Still Suck At Chess

I suck at chess. I don't think I've made it to 500. I've tried taking breaks, studying, everything, but it doesn't work and I'm starting to hate this game. It's just not fun anymore. But my stupid chess addiction and stubbornness won't let me quit. I need to be good.

You mentioned you study. How do you study? What does it involve? Reviewing your games? Books? Youtube?

I'm seeing you doing marathons of rapid games. But if you are tilting and frustrated, then you're not going to be learning effectively. I'd maybe limit yourself to a handful of games each day. And I'd review them afterwards.

You need this book get it at Barnes and Noble it's only $9.95 . . .

I give it to all beginners . . .

Dear Chess Friend,

My name is Gabor Balazs. I’m a Hungarian FIDE Master and a certified, full-time chess coach, so I hope I can help you. Everybody is different, so that's why there isn't only one given way to learn and improve.

First of all, you have to discover your biggest weaknesses in the game and start working on them. The most effective way for that is analyzing your own games. There is a built-in engine on chess.com which can show you if a move is good or bad but the only problem is that it can't explain to you the plans, ideas behind the moves, so you won't know why it is so good or bad.

In my opinion, chess has 4 main areas (openings, strategies, tactics/combinations and endgames) and if you want to improve efficiently, you should improve all of these skills almost at the same time. That's what my training program is based on. My students enjoy the lessons because they cover multiple aspects of chess in an engaging and dynamic way, keeping the learning process both stimulating and efficient. Of course, there are always ups and downs but this is completely normal in everyone's career.

If you would like to learn more about chess, you can take private lessons from me (you find the details on my profile) or you can visit my Patreon channel (www.patreon.com/Bgabor91), where you can learn about every kind of topics (openings, strategies, tactics, endgames, game analysis). There are more than 27 hours of educational videos uploaded already and I'm planning to upload at least 4 new videos per week, so you can get 4-6 hours of educational contents every month. I also upload daily puzzles in 4 levels every day which are available with a FREE subscription.

I hope this is helpful for you. Good luck with your games!

you've only played for a month, playing for longer will automatically get you better

Hey again. Still looks you are doing marathons of games and blitzing the moves even though your time control is 30 minutes. If you want to improve at chess, you have to have patience and master your emotions. Chess isn't a game of instant gratification. Not if you want to get better. It's going to take awhile and you have to be in a good frame of mind.

Until you have better board awareness, I'd recommend playing long time controls and before each move, doing a thorough check around the board to make sure you are not hanging pieces - and to see if your opponent has hung any pieces that you can chomp up. If you can play principled chess (minor pieces out, castle, rooks in the center or on open files) and avoid blundering your pieces, you can improve. Those basic principles should be able to get you to 750 elo at least.

Good luck.

To be deficient in skill does not signify an eternal state of inadequacy, for there exist manifold avenues toward improvement. For those dwelling within the humble ranks of one hundred to one thousand in the noble game of chess, the diligent practice of puzzles is most commendable, as it shall acquaint thee with various positions upon the board. Moreover, shouldst thou desire to foresee with ease the maneuvers of thine adversary, I heartily recommend employing the 'Play Bots' feature, setting the engine's prowess to a modest rating of one thousand. Fret not over advanced techniques or foundational principles until thou hast surpassed this threshold, for players within the range of one hundred to one thousand—nay, even those reaching eleven or twelve hundred—oft possess such glaring deficiencies that a simple tactical strike may swiftly secure the victory.

> Still Suck At Chess

Me too

You've been playing for 29 days on this site. You can't seriously expect to become a good chess player in less than a month. It took 2 years for me to get to where I am now (1700). Be patient, play consistently, and you'll get somewhere.

Here is a game you lost recently. You started with 30 minutes on your clocked, and you were mated with more than 26 minutes left. That should give you a hint where your problem is!

I have a decent uscf rating so maybe I can help. You are doing a lot of things right. I looked at your most recent win and pretty much everything looked great (ofc except for hanging M1). I would move to 10 minute time control instead of 30 minutes ones. It may seem counter-intuitive but you should try it. It will force you to see the opposing threat coming but also will train you to see 'em more quickly.

The main thing though is to follow the following plan. You can use it in the middlegame, that is where you should use most of your time (theoretically).

1.) Where did my opponent move?

2.) Where can that piece move?

3.) Respond if needed.

4.) Can i take anything for free?

5.) If so go for it. If not make a threat or improve a piece.

Eventually you will have to learn to look for other things, but this should get you through for now. Also id recommend learning the k+q mate - youtube has easy vids and id recommend the chesskid one (a bit for small kids but easy to understand). These are my main suggestions. Once you reach 500 you should start to try and learn a real opening, you can always dm me or smth if you want to know my suggestion.

Also if you lose three games in a row on the same day stop playing for that day. Do not, under any circumstances, play again until the next day. Trust me you dont wanna break this rule.

You said that you studied chess, but it is not clear that you have. I looked at several of your games. You are making beginner’s errors such as moving a piece a second time before developing every piece, not castling, not looking at your opponent’s threats, and so on.

Here are some suggestions.

1. Slow down your pace of play. Even though you are using a 30-minute time control, you are not using your time.

2. Stop binging one game after another. You are not allowing yourself the opportunity to learn from your mistakes.

3. Read several books on basic opening principles. Then focus on applying them in your games. A few weeks with classic instruction books will help you more than spending the same amount of time playing rapid games against others at your level.

4. Find an OTB club. Then find some stronger players who will talk about their games with you. Learning how stronger players think during a game will help you more than months of playing other beginners.

ty

fr

Learn and apply the most important principles of chess. - (core of my teaching)
Always blunder-check your moves.
Solve tactics in the right way.
Analyze your games.
Study games of strong players.
Learn how to be more psychologically resilient.
Work on your time management skills.
Get a coach if you can.

"Always blunder" lol