Hard Things Are Hard

Chess is hard. It reminds me of what one Grandmaster once said:
“You can play a lot of chess, be dedicated in tournaments, and still not see improvement—unless you put in time to study.”
That quote sums up my performance this week. There hasn’t been much noticeable improvement.

My Weekly Strategy

My plan this week was to play longer games, since I’ve been losing many matches on time. I intentionally reduced bullet games and played more blitz, along with a few rapid games.

The longer time controls are starting to pay off. I’m beginning to reach endgames more often and realizing just how underprepared I am for them—which is actually a good thing because it shows I’m learning.

My usual openings are holding up reasonably well. I believe that if I consistently use Move Trainer, I’ll start seeing significant improvements.

Missed Opportunity

I really wanted to play in the improvers’ tournament this week, but I missed it again. I’m hoping to finally get the chance next week.

Stats Comparison: Last Week vs. This Week

The number of games I played dropped—mostly due to shifting away from bullet games. However, I did notice a slight improvement in my accuracy overall.

Notable Challenges This Week

1. Losing on time despite having the advantage—great tactics, but poor time control.

2. Hanging pieces (especially painful when it’s the queen!).

3. Missing mate-in-one opportunities.

4. Making bad trades due to poor calculation.

5. Hesitating too long on good ideas and missing the moment.

6. Weak endgame execution.

7. Over-focusing on checkmate when ahead, rather than watching for counterplay from my opponent.

Study & Learning

I didn’t study much this week, but I did explore Ben Finegold’s Chessable course “Starting Out: 1.d4” now available on Chess.com.

I also experimented with Move Trainer, and the results were surprisingly good. While the platform isn’t the most user-friendly yet, I’m optimistic it will improve over time.

One game stood out—right after learning from Move Trainer, I played an opponent with twice my ELO. I nearly crushed them and they resigned on move 17!
To be honest, I could have still thrown that game due to poor middlegame strategy, but it was a solid confidence booster.

Here is the game;

Looking Ahead

Despite the difficulty, I’m optimistic. Chess is getting harder—but that’s because players are improving, even at lower ratings.
In my opinion, some 900-rated players now play like 1500s!

For the coming week, my main focus will be:

• Time management

• Avoiding simple mistakes

There’s still hope for my ELO to climb—with consistent effort and study.