The TRUTH About Becoming an ADVANCED Chess Player: 5 KEY TIPS
I understand. You’re considering the various ways that you can take your chess game to a whole new level. Your problem is that you don’t have time to invest in the opportunity to grow as a chess player. These key tips will help you transition between an intermediate who enjoys the game and can recognize some patterns and tactics, and an advanced player - without spending more time than desired!!
Tip 1: Determine a specific time of day that you want to play
I always like to play mid-afternoon. I am not too tired because it is not late at night, and I am not groggy from freshly waking up and starting my day in the morning. However, this just takes experimenting. You’ll be able to determine, just by playing a few blitz or rapid games, if you are spotting tactics and patterns at this time of day. When you establish a specific time of day that you play your chess games, your brain becomes accustomed to functioning at that time. Just like with a regular sleep schedule with minimal changes to the time you go to bed and wake up, playing chess at a relatively consistent time of day improves the quality you play at.
Tip 2: Use puzzles as an indicator
If it is the rating that you are trying to bolster, do puzzles. Make sure that you have a way of measuring the number of puzzles you complete, the time you complete them, etc. Before you play any online rated games, complete puzzles. This will give you a general idea of whether you will be good at noticing tactics within your games. As tactics are a big part of understanding chess, it is safe to assume that if you have a lousy performance in your puzzle completion that day, you will also fail to recognize those tactics that appear in games (my suggestion if this occurs is to not play that day, or wait a few hours and try again). Using the puzzles as a way to gauge how quickly and often you will spot those tactics is a great way to gain rating, as you will be overwhelming your opponent with concepts and strategies that they will never have foreseen!
Tip 3: Watch entertaining, but also instructive chess content
Watching chess content is important because it will allow you to experience the game a bit more. Hearing from the experts, such as GothamChess, Eric Rosen, Hikaru Nakamura, and other popular chess YouTubers will allow your brain to make connections between their high-level games and your games. In addition, studies have proven that when a person is trying to learn something, most people understand it better when they are entertained or are having fun. This is no different. Watching content that is instructive and teaches you important lessons while also enjoying it while you learn is a great way to improve your chess without wasting your time.
Tip 4: Play LONG games, not short
This is the one tip that I am a slight hypocrite for mentioning. I LOVE to play quick blitz games. Often, the game is determined by one terrible mistake, or players are so low on time that they will try to blunder pieces in attempt to flag the opponent. While these types of games do cause great adrenaline rushes (and quickly addict the player to playing more), it does not help improve your game. Playing games that are about 45 minutes per side or longer will help your brain analyze the position and then react to the situation based on that analysis. What happens in quicker games is the player has minimal time to analyze every move they are making, so instead of making precise decisions, they make reasonable moves that don't blunder (see the difference?). Longer games will help you recognize patterns in endgames and middlegames that you won't have time to notice in games that cause your heart to pound out of your chest. Simply, choosing quality in longer games is ultimately more important than choosing quantity by playing a bunch of blitz games.
Tip 5: Find an appropriate environment to practice your chess
Similar to Tip 1, being in an environment where you can properly focus and understand certain moves is the best way to improve. Whether you are playing in-person on an actual chessboard, or you are playing virtually online, everyone agrees that trying to zone in while hearing dogs barking, babies screaming, people talking.... well, you get the point: it's impossible. Make sure to play in a normal, quiet environment where you can easily concentrate on the game. It is also worth noting that, in the end, you are the one making decisions based on how to best play. For example, plenty of people think that writing an essay, or concentrating on something that requires immense focus, is easier when listening to music. If you think that might help in chess, it is probably worth experimenting with. Likewise, if you think that smashing your desk after losing a game will calm you down or somehow make you feel better (I'd feel bad for your hands), then knock yourself out.
Conclusion:
Those are my opinions on how best to improve your skills at the game of chess. Some articles just say "have fun" and "analyze your games after playing," among other obvious advice. However, when looking at scientific studies that make conclusions based on topics such as "enjoyment while learning" and "establishing a schedule for your day," it reveals a lot of helpful information. This can then be used to get better at a specific goal that you might have, such as making that conversion between intermediate and advanced chess. Getting better at chess doesn't need to be spending long, grueling hours of staring at positions on the chessboard; true improvement comes when you follow these tips and embrace your own style of play.
