How to improve at chess.

Hello everyone.

I am new to chess. I have been solving some puzzles (really love it) but I keep losing when I play real games. How can I improve? What should I start doing to get better as a player? Thank you in advance.

I've written this for questions like this one:

https://www.chess.com/blog/nklristic/the-beginners-tale-first-steps-to-chess-improvement

Hopefully it will be of use. Good luck.

You're welcome.

Looking at your record, you're winning a lot more than you're losing at Rapid, and you're about even on Blitz.  Remember, with skill-based matchmaking, on average you'll lose half your games!

Yes but I play on ~900 elo. I mean both me and my opponents are weak. I want to get better to learn the game. Should I start by learning openings?

No. 

That is exactly the type of a mistake I've mentioned in that article. It is fine to look at the database after the game, but do not try to memorize lines. People at 900 level will play 3 book moves and then play something fairly random, and everything you try to remember will be in vain.

For now, opening principles are enough. On my level for instance, openings are still not that important. I mean, by playing games (without trying to memorize lines), and looking at the database after the game is done, I sort of know where should I put the pieces, and I know let's say up to 10 moves in the opening (only if I play the variation often and it is forced - in a situation where the piece is attacked or there is some exchange of pieces). For the others, I know 6 moves or so, and it is enough.

The most important thing for 900 rated player is to not drop pieces. If you are able to avoid losing pieces and pawns for nothing in multiple games in a row, you will be on the right track.

Improving Your Chess - Resources for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/improving-your-chess-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond

Dear TolisKoutro,

I am a certified, full-time chess coach and International Master, so I have seen it and tried it all.
There are so many ways to get better and I know it can be overwhelming.
You can learn from free videos on youtube, there are books at your disposal that can all help, but they are not tailored to your needs.

One of the most important things you can do is to analyze your games! You must learn from your mistakes! That is a priority. You can't really move on to a new, different topic and learn new ideas if you still make the same mistakes over and over again!

This is where a chess coach comes into the picture. A good coach can show you how to study,  what to study, and give you the material YOU need. Naturally, it takes time to use everything in practice, but you will succeed if you are relentless and persistent!
You should learn the main principles in every area of the game (opening, middlegame, endgame).  Don't focus on only one part! You should improve your tactical vision as well as it is part of all areas!  
This is how I built my training program for my students. We discuss more than one topic during a lesson so it's always interesting and they can improve constantly. I give homework too and the right tools to make practicing enjoyable and effective!
Don't worry about your rating and the ups and downs! Just keep on playing and practicing!

I hope this helps.  I wish you good games and 100+ extra ratings

Generally true, but I personally feel that if I play those first three moves and see the same wacky responses over and over, there's no harm in taking a few minutes to look up the best move to play next against them!

Quick example:  For better or worse (and I know people can debate whether this is the best choice) I play the Qe8 version of the Scandinavian defense as black against 1. e4.  This usually starts as 1... d5 2. exd5, but players at my level who have never seen this get distrustful of the easily captured pawn and play various things, like maybe 2. e5.

So, while I have a general idea of what position the opening is intended to achieve, I don't have the main line strictly memorized.  Instead I've put my effort into having a single responding move and vague subsequent plan for the handful of common responses by people who don't know the opening, and fall back on truly general principles if people play 2. h4 or something.

Very true, but at least for me, I find that achieving a familiar position out of the opening reduces my chances of blundering a piece because I have some idea of what to expect.

(BTW, I'm finding that around 900 rating right now, blundering individual pieces, while it happens, is often less a problem than missing one- or two-move tactics, so tactics practice can be a helpful too.)

Yes simple tactics as well. But that, for me at least, is still dropping pieces. For instance if queen guards 2 pieces, you take one, he recaptures, and then you get to take the second one for free. Or if you put a piece on insufficiently defended square, and so on. When you are able to learn to generally avoid those mistakes (mistakes happen on every level, but to diminish their frequency as much as you can), you will see that you are playing better.

As for the opening, what I meant was that 900 rated players shouldn't try to memorize some let's say 15 move long line in a specific Sicilian defense variation when many people will play 2.d3 for instance, and the game will be just some king of a position. It is of course fine to check for a specific response for the move that gave you problem. That is exactly how you will build up your openings gradually without too much trouble.

Memorizing will be easier later on as well, because stronger players can find some reasoning behind opening moves so some things don't really need to be memorized by heart at all to remember them.

Thanks for clarifying!  Of course, as a stronger player who's been through a lot of this (and has written a great article) I defer to your knowledge and experience.   Glad to hear my thoughts don't seem too off-base to you.

Thank you for the kind words. You are welcome.

Hi! My name is Lauren Goodkind and I’m a respected  chess coach and chess YouTuber based in California: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP5SPSG_sWSYPjqJYMNwL_Q

I love helping people get better in chess.  Here’s some ideas to help you get better.  

-I recommend two books for you: “50 Poison Pieces”   and “Queen For A Day: The Girl’s Guide To Chess Mastery.”  Both books are available on Amazon.com.  

-If you are serious about chess, I highly recommend you hiring a chess coach to help you.  

-Also consider all checks and captures on your side and also your opponent’s side. Always as, “If I move here, where is my opponent going to move?”

-Play with a slow time control, such as G/30 so you have plenty of time to think before every move. 

I also offer 500 two-choice puzzles on my website: https://www.chessbylauren.com/two-choice-puzzles.php

I hope that this helps.  

Start playing twice as many games each day as you do now. Buy a membership & do 100 puzzles a day without fail. Good luck

Hey guys can you help me improve on chess?

That's mean