Adult beginner and the 80/20 principle...

Hi all,

I'm 48 and a few weeks ago I started learning chess 'seriously'.

I knew just the basic moves and now I'm determined to invest my daily free time into this new adventure. But.... I have a job and a family. Therefore I can carve out just 1 hour per day to study chess. Plus, I can try to play online a few games here and there during the day during breaks.

As a student, I'm overwhelmed about the amount of information available today: websites, apps, books, DVDs, etc.. So my simple, and not so simple, question is: how can I get the most value out of my daily study hour?

Among all the resources available which are the ones that will give me the highest return on investment? How would your rank them in terms of priority in a study plan? Please name any website, apps, books, courses, dvds that you think may serve this purpose.

I think this is a common question among adult learners... and maybe out there some of you already went through this path.

Of course I'm not aiming to a GM level but I just would like to play decently and have fun.

Thank you a lot for your suggestions!

Giuseppe

Hi there. If you search Luka-Cro on here or send him a friend request, he has a You Tube channel for adult improvers with useful advice. He had a thread on here a few weeks back promoting it. Sorry I'm on my phone and the app isnt very useful for searching the forum. Maybe someone else can post a link to the message.

I'm 43 and started in January. I think highest ROI may depend on your preferences and strengths but IMO daily tactics puzzles. I mainly attribute this to my improvement. Learn the basic patterns first. Then there are two approaches. Theme based, easy rating to develop simple and fast pattern recognition. Harder rating random puzzles to develop calculation skills and the habit of exploring candidate moves. Most beginners have weak board vision so blunder pieces and dont look ahead. The latter method will help reduce this by strengthening your ability to calculate and visualise a few moves ahead. 30 minutes of puzzles every day and in 3 to 6 months your calculation skills will be much stronger.

As for games, you shouldn't waste your time on blitz for instance. At the very least, play 15 minute games (if it is at all possible, play even longer time controls). You do not have to play every day. One or two 30 minute games per week is better than 10 5 minute games (speed chess will probably not help you improve). 

As for learning - us weaker players will benefit the most from practicing tactics. Go to chesstempo.com and practice tactics. 30 minutes per day is enough. When you are doing them, don't guess, concentrate on the position and make a move when you are pretty sure you have the answer.

Apart from that, check out these youtube channels (watch videos when you have the time):

John Bartholomew - first chess fundamentals playlist, then climbing the rating ladder... those 2 are probably most important. He has many more playlists that are great. For instance standard chess - you can hear his thoughts behind every move, as he is a strong IM, that can help you out in building up on strategy. 

Hanging pawns - chess middlegame ideas and endgame playlists are the most important, but he has great opening playlists (don't learn openings by the way until you are much stronger, but you could check some of those videos out to see some ideas in a particular opening)

Chess Network - Beginner to chess master playlist is excellent

Gotham chess, chess Coach Andras and Agadmator (different kind of channel - he present you some chess games and explain the moves in easy to understand vocabulary) have really nice channels as well, I am sure there are much more out there, but all of these are probably more than you will ever watch.

I'm 13. I just play the game. Then I got decent. Now I am trying to get good. 

Thank you a lot for your suggestions!

Dear Chesswar,

I can help you with improving all of your skills (openings, strategies, tactics and endgames) at chess. I've already helped many beginners with increasing their rating significantly (see the feedbacks from my coaching services below). I am an official, full-time chess coach and I am looking for more and more pupils. Let me introduce myself. 

My name is Gabor Balazs. I am a Hungarian FM, fighting for the IM title. My top ELO is 2435. I have been playing chess for 21 years. I won the Hungarian Rapid Championship twice (U16 and U18).

I love teaching chess and it is very important for me that both of us enjoy the lessons beside the hard work. I have pupils almost all the levels from beginners to advanced players (1100-2200 ELO).

You can see a lot of feedbacks from my coaching services here: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-lessons/feedbacks-from-my-services

Why should you choose me?

- I have a widespread opening repertoire (a lot of openings are analysed by strong Grand Masters).

- I have a lot of chess books in PDF and Chessbase format, so I can teach you the main middlegame plans, the art of calculations, famous chess games and the endgame theory.

- I have elaborated, personalized training plans, which help you to improve your skills effectively.

- I help you analyse your games deeply, so you can realise your mistakes and learn from them.

- I am really flexible and hard-working person, the quality of my work is really important for me.

- My lessons are on Skype or Zoom with webcam and screensharing. (Skype ID: balazs.gabor91 ; Zoom ID: balazsgabor1991@gmail.com)

- I give homeworks, so you can also practice alone and I check your solutions in my free time.

- I answer your messages within 1 day, I am not the type of coach who disappears for a week after the lesson.

My hourly rate is 35 USD/hour.

Please, contact me (balazsgabor1991@gmail.com), if you are interested in working with me, I am looking forward to your message. 

I started playing bridge when I was 40 and picked up online chess this summer. When I started playing chess I did it in a similar fashion as when I improved my card skills:

#1. Learn the basics.

#2. Do chess puzzles.

#3. Play games and make sure to analyze and learn from mistakes you make.

#4. Check for guides on openings for both white and black, pick one opening for white you feel comfortable with and learn the first 4-5 moves, pick a defense for D4 and E4 openings as black.

#5. Play games with those openings so that you learn the patterns.

#6. Check for your mistakes and see where your losses comes from and try improve those parts.

#7. Make sure you are having fun, keep playing, keep doing puzzles and mix up some theory as well.

I play 10 minute games, I tried playing 30 minute games but realized I usually just spend 10-15 minutes of my timer so I went back to 10 minute games. Would love there to be a 10/10 for quick matchup on chess.com

I do look at gothamchess instructional videos because at my experience I just want the basic stuff down in 10 minute format. A month later I check them again because there was so many things I failed to grasp first time

As others have said, mostly focus on solving puzzles. John Bartholomew's "Chess Fundamentals" and his "Climbing the rating ladder" series on YouTube are great as well.

Hi Giuseppe,
I'm 47 and started playing 'properly' this year. I can really confirm that short games really don't help an older player. I find daily chess really good for this, trying to juggle a stressful job, family life etc means there's little time for a decent game most days, but there's time to analyse a couple of moves or more in daily chess properly and taking notes helps keep the train of thought for your next move.
I find around 15min puzzle solving a day has really helped as well but beyond that my concentration ebbs.
Good luck, enjoy your journey

I fear you’ve fallen into the the trap (concerned about rating), perhaps forgetting the game is a Hobby.

Improving is great but keep in mind- improving comes at the cost of more losses than wins as you play better players. A rating is nothing more than a tool to facilitate pairing players of equal strength. 
Set about on the right foot. With the wrong foot- it becomes all to muddled with bad habits and perspectives near unbreakable. You will discover what works best. All the current Hype centers about puzzles and tactics. A lazy coaches response. A common answer provided by people with zero actual experience in teaching methodology. You’ll become a good puzzle solver but the game is so much more.

Study judiciously. “Serious study” seems to suggest high expectations where none should exist. Perhaps research the 3 distinct ways people learn and assimilate information.

Chess has been taught up to a couple of years ago sans “puzzles”. In fact, solving puzzles on the clock was highly frowned apon- better to take your time and understand- get it right. Naturally tactics play a big part but some make claim tactics exist most every move totally ignoring positional considerations, endgames and all the motifs that present themselves.

To sum up - 1st discover Why you have chosen to take the course . The rest is easy. Hopefully chess becomes a lifetime hobby.

My experience suggests..don"t waste too much time on opening study, especially the dubious ones...the hilarious incidents that occurred prompted me to write this

https://www.chess.com/blog/Abemo/the-pathetic-patzer

Few more suggestions. It's useful to recognise that knowledge and skills are different things and are best developed separately. Reading books etc helps develop chess knowledge. Doing tactics puzzles helps develop certain skills. In particular, puzzles can strengthen calculation and visualisation skills. This isnt always recognised. Tactical puzzles aren't only about learning to spot tactical motifs. They help develop the habit of calculating different candidate moves, exploring move orders, etc. For this look at tactical puzzles that are too hard for fast pattern recognition, but not so hard that you cant find the answer. The chess.com rated puzzle engine is a good way to do this as it will throw up puzzles with a range difficulties based on your rating. The reason puzzles tend to be based around tactics and not positional outcomes is that tactics have a reasonably objective result to look for, mate or material. Positional outcomes are more subjective. But positional evaluation of a series of moves still requires a player to calculate/visualise and tactical puzzles teach that skill.

Hi,

I've been an adult learner the last 10 years and here are my hard earned lessons.

1. Play as much as you can - preferrably slower games

2. Practice mating puzzles (mate+1, mate+2) - I used Chess King

3. Practice tactics (hanging pieces, counting/simplification, remove the defender, forks, pins, discovered attacks etc.) - I use chess.com

4. Improve your thought process - especially considering your opponents response before you move your piece

I wasted my time on books, opening theory, end games and strategy before mastering the list above and I didn't get better...

5. I really would recommend one book though; master vs amateur by Euwe. It's brilliant.

Euwe's previous book "The Road to Chess Mastery" is also excellent. He spends as much as a full page explaining--in words, not variations--the ideas behind each move in the games he analyzes. This gives you an idea of what factors to consider when figuring out what your opponent is trying to do and how to come up with a plan for yourself.

+1.  Luka's YouTube videos on adult chess improvement are very useful for busy adults. 

Opening Principles:

1. Control the center squares – d4-e4-d5-e5.
2. Develop your minor pieces toward the center – piece activity is the key. Centralized pieces control more squares.
3. (King Safety)
4. Connect your rooks. There should be no pieces between your Rooks.

The objective of development is about improving the value of your pieces by increasing the importance of their roles (Piece Activity).  Well-developed pieces have more fire-power than undeveloped pieces and they do more in helping you gain control.

Now we will look at 5 practical things you can do to help you achieve your development objective.

They are:

1. Give priority to your least active pieces.

• Which piece needs to be developed (which piece is the least active)?
• Where should it go (where can its role be maximized)?

1. Exchange your least active pieces for your opponent’s active pieces.
2. Restrict the development of your opponent’s pieces.
3. Neutralize your opponent’s best piece.
4. Secure strong squares for your pieces.

Don’t help your opponent develop.

There are 2 common mistakes whereby you will simply be helping your opponent to develop:

1. Making a weak threat that can easily be blocked
2. Making an exchange that helps your opponent to develop a piece

Pre Move Checklist:

1. Make sure all your pieces are safe.
2. Look for forcing move: Checks, captures, threats. You want to look at ALL forcing moves (even the bad ones) this will force you look at, and see the entire board.
3. If there are no forcing moves, you then want to remove any of your opponent’s pieces from your side of the board.
4. If your opponent doesn’t have any of his pieces on your side of the board, then you want to improve the position of your least active piece.
5. After each move by your opponent, ask yourself: "What is my opponent trying to do?"

General Ideas.

1. Stop playing blitz, and bullet.  Play longer time controls of at least G45, or longer.  
2. Follow Opening Principles:

• Control the center.
• Develop minor pieces toward the center.
• Castle.
• Connect your rooks.

1. Study tactics...tactics...tactics.  One of my favorite quotes is this: "Until you reach Master, your first name is tactics, your middle name is tactics, and your last name is tactics”.
2. Double Check your moves.  Before making a move, ask yourself: "Are my pieces safe?"
3. After your opponent moves, ask yourself: "What is my opponent trying to do?"
4. Analyze your games WITHOUT a chess engine, then have someone stronger go over the games, or post them online for review.
5. DO NOT memorize openings. Learn and understand the pawn structure, and piece placement for the opening you wish to learn.
6. Learn Basics Mates:

• K vs. KQ
• K vs. KR
• K vs. KRR

1. Learn Basic King and Pawn endings.

• KP vs. K
• Opposition

1. Have Fun!

IMBacon gives very good advice here, and, just as important, does it in a way that is not arrogant or condescending.  Thank you, IMBacon!