chain stitch in 1st row, make 1 chain stitch, repeat. (At the point, make 4 long, with a chain stitch between each), repeat on the other side of the chain, 1 long stitch and 1 chain stitch alternately.

3rd round: With pink: Work over a wire in double crochet 1 stitch into each loop, work 15 more leaves in the same way, join each leaf half way, then sew it to the centre, work a row of double crochet 1 yard in length, and twist it for the handle. This should also be crocheted over wire.

“Notation” is a method in chess strategy books that is used to describe the movement of pieces on the chess board, without needing a visual diagram of the chess board for each move. It greatly increases a chess author’s ability to describe a large number of chess games in compact form, leaving more room for game analysis. It also allows the author to concentrate on chess strategies and tactics, rather than requiring hundreds and hundreds of cumbersome diagrams of the chess board for each move.

If you are a chess player, aspiring to improve through strategy books, understanding the two chess notation styles is crucial to your improvement. Most chess strategy books are either written in “Descriptive Notation,” or “Algebraic Notation.”

Descriptive Notation, in general, was used in older chess books and magazines, although it is possible to run into more current chess literature using this notation style as well. Nevertheless, the fact that any book or magazine written before 1970 probaby uses descriptive notation makes it worth knowing.

However, Algebriac notation is the topic of our current discussion. Algebraic notation is the most widely used form of notation today, found on websites, in chess software, in chess books, magazines, and other literature. Understanding algebraic notation is crucial to your growth as a chess player.

I’ve posted a visual diagram of a chess board describing algebraic notation on my chess game strategies site http://www.chessvictory.com. Scroll to the bottom, and click on the resources link to access the diagram.

In chess literature, the term “rank” refers to the rows of the chess board. “File” refers to the columns. If a chess book talks about the “1st rank” it means the “first row.” The “a file” refers to the “a column.”

In algebraic chess notation, each row (rank) of the chess board is assigned a number from 1 to 8, beginning with the white side. Each column (file) is described with a letter from a to h, going from left to right from the white side. Each square is described by a letter/number combination according to the intersection of the column and row that both contain that square. As you will see from the diagram on my website that I mentioned above, the uppermost square, farthest to the right a1. The lowermost square, farthest to the left is h8. (If you are sitting on the “white’s” side of the board).

Each piece is denoted by a single letter: R for rook, N for knight, Q for Queen, and so on. A move is described by first listing the piece that is moving, then the square that it is moving to. In algebraic notation, the letter for pawn is always left out.

Examples: Qe8 means the queen moved to square e8. If you see f4 by itself, that means a pawn moved to f4.

You may ask, how can I tell if a white piece or a black piece is the one moving? This is a good question if you are just starting out, however, you will find that when you are reading algebraic notation of a game, following it move by move, it will be very clear which piece is moving because 1) most of the pieces can only move on certain squares of the board (for instance, the bishop must stay on its own colored squares) and 2) as you are following a game closely, you will find yourself remembering the positions of the pieces from move to move, and it will be clear which piece is the one moving, whether white or black.

However, there are times when, even given the above facts, it will be unclear which piece is moving. In this case, the file of the moving piece is inserted immediately after the letter describing that piece. For instance instead of Rb6, Rdb6 would be used to indicate that the rook in the d column (file) is the one that is moving to b6. In the event that the file is the same for both pieces, rank is used instead of file, again, immediately after the letter describing the piece that is moving.

Important notes: Castling is shown by O-O or O-O-O. Pawn promotion is described by adding the letter of the promoting piece to the move: f1Q means that the pawn moved to f1, and was promoted to a queen. Pawn promotion could also be described with an equal sign or a slash (f1/Q, or f1=Q). Capture and check are sometimes noted, but often they are simply implied by the square that the piece is moving to. When described, capture is denoted with a “+” (RxB7 means a rook moved to square B7 and captured a piece. Without the x, the capture is simply notead as Rb7). Check is described with a “+” as in Rf6+, which means that a rook moved to square f6 and gives check. Without the +, this move which gives check is simply Rf6. En passant with pawns is simply described by following the move with the letters “e. p.”

The best way to become familiar with algebraic notation is to go to my chess strategies and chess tactics site http://www.chessvictory.com, scroll to the bottom, and click on the resources link. On that page I’ve posted a diagram for the chessboard in algebraic notation, as well as part of a game written in algebraic notation. This partial game includes clear diagrams of the chess board to make it clear which piece is moving. Once you get the hang of what the symbols mean, I’d encourage you to find some sample games written in algebraic notation and sit down with a real, physical chess board and go through the whole game, moving the pieces as the notation describes. After doing th at a few times you’ll find yourself more comfortable with this style of notation than you imagined! In fact you’ll get so good at it that you can read it as fast as you are reading this sentence, and you’ll see the movements of the pieces clearly in your mind!

Before purchasing a telescope it is very important to know what you want and what. $30 invested in a good book will not only ad to your enjoyment of the night sky, but may save you from making a $300 mistake. The best advice is to visit your local astronomy club and learn from the experience and mistakes of others who have gone before. Question the scope owners about the advantages/disadvantages of each of their scopes. You will quickly learn that there are many different types of scopes and mounts. There is no “best” design, each has its strong and weak points. The only way to know what to expect and what you really want is to look at and through as many different scopes as possible before deciding what to buy.

When you are ready to buy, avoid department stores. The types of telescopes that sell in department stores for up to $300 and more are mostly junk. Despite outrageous advertising claims they are all but unusable and are more likely to kill your interest in astronomy than encourage it. A telescope shop is the preferred place to shop though some larger camera stores may be approached with caution.

When getting started in any new hobby the best advice is always to start with the basics. Every avid amateur astronomer, no matter what other equipment they own, has a good pair of binoculars. There are several good reason for this. The wide field of view and erect image of binoculars allow easy navigation around the sky. Many of the best astronomical objects can be seen in binoculars including; 150,000 stars (Compared to 3,000 with the unaided eye), the complete Messier Catalogue of 109 best star clusters, galaxies and nebulae, all the solar system planets except Pluto, 2 - 4 moons of Jupiter, 100 craters and mountains on the Moon and bright asteroids.

Note also that binoculars are better than telescopes for observing extended objects such as star clouds of the Milky Way, open star clusters and bright comets which are to large to fit into the field of view of a telescope. A pair of binoculars that you already have around the house are the most cost-effective way to get started but if you have to buy a pair 7×50 or 10×50 binoculars are an ideal beginners instrument. You can get a very good quality pair of binoculars for around $150 which will give views far superior to a cheap telescope that cost twice that much. The next accessory you should consider is a camera tripod and an adapter for your binoculars. The view through a solidly supported pair of good quality binoculars is comparable in quality to a wide field view through a good telescope. The secret to enjoying the night sky is not having fancy equipment, but knowing what to look for and where to look. A telescope is no better than the naked eye if you don’t know where to point it.

Once you learn your way around the sky and how to locate the brighter objects you may decide that your interest justifies the purchase of a telescope. The move from binoculars to a telescope is motivated by the desire to see finer detail in bright objects like the moon and planets or fainter objects like galaxies and nebulae. Long focal length refractors are best at showing planetary and lunar detail; a large aperture reflector excels at showing feint galaxies and nebulae, while wide field scopes are better for comet and supernovae searches. Alt-azimuth mounts are portable, inexpensive and easy to operate, while heavier, more expensive equatorial mounts are best for photography and high power tracking. For these reasons it is strongly advised against buying a telescope until you have looked through several different types and talked with a few experienced owners.

Do you want to learn chess strategy? Most beginning chess players do not worry about learning the strategies involved with the game or any complex move combinations because the important thing in the beginning is to learn how the pieces move and what the rules are. But, once you have mastered the basics, or at least feel comfortable with them, you will probably want to learn some chess strategy. Chess strategy can take your game to another higher level and you will be able to hold your own against better more experienced players and make it even more intellectually stimulating.

Are you involved in a chess club in your local area? Or, have you been learning from a friend or family member? One of the best ways to learn chess strategy is to learn from more experienced players. Head down to your local chess club, and ask some of the better players if you can watch a match or if they would be willing to teach you as you play them. Playing in chess tournaments or watching match tournaments is another way to learn chess strategy. The interaction is great because you can get immediate feedback and ask questions as you go.

Books are another resource for learning chess strategy. There are actually quite a few books written especially on this topic. Some are written in a style that is more suitable for beginners while others are for more advanced players. Find one that suits your style and skill level and read it over. You can possibly check one out from the library. With a book you can pick it up and put it down and read over parts that you don’t understand until you do understand them.

Chess strategy can also be learned by playing a computer chess game or playing online. Whether you choose to play against the computer as an opponent or another player you will learn from the strategies that they employ. Online chess sites often have message boards and chat rooms in which you can discuss strategy with players from all skill levels and abilities.

Chess is one of the original “war games.” It is based on strategy and maneuvers. Just as a general would not lead his troops out into battle without a plan and strategy for moves and counter moves, a chess player does not go into a match without a strategy to emerge a winner.