Qynn's training plan

Hi all,

At 57 I'm returning to chess after a few years away. I've played at a patzer level most of my life, and go through periods of intense study, fail to improve, and quit. This time seems to be a bit different--I've been more focused and structured in my approach. 

I'm currently at ~500ish in Rapid (I don't really play Blitz & Bullet--I'm actually working on SLOWing down my play to prevent blunders).

My short term goals are to first get to 1000, then 1500... and with time and patience, maybe reach 2000 Rapid. It seems like it's going to be a painfully slow process, but let's see how that goes.

Welcome! I'm a later-in-life returnee to Chess, too. One thing I'll say in favor of blitz is that, after playing a bunch of 5+5 games, Rapid seems almost relaxed. I think the playing (and suffering) in Blitz has made me more comfortable in the still-fast Rapid time controls.

Ok, first of all -- love the name! Huge LoTR (and LoTRO) fan.

Thanks - I may give Blitz a try again, but at a few others' suggestions I'm putting more effort into the 30 minute & 15|10 Rapid. Really need to do better on blunder checking. On the mobile app, the "confirm move" button really helps with that, but unfortunately no such button/option on the website.

Funny though, some of my 15|10 games have ended with more time than I started with... so, I may do better at Blitz than I thought.

Glad you are getting back into the game and good luck reaching your goals. Enjoy the ride and have some fun.

Hi! I hope you achieve your goal.. I am also trying to reach 1000 and then 1500 Rapid chess rating.. I am almost to my first goal with a current rating of 941...

Would you like to study chess together.. The way I propose is that we could play our games, analyze and annotate the games and share that analysis with each other to discuss further and identify areas of improvement..

I would suggest including puzzle rush into your routine. I've done informal coaching sessions at my club where we sit around a table and solve tactics.

It is noticeable how much slower some of the group are than me after doing a single puzzle rush survival run a day for two years.

I'd recommend starting a playing session with a puzzle rush run then a blitz game. There are skills in blitz around just playing moves when time gets short. (The only arena I ever won was when I chose to match my clock usage with my opponents.)

I would only recommend blitz for working on your openings. Slower is better for your learning. As you develop skills and patterns you will be faster.

Tactics puzzles any way you do them is good for you and essential.

I'm 61 and last year I joined my local chess club. I have gotten way better at slow chess and no better at blitz. I don't care. I'm not built for speed. But I like blitz as it is fun. And I see where I crack under pressure and time.

I get that! I'm really trying to focus on slower chess, working on doing fewer overly hasty knee-jerk moves that wind up as blunders and cost me.

I do a TON of puzzles, but again, trying to slow down when doing those, as well. Trying desperately to build the habits of really looking at the board, thinking through what my opponent just did and what I'm planning to do, and a final blunder check.