The good thing about not playing well

Since I decided to improve at chess, I've experienced my share of ups and downs. One of the biggest obstacles many beginners face is not knowing exactly how to get better. We often end up watching YouTube videos on topics like pawn structure, prophylaxis, and other advanced concepts that—while important—aren't the main factors holding us back from becoming better players. As beginners, we might overestimate the importance of these elements at our current level. This can lead to frustration, making us feel like we'll never improve since those concepts seem so far removed from a beginner's reality. In truth, the mistakes beginners make are usually related to very basic in-game skills, and that's actually a good thing! These types of mistakes are much easier to identify and correct. The bottom line is, focusing on the right areas for improvement can make the learning process a lot less frustrating.

So the fact that you have to perfect not just advanced stuff, but also basics, is somehow an advantage? Lol

I wonder, perhaps the original poster meant that an advantage of being a beginner is that it is easy to understand what you're doing wrong. If the reason that you lose is that you fail to notice that you're putting undefended pieces on squares where they are attacked, you don't have to spend hours watching long videos on the intricacies of pawn structures in order to improve. All you need to do is get in the habit of checking whether the square you're putting your queen on is actually attacked by an adjacent pawn. Simple!

That's exactly it, thank you.

Good points.

At a rating of 960 rapid, most of my games are lost by blunders, and those that I win are usually because of blunders made by the other player. It might come down to how I can control my impulse to move quickly.