Why is chess hard even for Smart People?

I connect and talk to successful and smart people daily who want to learn chess but don't know how to improve.

They have tried everything:

• Solving Puzzles
• Reading books
• Watching courses
• Some have even tried coaching before

And for them, it's frustrating to see no progress, especially because they know they are smart, but for some reason, chess is one of the few things they haven't mastered yet.

If that's your case, and you feel chess is hard and sometimes unfair, and lately you've been considering quitting or taking a break.... is ok.

Chess is, indeed, hard.

Even for smart people.

Even for people like me who have spent years playing.

But it's also fulfilling and fun, which is why I keep playing the game.

And it's ok that you feel angry sometimes; after all, we are competitive and want to give the best out of ourselves. 

I want to give you some tips for your journey to make it less "hard" and more fun and fulfilling,

1. You have a big purpose in your life. Identify how chess progress connects to fulfilling this big purpose in your life. For some, it can be a way of decompressing from a long week at work. For others, it can be a way to be more competitive. I have some students in Premium Chess Coaching who use chess as a tool to improve their focus and concentration. Doing this will help you to stay motivated to keep improving your chess rather than playing bullet and blitz all the time.
2. Improve your relationship with defeat. When we study chess and put in the effort, we expect the progress to be smooth. And we think we deserve to win big time. The truth is, chess doesn't give a damn about your hard work, lol. Even the best fall in the most heartbreaking way. If you want to improve your chess, you need to improve your relationship with defeat and see every loss as an opportunity to grow.
3. Renounce expectations. This is similar to the previous point. Most people expect everything. They play the game because they WANT something from it: the points, the glory, the victory, the result. However, this attachment only provokes more frustration in the long run. Learn to play better for the sake of playing better. Dream big, but don't get attached to it.

With that being said, I believe in hard work, dreaming big and unleashing your potential. I love to work with smart and successful people because they understand this message.

If you practice these 3 things, you'll make your practice and progress more enjoyable.

Hope this helps & see you on the winning side.

-Coach Diego