The problem with chess

Chess is a complicated game

The problem with chess is that it is a complicated game. It requires a lot of knowledge and a lot of practice to even begin to understand it and perform well at it. For the chess-hobbyist or adult improver, it's a bit like the picture above: beautifully chaotic.

The thing is, the typical adult improver is often someone who - like me - learned the rules as a child but was never a serious student of the game and now has a busy life filled with professional and family obligations that leave little time for chess-related activities. And after a hard day's work and helping the kids with their homework or driving them to and from band practice, the activity that usually gets priority is play, not study.

Time is at a premium for the adult improver

People like me often spend a large proportion of their available time playing chess as a form of entertainment, to unwind from the stress associated with having a job, being a parent and paying the bills. This means that time is at a premium for us, unlike younger people who often feel as though they have an unlimited amount of it on their hands and have much more energy than the typical middle-aged adult anyway.

Adult improvers are therefore inherently at a clear disadvantage when it comes to developing a better understanding of the game, irrespective of the "neuro-plasticity" arguments one hears when discussions about chess improvement are held. And this problem is compounded by the fact that no one seems to be catering to their particular needs because "online chess-culture" is very much about expounding upon things like one's mastery of this or that opening and the multitudinous variations associated with it.

The online chess-culture is skewed towards stronger players

These discussions are almost always held by stronger players who represent a very small and unrepresentative vocal minority of the chess-playing population. And this skewed perspective on chess and what is required to improve has a very big influence on what will become the focus of the unsuspecting adult improver...And this focus will, more often than not, be the opening.

The single biggest waste of your time

I will say it loud and clear: as far as I am concerned, this subject of study is probably the single biggest collective waste of time, energy and money for chess-hobbyists or adult improvers unless one is already an objectively very good player. I'm sure we all know more than a few bright and educated life-long 1700 FIDE players out there who are completely "booked-up" on openings and have been plateaued at or around that rating despite superlative opening knowledge. 

The reason is simple. Below a relatively high-level of play, games are more often than not decided by egregious mistakes and blunders. This is certainly the case for the very vast majority of games played on sites like Chess.com. In other words, for the average chess-hobbyist, whatever advantage is accrued in the opening phase of the game because of better "opening preparation" will pale in comparison to the consequence of leaving a piece hanging or missing a simple tactic.

Study more tactics, less openings

That is why I wholeheartedly believe that the average chess-hobbyist should dedicate the lion's share of his or her study time to tactics, starting with drilling randomly generated very basic tactics on a daily basis. I am firmly convinced that nothing cures board-blindness and improves tactical awareness as well as making these simple exercises a part of your daily chess-routine.

(If you liked this blog-post, please leave a comment: it means the world to me.)