How can I get better at seeing checkmates

A couple tips to avoid stalemate:

When you have positions with an excessive material advantage, stalemate can often be very close by. A couple ideas...
1. Play by continually giving check
2.(My preference) play as if you only have a queen and king. That's sufficient enough to give checkmate, and so you can spend just a few moves clearing the other pieces away and just focus on the position as if it's striped to k vs kq.
For example on move 68...you can go Ne2 Bh1 and just work with your king and queen to give checkmate.

As for an answer to your question...ImprovingSkill's suggestion is a good.

I would suggest not getting better at chess and just quitting altogether. There are far too many of us on this site that can attest to an addiction to chess. Get out now, I've been drained by this addiction for 23 years and I can't quit. Save yourself before it is too late... or you will see yourself become what we all are... addicts.

Do you really want to subject yourself to a life of uncontrollable late night internet sessions? Do you want your loved ones to walk in on you sitting half naked in a chair with a smoldering cigarette hanging from your lips as you throw away your life to get some fool in a cheap smothered mate all the while muttering something about your play being von-Bardelebenesque? Does the delusion of chess grandeur juxtaposed with limitless potential allure you?

My advice, quit now. I assure you most all of us wish we had only started smoking.

This topic took a dark twist :O

Curt von Bardeleben committed suicide. Nice touch.

haha i love it

#12
That was a great post.
Thanks for unearthing this jewel.