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2300!!

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Jul 11, 2021

I just broke 2300 in puzzles. I’ve done this in only six months of chess which I think is above average, so I thought I’d share my approach.

First step was learning basic tactics like forks, skewers, mates etc. This got me to 1200 easy.

1200+:

Getting beyond 1200 was mainly help from an article on chessfox.com on a systematic approach for puzzles. I got a lot slower, but I think this developed good habits early. I got the sense that as long as you followed the steps you could solve immensely challenging puzzles in bite size pieces.

In one video, Gotham Chess suggested focusing on an accuracy goal of greater than 60%. Having this be my measure of success helped me improve as well.

1800+: the puzzles were getting tough here, my calculation were tacking a long time. To break through, I started playing much higher rated puzzles on unrated mode. Solving puzzles in the 2300-3000 range made me feel like the ratings start to get arbitrary at a certain point. This gave me the confidence to go back and push for 2300. Now I feel the skies the limit. Next stop 3000

My tips for someone with less than six months experience. Solve puzzles the same way every time. Focus on accuracy as a success a metric. Take your time, I spend about two minutes on average.

Have fun!