How to improve at chess?

How to improve at chess?

Improving at chess can feel overwhelming at times. With thousands of
openings, endless tactics, and
subtle endgames, it's easy to wonder—where do I even start?
After spending hours playing, studying, and reflecting on my own games, I’ve
found a few practical
strategies that actually make a difference. If you're somewhere between
beginner and intermediate,
this might help you focus your efforts.

1. Play Slower Games (and Review Them)

•  Blitz and bullet are fun, but they don’t leave much room to think deeply.
  Try mixing in longer games (15|10, 30 min, etc.) and take time after to review them.
• Look for:
   Missed tactics
   Opening mistakes
   Endgame decisions
  Use an engine—but only after you try analyzing on your own first

2. Learn One Opening Well

• Don’t try to learn everything at once.
• Pick one opening as White and one as Black, and focus on understanding the ideas, not memorizing moves.
  Knowing why a move is played is more important than just what move to
  play.

3. Master the Basics of Tactics

• Tactics win games. Forks, pins, skewers, discovered attacks—train them
  regularly. Free tools like puzzles on Chess.com are perfect for this.
  
•  Aim for 5–10 puzzles a day, but focus on understanding,not just solving.

4. Watch and Learn

• Sometimes, watching others think through a position helps more than
  books.
• Find a player or coach whose style you enjoy, and watch how they explain
  ideas. It helps to pause and guess moves before they say them.

5. Endgames Are Underrated

• Knowing just a few key endgames—king and pawn vs. king, opposition,
  Lucena and Philidor positions — can make the difference between a win
  and a draw.

6. Be Patient With Progress

• Chess improvement is slow and not always linear.
  You might feel stuck for weeks, then suddenly see a jump.
• Don’t chase ratings too hard. Focus on learning, and results will follow.

Final Thoughts

There’s no magic shortcut—but consistency
matters more than anything. Play thoughtfully,
reflect on your games, and enjoy the process.
That’s how you really improve.

Youtube - Feel free to check it out and let me know what topics youʼd like me to cover!

PDF - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-5XlKTCKO4jWHVZybETWyV-rKFgiB8_M