Learning chess via audio

Author: anonym     01 6th, 2009 in xn--9ou.com     edit

  • Hey all. I would like to learn more about the game of chess. From what I've gathered so far it is incredibly complex and there are a lot of materials out there to learn from. However, I'm also very busy and don't have a lot of time to read. I do have a lot of "car time" though and I'm wondering if there are any audio materials out there that can help me learn the game of chess. I tried Amazon and all I could come up with was the "Searching for Bobby Fischer" audiobook. I'm looking for at least three audio sources to learn chess from. Perhaps audiobooks or maybe some type of audiotapes that may exist. If you find any additional sources I'll reflect my gratitude in my tip. Thanks!


  • Hi Jpbischke, I think you are in luck. There *are* some sources for obtaining audio tapes to help you learn to play Chess, though bear in mind that since it’s a visual as well as mental game, you’re probably going to need to put your instructions into practice on an actual or virtual chessboard fairly soon after listening to the lesson(s) if you want the material to stick! Maybe you could get one of those magnetic boards you could keep in your car. :-) However, that said, here are the resources I was able to run down for you: By far the best seems to be “Audio Chess,” a company that has been around for 25 years and specializes in exactly what you’re looking for, i.e. audiotapes that teach people how to play chess. As they explain, their prices are listed in British pounds, but when you go to pay for your purchase, you can choose $USD or Euros as well. Here’s their homepage: http://www.audiochess.com/index.html?audiochess3.htm&1 . If you hover your mouse along the top menu bar where it says “chess books,” “cassettes,” “tournaments,” etc. you’ll see a drop-down menu for each. Click on the one under “cassettes” that says “Beginners” and you’ll get a nice selection of tapes that are also quite reasonably priced. Then there is “Listening In,” a series of audio tutorials produced by “Criss Cross Technologies” based in New York. You can order individual tutorials for $15 each, and there is one that includes learning to play chess. These tutorials are designed for teaching people to use Windows-based talking computers, so I imagine this tutorial would be targeted to online chess games, but the moves are going to be the same no matter what the medium. Check them out here: http://www.crisscrosstech.com/listenin.html and scroll down to find Listening In Volume 3, Number 4, July - August 2001. “Creative Chess Thought Audio” is part of an entire multimedia CD series of chess lessons for the intermediate player. Although the course is multimedia, the description of the “CCTA” cd says you get several hours of spoken instruction and it is used in conjunction with additional software that you apparently use to perform the moves. Therefore, it would seem as though the CD could be used either alone or in conjunction with the associated software. Have a look at it here: http://www.creativechess.com/Products/CCTA/ccta.htm “Chesswise” features, among other tutorial offerings, over 20 hours of audio lectures by two chess grandmasters. Problem is, it’s in RealAudio format, which you can’t play on a tape or cd player. If, however, you have or can get access to a laptop multimedia computer, this might be worthwhile: http://www.chesswise.com/ Not much description on this one, but here’s an audio cassette with chess lessons for beginners: http://amail.co.uk/cgi-bin/e-buy.pl?domain=tcs-chess.co.uk&action=add&p=AU-LESS Main site: http://tcs-chess.co.uk/ The Talking Chess Trainer might be a little hard to use in the car, but then if you have a fairly flat place to lay it near you, could work too. Worth looking at: http://www.log2shop.com/sametachtrct.html And just to round things out, here are some links to sites with lists of general chess instruction of various kinds, including multimedia, software, video, books, and online instruction. One final thought – there are a lot of videos available. Perhaps it might be worth your while to select one or two that looked especially good, and then record the audio track onto tape or CD to carry with you, leaving the video for reference at home at another time. With that in mind, here is one I would certainly get if I were interested in learning chess: How to Play Chess. Your Host: Orson Welles. http://members.tripod.com/~SWAN566/chess.html And the rest: -- http://www.testyourchess.com/cgi-bin/(55jxt345iwfcfq55jw5c3lz4)/TYCHome.aspx?G=JRUW201THU5QG -- http://www.instantchess.com/store -- http://www.chess.co.uk/videos2003.html -- http://www.chesscenter.com/coaching.html -- https://www.dvdvideoplanet.com/product_info.php?products_id=4047 -- http://www.chesszoom.com/soft.htm Hope this information helps you find what you’re looking for. Please let me know if anything needs clarifying or further explanation. Good luck and have fun! Cheers, Byrd Search terms used: audio “how to play chess” OR “learn chess” OR “chess instruction” “learn chess” audio tape OR cd chess instruction audiobook OR “audio book” OR “audio cassette” OR “audio tape” OR CD chess “visually impaired” OR blind


  • Perfect answer. Exactly what I was looking for!


  • Hello jpbischke, Thank you so much for the five-star rating and most generous tip. I'm very glad you were pleased, and wish you all success in your learning adventure! Best regards, Byrd


  • Just wanted to make a couple of comments: 1. I realize (after doing some looking around on the Web) that there are some real audio lessons available. These look like an effective way to learn but unfortunately they won't help me much when I'm in my car so I guess these aren't really what I'm looking for. 2. I'm not even sure that learning chess in this way is an effective way to do it. I'm fairly new to the game but I'm experimenting with audio learning in a number of capacities and figured that this would be a great way to explore this particular area.


  • Hi, I just posted my answer and only then saw your clarification. I guess you found the same series of audio lessons I did. Sorry I didn't see that you now feel they won't help you. However, I'm hoping that some of the other resources I provided you might. I still think that if you perhaps carry along a portable chessboard with you as you drive, it might be a viable way to learn. Let me know if there's any further clarification you have or I can provide you. Best wishes, Byrd







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