1950ish to 2200 in three summers

@ChessOfPlayer

The only reason I ever win is because of tactics. Even games that I win I'm usually always worse in the middlegame and only win because I find a material winning combination. If I don't find one I end up losing. A local IM that I am friends with told me that I tend to put all of my pieces on the wrong squares and neglect weak squares. I constantly read about fighting for squares in annotated GM games but it all seems so subtle and and above my head.

I think my positional play is just horrible or non existent. My opponents always seem to emerge with a better position into the late middlegame. Most of the tactics I find happen to occur in the late middlegame or endgame though.

I'll check out that video you posted thanks!

@0110001101101000

I never said I thought the FIDE estimate was accurate but chesstempo does have a FIDE rating estimate number if you are a gold member and you click on your profile/history. It's a separate number from your chesstempo rating.

Thanks!  Question: Since you are a titled player do you know how long this title id thing works?  I sent mine in 3 days ago and haven't got a response yet.

@AIM-AceMove

You're absolutely right. The evolution of online tactic puzzles and trainers featuring tens of thousands of problems has revolutionized the way chess is studies especially with younger kids. I've seen kids who as soon as they graduate from scholastic tournaments and start playing adult club players they pull off a string of upsets and their ratings soar like 400-600 points in a year while the old timers are getting pulled down to their rating floors.

Nice to know misterbasic. 

Again, just to reiterate, if I were to get better I would have to focus on tactics.  I started just doing so a week ago!  Also reading this article is a nice booster to my confidence.  This explains how vehement I may have come across as. 

In conclusion, I have had a pretty good positional grasp recently, though have neglected my tactics.  Though some people might be neglecting their positional knowledge (like you).

In ultimate conclusion, chess is a mixture of TACTICS and Strategy.  Balacing the two makes definite improvement!

Scott fox I just signed in chesstempo. Last question : do you solve blitz tactics or standard tactics? Or both?

hey

Only Standard.  Blitz does not help you much.  Btw, my chesstempo.com username is: positionalace.  

The irony.

Yeah lol.

 Nice post!

Guess he had already good knowledge of the game (he started at 1950)

 

Another one who did that "tactis is the thing" thing was Michael de la maza, he even wrote a book about it ("Rapid chess improvement") only to drive beginners crazy trying to improve following his method and not being able to