how many games a day?
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Maybe there isn’t an exact sweet spot. Everyone learns at their own pace. That’s the cool thing about chess
KeSetoKaiba wrote:
TheBazookaJoe wrote:
...I have been comfortable playing 1-2 games per day, but I do feel part of the reason why I play only 1-2 is to allow myself to analyze my games after to see where I go wrong...
Would you suggest I focus on making this my goal? I would like to improve quicker and I feel as though I could make some changes to match the added games each day...
It once again depends on your goals and how much you are willing and able to invest into your chess improvement. The more time and effort you put into your chess, then the more likely you are to improve (unless you experience burnout).
Everyone is different and you'll have to figure out how much works for you. When I was between 1000 and 1500 chess.com rating, I mostly played games and analyzed them and rinse and repeat...a lot. Yes, I did do puzzles routinely and yes I tried to learn to concepts, but most of my time by far was playing games and analyzing them immediately afterwards.
I'd say most days, I was playing chess at least 3 hours a day and on a few days, I would have really long sessions which were over twice this long. This had some benefits to it, but as I became higher rated and more mature, then I realized that even if I "could" play this much, it wasn't usually a good idea. I would only play really good chess the first hour or two and then the rest of the time, I'd be at like 80% of my ability due to fatigue. Those long sessions were also crazy for rating swings (imagine literally hours of chess and not winning a single game!) and now I play way less as I've learned that it is better to take a break for the day when you aren't playing good by your standards.
If your schedule can allow for playing more, then do so as long as you don't think your ability is much worse at the end of the session and as long as your pace is sustainable, so you are less likely to reach burnout.
This has been really insightful! Thank you so much for your input, I really appreciate it!
...I have been comfortable playing 1-2 games per day, but I do feel part of the reason why I play only 1-2 is to allow myself to analyze my games after to see where I go wrong...
Would you suggest I focus on making this my goal? I would like to improve quicker and I feel as though I could make some changes to match the added games each day...
It once again depends on your goals and how much you are willing and able to invest into your chess improvement. The more time and effort you put into your chess, then the more likely you are to improve (unless you experience burnout).
Everyone is different and you'll have to figure out how much works for you. When I was between 1000 and 1500 chess.com rating, I mostly played games and analyzed them and rinse and repeat...a lot. Yes, I did do puzzles routinely and yes I tried to learn to concepts, but most of my time by far was playing games and analyzing them immediately afterwards.
I'd say most days, I was playing chess at least 3 hours a day and on a few days, I would have really long sessions which were over twice this long. This had some benefits to it, but as I became higher rated and more mature, then I realized that even if I "could" play this much, it wasn't usually a good idea. I would only play really good chess the first hour or two and then the rest of the time, I'd be at like 80% of my ability due to fatigue. Those long sessions were also crazy for rating swings (imagine literally hours of chess and not winning a single game!) and now I play way less as I've learned that it is better to take a break for the day when you aren't playing good by your standards.
If your schedule can allow for playing more, then do so as long as you don't think your ability is much worse at the end of the session and as long as your pace is sustainable, so you are less likely to reach burnout.