Improvement and growth - Chess Forums

OfCourselWon

Jul 7, 2019

0

#1

Hello, I am 18 years old and have been playing chess more seriously for the last 8 months or so. I’ve become really interested in improving my tactics and learning to prevent blunders for a 1100-1200 player. I mostly play one or two of my friends but I do play random people through this app occasionally. Not sure how accurate my rating is I’m saying. I might be lower due to playing 1-2 people more often. However I am looking to improve and the puzzles kind of drive me nuts. I don’t feel as if I’m improving. I’ve heard that reassess your chess is a good book, but recommended for higher players. I was wondering what I could do at this level to improve my performance. Practice for me seems to have been growing more slowly and I was looking for outside help to get me back of the track to improvement. Thanks

RussBell

Jul 7, 2019

0

#2

With all due respect, "How To Reassess Your Chess" by Jeremy Silman is much too advanced for you at this stage of your development. It's an advanced book more appropriate for those who are rated at least 1600+ (this is Dan Heisman's opinion, despite what Silman says in his marketing blurbs). A Silman book which is closer to being appropriate for you would be "The Amateur's Mind", which is excellent. But you may need or want to study a few preparatory books before tackling that one as well....

I recommend that you select something from the following list with focus on the books that I have designated as "must read" (which includes "The Amateur's Mind"), and the prerequisite books for them...

Good Chess Books For Beginners and Beyond....

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

Also I see from your profile that you are playing only rapid, bullet and blitz games.

I recommend that you play mostly longer time controls, including "daily" chess, so you have time to think about what you should be doing - blitz and bullet chess may be fun, but at this stage of your development they will do little to promote your rapid improvement or your understanding of how to play correctly.....

(the following article is by Jeremy Silman)...

https://www.chess.com/article/view/longer-time-controls-are-more-instructive

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/how-blitz-and-bullet-rotted-my-brain-don-t-let-it-rot-yours

Finally,

https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-10-most-common-mistakes-among-chess-beginners

OfCourselWon

Jul 7, 2019

0

#3

Thanks for the advice, most blitz games I play live with a friend, they are usually 10 minutes. I will play some daily matches, they just don’t seem as practical when I am trying to improve my real life game. They may help me analyze the board quicker. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

RussBell

Jul 7, 2019

0

#4

OfCourselWon wrote:

Thanks for the advice, most blitz games I play live with a friend, they are usually 10 minutes. I will play some daily matches, they just don’t seem as practical when I am trying to improve my real life game. They may help me analyze the board quicker. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

What could be more "practical" for your improvement than taking time to think about what you should be doing?...

This is not to suggest that you play exclusively daily games, but they should be part of your repertoire, much more so than blitz, bullet and rapid, which do nothing to promote an understanding of what you should be doing (other than moving pieces around faster than your opponent while avoiding checkmate so that, hopefully, his/her clock runs out before yours does). The game is chess, not "Beat the Clock"...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu0sZYGzWSs

Here an excerpt from the following Dan Heisman “Novice Nook” article (these links are safe)…

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627010008/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman12.pdf

Reader Question: “You recommend playing at least 2 "slow" games per week for improvement. But, for purposes of this advice, how slow is slow? G/30? G/120? I realize, of course, that playing as slowly as possible is best, but where's the dividing line (or dividing grey area) you are thinking of?”

Answer: Good question. Most internet players think that 30 5 is slow, but that is unlikely slow enough to play "real" chess. You need a game slow enough so that for most of the game you have time to consider all your candidate moves as well as your opponent’s possible replies that at least include his checks, captures, and serious threats, to make sure you can meet all of them. For the average OTB player G/90 is about the fastest, which might be roughly 60 10 online, where there is some delay. But there is no absolute; some people think faster than others and others can play real chess faster because of experience. Many internet players are reluctant to play slower than 30 5 so you might have to settle for that as a "slow" game.

more perspective on the topic of playing longer time controls (by Dan Heisman)...

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627052239/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman16.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627030447/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman115.pdf

You can check out all of Dan Heisman's instructive (and famous) "Novice Nook" articles here....

https://web.archive.org/web/20140625052220/http://www.chesscafe.com/archives/archives.htm

More Dan Heisman resources...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/dan-heisman-resources

Good luck to you!

kindaspongey

Jul 8, 2019

0

#5

"... thinking correctly in most positions takes time. Playing almost exclusively fast games obviously precludes practicing correctly, and so you will never get very good! Sure, fast games are fine for practicing openings (not the most important part of the game for most players) and possibly developing decent board vision and tactical 'shots', but the kind of thinking it takes to plan, evaluate, play long endgames, and find deep combinations is just not possible in quick chess. … for serious improvement ... consistently play many slow games to practice good thinking habits. ... I know that a large percentage of my readers almost exclusively play on the internet - after all, you are reading this on the internet, right!? But there is a strong case for at least augmenting internet play with some OTB play, whether in a club or, better yet, a tournament. Tournament play gives you the kind of concentrated, slow chess that often helps improve your game, especially if you are inexperienced at slow play. I would guess that players who have never played OTB usually gain 50-100 points of playing strength just from competing in their first long weekend tournament, assuming they play five or more rounds of very slow chess. ... Sure, an occasional weekend event takes a lot more of your time, but the benefits are comparatively greater if improvement is your ultimate goal. Don't have two day? Try a one-day quad (a round-robin among four similarly rated players). How often should you play? ... A minimum of 8 OTB tournaments and about 100 slow games a year is a reasonable foundation for ongoing improvement. ... Can't make 100? Then try for 60. If you only play three or fewer tournaments a year and do not play slow chess regularly at a club (or on-line, where G/90 and slower play is relatively rare), then do not be surprised that you are not really improving. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627052239/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman16.pdf

kindaspongey

Jul 8, 2019

0

#6

RussBell wrote:

With all due respect, "How To Reassess Your Chess" by Jeremy Silman is much too advanced for you at this stage of your development. ... A Silman book which is closer to being appropriate for you would be "The Amateur's Mind", which is excellent. But you may need or want to study a few preparatory books before tackling that one as well.... ...

https://web.archive.org/web/20140626180930/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman06.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094419/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/ammind.pdf

https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/amateurs-mind-the-2nd-edition/

kindaspongey

Jul 8, 2019

0

#7

"... for those that want to be as good as they can be, they'll have to work hard.
Play opponents who are better than you … . Learn basic endgames. Create a simple opening repertoire (understanding the moves are far more important than memorizing them). Study tactics. And pick up tons of patterns. That’s the drumbeat of success. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (December 27, 2018)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/little-things-that-help-your-game
https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-start-out-in-chess
https://www.chess.com/news/view/a-new-years-resolution-improve-your-chess-with-new-lessons

RussBell

Jul 8, 2019

0

#8

Spongey - all good stuff! Thanks for the book reviews!