How to Get Fast Results
Hey everyone! Chess is fun, but improvement is tedious. At least, most of the time, but if you are serious about chess there are ways to make it go faster. If you really want to improve, you will need to find the most efficient ways to go about it, so in this blog, I'll show you how to get your rating up at a fast, steady pace. Let's begin.
1. Play 'til You Win
Every loss is a stab in the heart of a serious chess player. Losing a game can make you unwilling to play more chess after the terrible loss you had. If you lose, play until you win, and if you win, accept it. Rage motivates people the best, so harness it to comeback from a loss.
2. Grind Down on the Opening
Tactics are very popular as a way to get better at chess. Hundreds of chess players just go to Chess.com puzzles or buy an endgame manual to supposedly get better at chess. Chess is 1% tactics, and 99% opening, so when you are improving your game, focus on the opening. Even for beginners, "Italian Game" is not enough. Take the time to memorize the long opening variations for every opening that you see, and then work on the rest. Below, you get to punish someone who has misplayed the opening.
3. Resign and Move On
You may have heard from many players that you should "never resign." It sounds inspirational, until you find yourself in a position like this when you are down material.
If you do not resign, you will probably save 0.1% of your games. When you are down a major piece, resign and move on. An extra rook, an extra bishop, and extra pawn - any of these can weigh down on your shoulders, so just start another game.
4. Play Bullet Chess
Bullet chess is one of the most controversial topics in chess. Some people love it, some hate it. However, modern chess is just flagging and not thinking, so play bullet chess to be able to think fast. Time trouble is common in almost all forms of chess, so bullet chess will prepare you. Let's be honest, bullet chess is the only real chess.
5. Use Those Opening Traps
If you've watched chess YouTube channels like GothamChess or ChessTalk you have probably seen chess traps for all sorts of openings. Utilize opening traps for quick wins. When you are trying to gain chess IQ, you have to go to YouTube and come back stacked with deceptive moves. Do you know the famous Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Gambit?
That ends the... April Fool's blog. Yeah, these are things to avoid when you're trying to improve your chess - in fact, they will send you spiraling in the other direction! (Openings are an exception, since it is good to have a repertoire, but spend more of your time on other stuff.) Also, sorry for the short post. I wanted to make an educational blog but also one that fit the occasion, so hope you enjoyed these improvement mistakes. Anyway, see you in the next blog!
