Are doing puzzles really worth it?

Thread by: @Grucky0

It seems to me as though it doesnt really apply to actual games where your approach to playing moves is different. Theres not a clear tactic in every position.

If it is worth it, how much should we do it and what is the best way to learn from puzzles?

We can do normal puzzles, puzzle rush, etc.. and there different ways to practice puzzles. But which one is the best practically for playing games?

the puzzles from lichess are great the yare fromn real life +2000 level puzzels.

I think doing more puzzle rushes and puzzle storms are better if you like playing faster time controls. Normal puzzle solving might be the most beneficial for the weird guys who play classical, but it's probably better for rapid players as well.

What i found helpful is doing a mix of puzzle rush and normal puzzles. I mean the regular puzzles we do are good to train calculation and intuition, because for a rapid game or faster time controls, those tactics are way to hard to see and calculate in a normal game but it helps to train deeper and more accurate.

For puzzlerush its less about the deep calculation and more about pattern recognition and fast but shorter calulation which is just as important.

Ig it also depends on what you are aiming for and in what time controls you want to improve.

Puzzles are great to practice your calculation skills and pattern recognition.
It is a fact that you don't have a clear tactic in every position. But by improving your pattern recognition, you can get a better sense of when you need to take time to calculate possible tactics.
In the position where there are no clear tactic, you need to aquire a better positionnal and strategic knowledge. When there is no tactic, it is all about getting a better position.

Of course.

Reasons, you might see a position and be like i feel there's something here, but can't see it. Say you see this.

A beginner well not find it but show it to an Intermediate player they well find it. And if it shows up in a game they well find the winning move.

This is maybe my favorite checkmate so far. It's very puzzlish.

Puzzles are very helpful to improve tactical vision. Puzzles are especially helpful for those under 1000 rated. I also suggest doing the lessons on chess.com. They have puzzles built into them based on each lesson.

Puzzles are super helpful even though the same positions rarely come in matches. Puzzles are not for memorising positions but getting familiarised with the tactics .

Even at the higher levels of play puzzles are useful for improving calculation and just warming up the brain for a training session or just playing games

Puzzles are great in moderation. They can help improve tactical vision, your thinking system, and warm up to play, but you have to approach them the right way. So many people (including me) have puzzle ratings much higher than their game rating because they approach a puzzle like a puzzle which eliminates any potential use it could have for your actual game. It's much better to approach a puzzle with the same thinking system you use in a game. Ask yourself: How can I move forward onto my opponent's half of the board and attack something? instead of looking for a crazy sacrifice or a specific tactical pattern. I learned this from GM Igor Smirnov's courses and am just starting to implement it in my own training.

Useful advice, thanks!

I always notice one thing about myself (I don't use chess.com so much but I do use lichess) that I solve lichess puzzles but I can't find them in real games. I do have a hard time finding in online chess and even worse time to find in OTB tournaments. So can someone please HELP ME??