How to Create a Training Plan That Actually Improves Your Chess

Many players want to get better, but they don’t know how to make a training plan that works. Without a good plan, it’s easy to waste time and not improve. In this article, I will show you the most important parts of chess training, the best exercises for each part, and how to build your own training plan.

1. Key Elements of a Chess Training Plan

To improve in chess, you need to work on all the important areas of the game. Each part has a different role, and together they make you a stronger player.

• Openings – The beginning of the game, usually the first 10-15 moves. Your goal is to get a good position for the middlegame.
  
  
• Strategy – Understanding the position and making long-term plans. A good strategist knows where to place their pieces and how to improve their position step by step.

“Tactics is knowing what to do when there is something to do. Strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do.”
– Savielly Tartakower

• Tactics – Finding combinations and calculating moves. Tactics include forks, pins, skewers, and other patterns that help you win material or checkmate your opponent.
  
  
• Endgames – The final phase of the game, when only a few pieces are left. Small advantages can decide the game, and knowing key positions can help you win or save a draw.

Each of these areas is important, and a good training plan should include all of them.

For example, in my 10-week improvement course (you can sign up for FREE here), I cover the most important topics from these areas:

• Openings – Lesson 6
• Strategy – Lessons: 7, 8, 9 & 10
• Tactics – Lessons: 1, 3 & 4
• Endgames – Lesson: 5
• Game Analysis – Lesson 2

2. Exercises That Help with Every Element

To improve in chess, you need the right exercises for each area. Here are the best ways to train every part of your game:

Openings

✅ Use an opening explorer to check and refine your lines.

✅ Watch videos about the openings you play to learn ideas and key variations.

✅ Study model games to see how strong players handle your openings.

Strategy

✅ Study master games to understand how strong players make plans.

✅ Watch thematic videos on key topics (e.g., isolated pawn, weak squares).

✅ Solve thematic exercises to practice strategic concepts.

Tactics

✅ Solve different types of puzzles to sharpen calculation and pattern recognition.

✅ Do visualization training to improve your ability to see moves ahead.

✅ Play complicated positions against a bot to practice tactical decision-making.

Endgames

✅ Do practical drills to practice key endgame positions.

✅ Watch thematic endgame lessons to learn important techniques.

✅ Play endgame positions against a bot to test your knowledge.

The Most Powerful Exercise: Analyzing Your Own Games

✅ Identify mistakes and find patterns in your play.

✅ Do targeted exercises based on your mistakes (e.g, study a specific variation if you misplayed an opening or learn strategic ideas about the isolated pawns if you struggled with that in the game)

By analyzing your own games and fixing your weaknesses, you will improve the fastest.

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3. My Training Plan When I Was an Active Player

For 10 years, I followed a very consistent training routine - 2 hours a day. This structured approach helped me become an International Master. My schedule was simple but effective:

Daily Routine

✅ 30 minutes – Solving tactical puzzles to sharpen calculation and pattern recognition.

✅ 90 minutes – Focused study based on the day of the week:

Monday - Wednesday: Middlegame (strategical and tactical ideas).
Thursday - Friday: Endgames (key techniques and practical drills).
Saturday - Sunday: Openings (building and refining my repertoire).

Tournament Play & Game Analysis

✅ I played tournaments regularly to test my progress (online chess were not that popular those days)

✅ After each tournament, I took a few days to analyze my games, learning from my mistakes and improving my understanding.

Thanks to this plan, I was able to cover all the key areas needed for long - term chess improvement. It gave me a solid foundation and helped me grow as a player.

4. Common Mistakes in Chess Training and How to Avoid Them

Many players make mistakes that slow down their progress. Here are some common errors and ways to avoid them:

• Watching videos or reading without practicing what you learn will not lead to improvement. It’s essential to apply the knowledge through exercises or games to master the topic. By doing this, you will accelerate your development significantly.
  
  
• Focusing only on strengths and ignoring weaknesses is a common mistake. It’s natural to focus on areas where you feel strong, but addressing your weaknesses is just as important for long-term growth.
  
  
• Jumping between too many different resources can confuse you and slow down progress. There are so many resources today, but to avoid confusion, choose one method or resource and stick with it for a while. Constantly changing openings or study methods can slow your progress.
  
  
• Not being consistent.  It's normal to face challenges in staying on track, but perseverance is vital. I know from experience - after being stuck at 1800 for 4 years while training 2 hours daily (!), I made a breakthrough to 2000 in just one month. Later, after struggling at 2100 for 3 years, I jumped to 2400 in less than 6 months. The most important thing is to stay consistent and keep going, even when progress feels slow. Consistency is key.

By avoiding these mistakes, you will train more effectively and see faster progress in your chess game.

5. Build Your Own Training Plan

Now that you know the key elements, it's time to create your training plan. Focus on two main areas:

1. Tactics

2. Analyzing Your Games

3. The area that is the biggest problem right now (openings, strategy or endgames)

These two elements are the core of your plan. The rest - openings, strategy, and endgames -depend on your needs. A good idea might be to spend a third of your training on the area where you have the biggest problems. These areas are important too, but without working on tactics and game analysis, you won’t see steady improvement.