How to win more consistently

I lose just as much as i win, how do i get out of this torture?

Some people study. What have you been doing?

Have studied openings and a few mates, which has helped avoid some immediate pitfalls but the mid-games are still chaotic and i wouldn't even know how to study for that.

I also almost never castle. Is this bad? I have found conflicting advice.

 

You may need to look at basic tactical ideas. Short ones are sufficient for now. And minimise the occurrence of hanging pieces as far as you can. Look ahead for candidate moves.

 

Openings are a good idea to study, but bear in mind that most games at your level are decided by major blunders in the middlegame phase.

 

Castling is generally good when the attacks are targeted towards the centre. Of course, you would not want to castle into a checkmating square, but in general castling is a good idea.

Just always Castle to begin with. Don't try and think if it's good or bad at your level just get it done. Do puzzles as much as possible and ditch the opening study. I wasted so much time trying to learn openings when I couldn't win a king and pawn endgame. Check out the Chessbrah Habbits series on their YouTube channel Chessbrah Extra. Really helpful approach I found

Hi!

There’s a great way to win more games, for one, make a study plan and stick to it! Imagine if you learned one new thing about chess each day, you’d have an incredible knowledge after a few years time! Determine how much time you you want to invest into chess each day, then balance study with practice. For example every day solve 10 chess puzzles, then play a Rapid game (long time control the better), analyze it afterwards and try to identify and understand the mistakes and missed opportunities, categorize them to find trends in your mistakes over time, then focus the rest of your time on book or interactive courses like on ChessAble. Over time you’ll improve! Don’t make studying a chore, keep it light and fun! Consistency is more important than duration.

-Jordan

Did you seriously find some chess advice that says "never castle"?

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

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

Yeah, the reasoning was that it's a loss in tempo and that if you are a good intuitive player it isn't necessary. I've been relying on playing intuitively but i've found in over 400 games without castling that getting the king chased around mid-game is a common theme, and one that costs me pieces trying to deal with.

Thanks for the advice everyone, i'll take it all onboard. Looks like i'm going to be castling and studying tactics more. I think i'd got ahead of myself so will be going back to basics.

Thanks, Jordan. This is good advice as i've got a rather short attention span Categorizing mistakes will be very helpful.

GM Larry Evans' method of static analysis - Chess Forums - Chess.com

https://www.chess.com/game/live/38791839655

Have put the castling into practice and had a really enjoyable game.

Hello!  

My name is Lauren Goodkind and I’m a respected  chess coach and chess YouTuber who helps beginners out : 

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

Here’s some ideas to help you get better.  

-I’ll be happy to analyze one of your chess games for free for my YouTube channel, since I love to help beginners out.  Share one of your games with me!  This is a great way to 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.  Both books are endorsed by chess masters!  

-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?”. Do this for every single 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 this helps!  

 

A game without castling is quite boring.

 

It's the only opportunity where a king gets to move two squares AND the rook gets to move in the same turn.

 

You never get to move the king two squares or two pieces at one time in other situations.

I don't win consistently. I barely win over half of my games. I think you just need a more positive perspective.

And time and effort. It should take you a long way.

No one wins consistently unless they are underrated by a large margin or choose to play only against players who are rated way below their own rating.

If you play against players of a similiar rating it is expected that you will win as much as lose and draw the rest of the time. If you are improving, maybe you win 50%, draw 10% and lose 40%.

Sometimes you have winning streaks, sometimes losing streaks (I am having one now).

Puzzles. Do a lot of them for tactics training. It's one of the middlegame ingredients. This is an interesting video with middlegame ideas explained. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pMRHDiZ5Pk