Limited improvement

I think some people are just gifted with the type of mind to play chess well. It takes a certain kind of mind. I feel like an ungifted player will never be good no matter how much time is put into it. It’s like music. You either have talent or not. Sure, there are some ok amateurs, and that’s great for them, but do you really want to hear them?

I’d love to be proven wrong. Has anyone ever seen a significant improvement if they are on average at a 900 rating? By significant I mean improving your rating by 500 points or more?

Of course I’m asking because I don’t seem to improve. I miss things constantly that allow me to make ridiculous blunders. It’s frustrating. I’m trying to decide if the endeavor is futile.

On the plus side I am a really fine musician! So there’s that. :-)

Mike

I've talked about this in a previous thread of mine. It's not impossible to achieve a 500 point increase here or even more in relatively short time (probably under a year) from a 50th percentile. However, you do need some amount of dedication and focused effort that's not always something you can give to chess (or any other activity, for that matter)

Playing 10 minute games is too fast. Of course you will hang pieces at random. It is not the case that you are not talented, you either don't know where to start to improve or you are not putting enough effort. Besides, you are here for a month and a half, chess improvement takes months at the start and after you get a lot better, even years to see substantial improvement. 

Here is what I did to improve since February:

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

Did you try all of those things, or something else not mentioned? There are alternatives as well, some of those costs money, so I haven't done those for now. You need to play longer games and study chess as well. So far I can only tell that you are playing too fast which is enough to halt your progress.

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

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

I was 800 for many years. I stopped playing and came back two months ago and now I’m 1400

I guess that is partly true but do realize that topplayers just have a lot of time studying and we just dont always have enough time for that

You've played 50 games... you are on a losing streak and it's just badly affecting your mental atm. Chess, no matter how talented someone is takes a ton of work, even just to stop blundering at the start. When I first started with the game, it took months to just stop hanging my pieces. Be patient and go at your own pace, learn something new and interesting and enjoy the ride.

You have a diamond membership, work your way through the entire official lesson guide, it is actually insanely well done. It will help you a lot. Stay away from lower time controls if your goal is to improve. You could also add me if you want help.

I was betwern 800 and 1000 after playing 2 years chess.

I started to observe stronger players and finally came to a few conclusions. Long story short. 2 years later I was around 1700 and now on 2050.

 

After thinking about my path and taking into consideration my experience as a chess coach, I started to build an online chess academy. 

I am soecialized on training 800-1400 and if you are interested just contact me.

Improvment is pretty easy, if you know how to improve!

As a teacher I despite the concept of "the right type of mind", you can learn anything and no one is naturally good at anything. Some people just enjoy things more and they are able to practise and learn more as a result. This idea of there being a distinction between being "arty" or "scientific" is also nonsense.

I'm hoping to improve at chess partly to prove this to my students! Hard work and delibrate practise is all.

While I agree that anyone can improve and learn etc some people are naturally better than others, we aren't all good at everything and that is what makes things more interesting anyway. 

https://www.chess.com/club/chess-defenders

@throughvoyager23 +1

@zarplod maybe you need to approach the game differently. For example, I started chess in January. For the last 12 months I've been learning how to learn how to play chess. I reckon I'll spend the next 12 months actually learning. It's an approach that has got me to 1500. Notice I haven't mentioned win or lose (doh! I just did).

Thank you all for your suggestions and kind words.  I am determined to get better so I will persevere!

Mike

Thank you very much!  You and all the people who have answered this have given me some great suggestions.

You're welcome. And try having fun playing and getting better. Without it, it's pointless.

What is your definition of good?

If you are interested in getting better without having to pay money, then do tactics puzzles for an hour or so everyday.

 

Think out the solution before you make your first move. If you get it wrong, see the solution and figure out why it is the right thing to do.