Improving Your Chess - Resources for Beginners and Beyond.....
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/improving-your-chess-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond
Stuck in the 700s
Sort:
Mar 12, 2024
0
#3
Yes, normal. A few things:
- your are in the 57th percentile, you play better chess then most people here on chess.com;
- ratings go up and down + and - a 100 (my guess), don’t look at your peak rating but look at your progression over time. You are doing good;
- if you learn new stuff your rating goes down;
- 50 is to old to become world class, but not to old to progress and enjoy (I am 56 and progressing);
- last but not least: try to enjoy the game itself and the learning experience. When I was young I played with friends. No rating involved, just fun (and frequent anger due to again another freaking blunder).
Have fun (or quite ;-).
- your are in the 57th percentile, you play better chess then most people here on chess.com;
- ratings go up and down + and - a 100 (my guess), don’t look at your peak rating but look at your progression over time. You are doing good;
- if you learn new stuff your rating goes down;
- 50 is to old to become world class, but not to old to progress and enjoy (I am 56 and progressing);
- last but not least: try to enjoy the game itself and the learning experience. When I was young I played with friends. No rating involved, just fun (and frequent anger due to again another freaking blunder).
Have fun (or quite ;-).
Identify your weaknesses and work on them. Play the bots without time limit and see how high you can get. Analyse each game.
Mar 12, 2024
0
#5
Ok, this may sound strange but: quit chess. I had another account where I used to be 900, then I quit chess for 2 months, I came back and on this account. I easily got to 1500.
What's that
Just quit. This is all BS anyway
Mar 12, 2024
0
#8
If you play faster time controls it's easier to get to 1000 look at my account trash at rapid bad at blitz and decent at bullet.
Mar 14, 2024
0
#9
I looked at a number of your recent loses, and as is usually with someone at your skill level it is because you blunder. Working on blundering less is what will give you the most benefit. Also I noticed in most of your loses you resigned right after the blunder when you are only down a minor piece (bishop or knight), and have most or all your other pieces left on the board. Don't do that. You still have a long game to play, and in order to improve you have to learn how to play when you make a mistake. We all make them. At the 700 rating level your opponent is not good enough to play an entire game without making their own blunders that can give you wining chances. So all you accomplish when resigning is just a lost game.
Don't play faster time controls as some people have mentioned. You need time to calculate, and check for blunders. Faster time controls don't help with that. An example of not using your time to calculate out, and find a wining move is in your game against toulminator3.
You also mentioned watching videos that are for at or below your current level (not familiar with the videos you mentioned). While this good. I would recommend watching the ones also for the rating levels just above where you are at. The people you are playing also know those, and getting to the next level requires learning new things, and incorporating them into your game.
As far as your opening goes it does not really matter at your level. I not a fan of the London, but it is a good opening. My main criticism of it is that it allows beginners to not think about their moves in the opening as much as they maybe should, but that is not as important as other aspects of the game. People at your level know what the opening principles are, but don't apply them the best. Your openings in your loses did not look bad except for when you blundered your pieces away. When it comes to the opening there are three things you need to focus on. 1. Opening Principles 2. Tactics 3. Not blundering. Don't worry what the computer says unless it is telling you that you are blundering a piece, or missed taking a minor piece or better for free. If it is like a five move tactic then don't worry about it. Those are not easy to see at your rating level. If your move in the opening does not accomplish one of the opening principles, win material, or prevent you from losing material then it is not a good move most likely. Doing those three things in the opening will get you through the opening in a playable position. The opening is what you should focus on the least though.
What you need to focus on is 1. Tactics/not blundering 2. The endgame 3. learning basics of strategy 4. Openings (only what I mentioned above, no need to learn specific moves (ie. opening theory).
1. Continue doing puzzles they help with learning pattern, and your ability to calculate. Also and more importantly is doing blunder checking.
Chess Vibes Blunder Check Video
Chess Vibes Tunnel Vision video
2. Endgames: Learn the overkill mates, and be able to do them without have to think. That way you can close a game even in serve time pressure. These are two queens vs king, queen and rook vs king, two rooks vs king, king and queen vs king, and king and rook vs king. All more advanced endgames are predicated on knowing how to do one or more of these mates in the end. The other thing to know is the principles of the endgame. These two things help with playing your endgames. From the loses I looked at you lost because of blundering, or not playing the endgame well enough. Not from the opening (unless it was because of a blunder which is more of a blundering issue and not an opening issue).
Two Queens, Two Rooks, or Queen and Rook vs King
3. Learning the basics of strategy will help you navigate games when you are out of the opening, and there are no tactics that are obvious in the position.
Basics on how to Evaluate a Position
Chess Vibes Tactic/Strategy Playlist
4. Openings: The blunder checking, and tactics will help you improve the most in the opening I am including a link to the opening principles just for reference (you may have read about them already).
I am also including Chess Vibes playlist for beginners. You will know some of it, but I think a lot of will help. There may be some overlap in the some of the playlists I included, but focusing on these will help you improve, and your goal of 1000 elo is certainly attainable.
Hope this helps.
Mar 14, 2024
0
#11
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond..everyone. Its nice to have this support and encouragement.
Mar 15, 2024
0
#12
Improving your chess rating from 700 Elo will require focused effort and dedication. Here are some brief suggestions to help you progress:
1. Basic Tactics: Master fundamental tactics such as forks, pins, skewers, and discovered attacks. Practice regularly on tactics training websites or books.
2. Study Openings: Focus on learning basic opening principles such as controlling the center, developing pieces efficiently, and ensuring king safety. Choose simple and solid openings to begin with.
3. Endgame Fundamentals: Learn basic endgames such as king and pawn endings, rook endings, and basic checkmating patterns. Understanding endgames will help you convert winning positions into victories.
4. Analyzing Your Games: Review your games to identify mistakes and missed opportunities. Pay attention to recurring patterns and try to understand the underlying reasons for your decisions.
5. Consistent Practice: Dedicate regular time to play and analyze games. Online platforms offer opportunities for both casual and competitive play, as well as tools for post-game analysis.
6. Seek Guidance: Consider working with a chess coach or joining a chess club where you can receive guidance, feedback, and support from more experienced players.
Remember, improving at chess is a journey that requires dedication, practice, and a willingness to learn from both victories and defeats. Good luck on your chess improvement journey!
Age is not a barrier to improvement in chess. Many players have achieved significant progress in chess well into their adult years and beyond.
You seem to be doing well, actually. I'm also stuck at the 700s (I'm 22 btw), my main weakenesses atm are endgames and time management, but in general I think we both are as strong as other 700elo players at tactics, just not as fast yet. I think it takes a little time for us to incorporate everything into our game effectively, but a friend of mine (strong player, 2100FIDE) suggest me to do puzzle rush to get faster at spotting tactics. Another thing that could also help is to remember to try and find resources even if you're losing, it's very common at our level to win with a counter attack, remember that every freaking position is prolly defendable at our level. You're prolly okay with the opening and endings, so go through the middlegame and try to find defences you missed or mistakes your opponent did that you couldn't spot
Jankogajdosiik escreveu:
Im stuck also, Despite playing incredible moves and Crazy moves, Im winning winning and yet i loose at the end everything crumbles, I dont understand either, oponents are incredibly stronger and They make comebacks offen im sometiems so angry im bout to chop down my bed with matchette
those are ending/advantage capitalization problems plus remember to pay attention to your opponent's resources
Mar 17, 2024
0
#17
A couple of things I did to enhance my experience here and gain in ratings a bit. When I first joined Chess.com gave me 1200 ratings for everything, based on what I don't know, lol.
1. I use focus mode. I don't see my opponent's rating until after the game. More relaxing.
2. Play against the bots - double your rating and then pick a bot close to that.
3. Look at the entire board before you move. Look at your opponent's last move and ask yourself "Why did they do that?"
4. Try the daily or 3 day games - more time to think.
5. Later on play the 10 minute game and also try the 3|2 or just 3 minute game. Your Rapid rating is different than the 3 minute game. The faster games, which will be harder at first, really help you in the longer games.
You need to put in more than 1 hour a day. 3-4 hours, sometimes spend a whole day on it.
Focus on making solid developing moves in the opening. Try not to move the same piece twice unless it involves whatever opening theory you are studying. You chiefly play 15-10 rapid which is a slow time control. Aggressive, unsound plans are likelier to be observed and punished in these time controls, so try not to think about winning every move. If you see a tactic in the position, take a few moments to look at the next move your opponent will likely make before you play it.
Just be patient and let your opponent crumble
For 90 days now despite putting in about an hour and half per day. I am now thinking that my goal of 1000 for this calendar year was naive and unrealistic. I don't even know what goal I should have at this point. I went through Everyone's First Chess Book, watched chess habits at and below my level multiple times with a board to play along, and other puzzles, half on lichess and half on chess.com I switched from 30 minute games to 15/10. I gave up the London to focus just on solid opening play. I try do to the same for black. I feel like when I am playing I am following the Chess Habits, but when I review my game, I am not. They make it look so easy and simple. Now just watching those videos makes me frustrated. I just feel like I have been stuck for an excessively long time. I hear people talk about being stuck at 900-1000 or 1000-1100, but not. in the 700s. I try to have fun regardless of ELO, but this has become my main hobby and who does not want to see that kind of improvement?
I think whats frustrating is that I hit 700 very easily and just nothing since.
I am in my 50s. Am I too old? I keep waiting for something to click in order to see some consistent improvement. I wake up everyday looking forward to playing and think that today might be a day that it all just starts going my way, but I just don't see it. Thats all. I just need to vent and want to know if this is common. Both the frustration and even more importantly, prospects of improvement.