quit chess? heeelp

Is it a good idea to quit playing chess for a while? Im planning to dedicate some time to study chess and I was wondering would it be bad for me if I stop playing rated games during that time? Maybe for a month (stop playing, not stop studying). I have a feeling that it would help me improve, but I have no idea if its true. I feel like after a month of only studying it would be easier for me to play. Please feel free to share your thoughts on this, it would help me a lot. Has anyone had similar experience or read something about this? And one more question, if you had to pick what would you do. What is the best option of the following three - stop playing any chess, play only unrated games or play a rated game per day/week? If everything above sucks I will just continue with my regular play. I already made this post on other topic but didnt recieve much responses. Thanks for reading (ik its long) and have a nice day ! :)

Mozes, jedino sto ces mozda kad nastavis na pocetku delovati zardjalo da tako kazem. Medjutim gotovo sigurno ces brzo povratiti ostrinu.

Ono sto takodje mozes da uradis je da odigras jednu partiju nedeljno ili jednu na dve nedelje cak, cisto ako ne zelis da napravis potpunu pauzu. Slusao sam jednog internacionalnog majstora (Mislim da je Kostantin Kavucki u pitanju) da je zapravo nekad sasvim dovoljno igrati jednu ozbiljnu duzu partiju na dve nedelje da se napreduje, doduse nisam to nikad probao.

Toga se najviše i plašim. Mogu sve zaboraviti i samo napraviti kontra efekat. Najvjerovatnije ću postupiti po tvome prijedlogu. Hvala ti puno na izdvojenom vremenu i odgovoru ! :) Inače, često te viđam ovdje na forumu i ispratim dosta toga. Vidjela sam par puta kako pomažeš i daješ savjete početnicima. Osim toga baš mi se sviđa tvoj način razmišljanja i za to imaš od mene sve pohvale, svaka čast.

Nema na cemu.  Mada s obzirom koliko ti lepo ide, nisam siguran koliko su ti korisni moji saveti. 

Neces sve zaboraviti, gotovo sigurno bi se brzo vratilo ono sto se zaboravi. Posebno sto je to ipak samo mesec dana. Ali ako imas vremena, ubaci po neku partiju. Uostalom, vrlo verovatno ces zeleti da odigras po neku. 

Takodje ako krenu neki porazi ne ocajavaj, mnogi su rekli da kad nauce nesto novo i probaju da ubace to u prakticnu primenu, moze kratkorocno malo da utice negativno na rejting. Ali dugorocno ce svakako da znaci.

Svaki savjet je uvijek dobrodošao. Ni sama ne znam koliko puta sam nešto od tebe iskoristila. A to da ću htjeti odigrati koju partiju si apsolutno upravu. Prvi put ću posvetiti malo više vremena ovoj igri, pa ne želim da bude uzalud. Što se tiče poraza nema potrebe za brigom. Znaju biti veoooma naporni, ali su također sastavni dio procesa i koliko god se trudili ne možemo ih zaobići. Trenutno radim na planu učenja, a nemam baš nekog iskustva oko toga, pa ako imaš bilo kakvu ideju ili sugestiju neće naškoditi. Izvini što te ovoliko zamaram.

Nije problem. Prvo verovatno je bolje da se par nedelja posvetis jednoj stvari nego da radis na dosta vis stvari odjednom. Zavisi opet sta mislis da je najgori deo tvoje igre.

Recimo kod mene je kalkulacija u pitanju. Imam ok razumevanje pozicionih stvari, umem da igram poteze koji ne propravljaju figure protivnika (ok za svoj neki srednji nivo) i zavrsni deo partije mi je solidan za moj nivo (kad dodjem dotle imam cini mi se poprilicno visok procenat pobeda). Ali sto se taktickog dela tice, mislim kod dela koji kombinuje vizualizaciju i kalkulaciju, tu umem nekad da pogresim i mislim da najcesce na taj nacin izgubim partiju. Recimo razmisljam o potezu, deluje dobro, ali mi deluje da ne radi zbog toga sto je recimo necija kraljica posle par poteza na d4, a u stvari kada posle pogledam shvatim da ta figura uopste nije tu nego recimo da se pomerila na d2 i da je taj potez zaista bio najbolji. 

Uglavnom, probaj da identifikujes najgori deo svoje igre i pokusaj da ga malo poboljsas. Ako to nije takticki deo igre, i dalje bih radio jedno 5 taktickih problema dnevno, cisto da ne ispadnes iz fazona, meni je to neka rutina postala, to uradim nevezano da li uopste poboljsavam neki deo igre.

Uglavnom ako je takticki deo igre - radi nesto veci broj online taktickih problema (ja najvise volim chess tempo, ali radim i ovde ponekad, imas ok i onaj drugi besplatni sajt, koji necu imenovati ovde da ne bi zatvorili temu, vidi sta ti najvise lezi). 

Takodje ima knjiga sa taktickim problemima, nisam jos koristio nijednu knjigu, ali sam siguran da mozes dosta da se poboljsas i tako. Mnogi kazu da su knjige mnogo bolje od online problema.

Ako ti je strateski/pozicioni deo najslabiji, opet naravno imas knjige, ali imam i drugi predlog. 

Sigurno imas otvaranja koja inace igras. Ideja je recimo da ili sa chess.com ili sa na primer https://www.chessgames.com/ skines partije u odredjenom otvaranju u pgn formatu i prodjes kroz njih, probas da nadjes neke tematske stvari, strateske ideje. Skines za pocetak desetak partija u odredjenom otvaranju, kasnije mozes i mnogo vise. U sustini na taj nacin ce ti i samo otavaranje biti jace.

Sto se samih otavaranja tice, mislim da ne bi trebalo na njih da se previse koncentrises u svakom slucaju, ovo za strateski deo je sasvim dovoljno, na taj nacin ces ih svakako jos bolje igrati. Nemoj i dalje da pamtis napamet vise od 6-10 poteza. Mozes naravno sem online baza za otvaranja da pogledas i neke klipove vezane za njih.

To su neke od ideja, onako na brzinu sto mi je palo na pamet. 


Edit: Da dodam jos jednu stvar. Sto se kalkulacije tice. Vidim da igras partije od 10 minuta. Tu je tesko vezbati kalkulaciju jer nema vremena previse za razmisljanje. Ako to planiras da vezbas, 15|10 je dosta bolji izbor.

Igram najčešće rapid 10 minuta (a kasnije pokušavam stići i u ostalim vremenskim kontrolama željeni rejting) i to previše brzo pa se nađem u teškoj situaciji sa preko sedam minuta preostalog vremena. Na tome obavezno moram poraditi, primjetila sam to i kod dnevnih partija ili taktičkih problema, jednostavno nestrpljivo odigram šta po instinktu na prvu pomislim da je najbolje i nekad bude dobro, nekad katastrofalno. Moja rutina je takva da odigram jednu partiju u devet ujutro, analiziram je na ovom sajtu uz pomoć njihovog kompjutera i nakon toga odradim sve ovdje dostupne taktičke probleme jer još uvijek nemam članstvo. I tako otprilike izgleda jedan dan uz povremene partije iz dosade. Svaki petak također pređem neku od lekcija ovdje. Što se tiče otvaranja već dugo igram Vienu sa bijelim i KID sa crnim figurama, i imam bar po jedan odgovor spreman na većinu različitih otvaranja koja protivnik može imati nakon e4 a da nije odgovor e5. Sve me to služi dobro i ne mislim ubrzo mijenjati, možda samo još dodavati novo nešto ali ima za to još vremena. Pogledam tu i tamo koji video, ali najčešće učim iz vlastitih partija i grešaka. Definitivno mi je najslabija tačka strategija i poziciono igranje i to će biti glavni fokus. Poboljšati istovremeno moram i napad i odbranu i skontati kako lakše da pronalazim plan ili ideju. Sve što si naveo ću ubaciti u svoj plan i još jednom puno ti hvala, baš si mi pomogao. Dugujem ti, ako ti ikad išta zatreba, vrlo rado ću pomoći. :)

Da, u 10 minuta uglavnom i mora intuitivno, sem za ove igrace sa titulama koji mogu da kalkulisu brze od obicnih smrtnika. Mada i oni uglavnom intuitivno igraju. Jer je to ipak ubrzani sah realno gledajuci.

Uglavnom, ako zelis generalno da poboljsas kvalitet, valja odigrati i koju duzu partiju. I(graces tacnije poteze i sustinski duze partije te teraju da igras tacnije poteze. Nekad moras da nadjes jedan ili dva jedina poteza koja te ostavljaju u igri. Sto se koriscenja vremena tice, pokusaj da ti bude cilj da ti na kraju partije uvek ostane manje od polovine vremena. Ja to radim u mojim 60 minuta po osobi partijama ili 45|45. Izuzetak je kad se desi neka gruba greska pa se partija jako brzo zavrsi. Ali generalno mi je cilj da mi ostane manje od polovine vremena. Obicno ako uspes da nateras sebe da malo duze mislis, naci ces nesto bolje.

Ako igras KID i Viennu, pocni od njih. Skini nekoliko partija u varijacijama koje igras. Sigurno ces naci neke zanimljive ideje, neke tematske manevre i koji pesaci se cesto guraju u tim varijacijama za svakog od igraca. 

Lol English please?

Great thread.

I personally know what it is like to take a couple months break to “relearn” the game and can conclude it was a rewarding experience.

Hehe, I could, but it would be a bit odd for me to speak English to someone speaking the same language as myself. The main point is that OP get the answer to the topic's question.

It would be nice if other ppl like myself get answer of the OP questions, thats the sideline of asking in a forum.

It is fine to take a break. You might be a bit rusty afterwards, but 1 month is not that long in any case. If you wish you could throw in one game in a week or in 2 weeks just to not be completely without games.  The rest of the conversation was about what could OP work on while on the break, which differs from case to case anyway.

Your situation is a lot different however because you have a novice rating. My advice for you, regardless if you wish to take a break or not, is to play longer games for improvement. Some people can play shorter games and improve effectively, but for most of us that is not really the case. 

People around 1 000 still make a lot of 1 move blunders, miss simple tactics and so on, so you should probably aim to reduce blunders and get somewhat better tactically. Apart from that, I see that you don't really follow opening principles. You are moving same pieces a lot in the opening and so on... At that rating you should learn opening principles and follow them as much as you can  in order not to get a bad position after a few moves (except in the case your opponent hangs a piece outright or something like that).

Thank you sir very much for the commemts. I know the principals but somehow i still ignore them just because i dont really know what to do or dont have a plan. Of i follow the opening principals I thibk my main problem are middle game and how to make a good plan

I try to do the beginner course on chessfactor. But i still dont understand what peice to improve on peice imprve/development section. It jist so much to keep track on and how to know what to focus on. Rooks on openfiles, pawn struture, weak pawns, and so on.

I think doing lots of puzzle will be useful for beginners since it helps you recognize tactical position easily. You will get used to certain pattern after doing lots of puzzle

Generally you learn something and then practice it immediately so I wouldn’t have thought it was a great strategy. You can play games that aren’t rated to try things out. Really this is where you need an OTB experience or some buddies to try things out with.

Having a break to recharge yourself is a different matter or course.

You're welcome. Making plans is still some way in the future for you. That is something that intermediate players struggle with. For instance someone like me can make some simple plans, but in general strategic plans are rarely the deciding factor in games of players rated let's say below 1 200. In higher rated games, this is the case as well. Plans are important, but on lower levels, some more obvious things is what decides a game (either a straight up piece blunder, or a simple tactic, or just bad development and fast attack from the other side). 

As for the opening... you should aim to develop piece by piece and not to move the same one twice (unless it is attacked for instance, like in the Ruy Lopez where opponent's pawn can threaten your bishop, then of course it is ok to move it). So try developing all the pieces before moving a developed piece again, especially if your king is not castled.

One of the benefits of playing longer games, is that you get to think where your piece looks ok in the opening (because it is normal at your rating not to really know past move 3-4 of the openings you play). Along with that if you are playing longer games (and use your time well) you will be able to lessen the amount of blunders. And yes, tactical problems will help you at least to recognize some basic patterns in your games.

I quit for twelve years after twenty-four years of club and league chess. I had ChessBase in the 80s and by preparation for matches and an hours study each day plus thorough analysis of any lost or drawn games I managed to pull my grade up to BCF157 and being on a plateau for a few years at BCF142. When I came back I decided I would just rely on my experience and play certain openings only and adopted a one-size-fits-all policy against 1 .d4. My grade never got back to the BCF142 level but I have had a lot more fun.

These days we all have the equivalent of ChessBase for free, thank you Chessdotcom