178 -> 1100 since Jan 2026

Hi all I’m a 38 year old guy learning chess since I had a baby in December and needed a hobby(have always known the way pieces move but never really played)- just wanted to share some progress and tips that might seem like I am echoing others on here. I still suck at the game but I am happy to share tips on my journey to 1800 by end of year :)

1. Only rapid games
2. Watch tons of chess YT(chessbrah, chesswithakeem, Eric Rosen, Alessia, Igor smirnov etc)
3. Review and analyze games
4. Pick 1 or 2 openings and watch YTers play them
5. Puzzles!

Btw I’m still blundering a lot but it’s considerably less now

Feel free to ask me things as I think a beginners insight might help reinforce what the experts here are saying

Cool !

How do you play rapid games without interruption having an infant?

Nice

Hi! I've been working on my own chess system for over a year. It's something like a Modern English Opening or a King's Indian. I've worked through a very large database, and it contains a ton of variations and responses for Black. Many titled players have appreciated it. I'd be very grateful if you could play it in blitz or just give it a try. Thank you!
https://www.chess.com/blog/DavidYushkov/new-opening

@B-Kt2 I usually play when my wife takes over or if he is sleeping but there have been many times I’ve been interrupted and have to ditch the match. Now that his sleep schedule is more predictable I’m interrupted far less - now it’s if his mom needs me to do something

Congrats

Re #6: thanks. My wife and I are expecting in a couple of months. Looks like you average 10+ games per day and have time to watch chess YouTube?! I have little time for YouTube but enjoy ChessNetwork. You might check out his videos.

@B-Kt2 Congrats! Honestly during parental leave there’s a lot of down time after 1-2 months where the baby is just sleeping. This was when I would need something to do so I play or watch YT lol. You’ll see :)

Re #9: thank you! My leave will be only 4 weeks (my wife's will be longer) so I won't see lol.

Congrats on the progress, it’s actually a really solid direction you’re building there.

What stands out more than the rating change is that you’ve already started doing the things that usually matter most long term, especially reviewing your games and noticing that blunders are slowly decreasing. That shift is often more important than any single jump in rating.

Also, becoming a parent and still finding a way to keep chess in your life like this is not as easy as it sounds, so it’s quite impressive that you’ve managed to build a routine around it.

Out of curiosity, which part of your current process feels like it helps you the most right now, reviewing your games or just getting a lot of rapid experience?

ok

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