If I were you, I'd concentrate on puzzles. They're the best bang for your buck.
Try to do a 20-30 minute session as many times as you can each week, and after each puzzle session, play longer time control (10/0 minimum) games.
You should see your elo rise reasonably quickly. There's no shortcut, but tactics training puzzles are the closest you'll get in chess.
Once you've got to 1000+ worry about your openings & endgames. A superior endgame player vs a better tactician will always lose.
Improving Your Chess - Resources for Beginners and Beyond.....
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/improving-your-chess-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond
Chess Courses - Instructional Resources
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/beginners-chess-course-instructional-resources
You might also like to check out...
Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond
Don’t be afraid to mess up. Every match, even the ones you lose, is a learning opportunity and helps you spot your weak points. Review your replays after every game, take some notes, and experiment with different strategies - it’s the fastest way to improve and stop making the same mistakes over and over. Getting a feel for your own strengths and weaknesses is how you build a solid foundation to reach that mid-level play.
Hi everyone, I was hoping to get some advice from players at the beginner to intermediate level. Have any of you purchased courses directly from this site and found them genuinely helpful? If so, are there any you’d recommend for a beginner like me?
My current rating is around 285, with a peak of 401. I understand the basics and know a few openings, but I tend to play stronger as White than as Black. I suspect I’m missing some core foundational principles, especially in the middlegame.
As a newer player, my mindset is often very defensive—I try to protect everything on the board and sometimes struggle to recognize when sacrificing material is appropriate versus when it’s unnecessary or risky.
I’d also love to hear if anyone here has worked with a coach from this site and would recommend them.
Thanks in advance for any insights or suggestions!