240 elo, how can I improve?
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Mar 14, 2026
0
#23
Get like a rating of 300 or more in rapid and then do blitz you need to know how to walk before you can run if u get my drift
Play 15 10 or 30min rapid and analyze your games (what everyone told me to do but didn’t help. IDK how to analyze my games even now) In the opening, develop pieces and castle as fast as you can. Every beginner should play the London system as white because it is simple and aggressive.
Mar 14, 2026
0
#25
♟️ The Core Skill That Actually Makes You Improve:🧩 1. Stop blundering first — everything else comes later
At beginner levels, the biggest rating gains come from simply not giving pieces away. A practical routine:
Before every move, ask: “What are all the things my opponent can capture next move?”
Then ask: “If I move here, is anything of mine hanging?”
This alone can push you hundreds of points.
Mar 14, 2026
0
#26
I agree with others, dont play blitz if you are trying to improve. Start with rapid and analyze ur games.
#26 your chatgpt response everyone has received before doesn't help. If someone is inexperienced, blundering is inevitable as they just haven't built up enough familiarity in those positions or the tactical vision. Analysing games, learning the threats, doing puzzles and grinding game experience are just a few ways to reduce blunders. #1 you will blunder more in blitz on time pressure and don't have time to problem solve, longer time-controls and increment will help grow playing strength.
Ok, I'll play 15 | 10
Someone knows how can I play the double move chess?
because you haven't got time to think.
Learn some chess fundamentals, learn some openings, play 30 min rapid (or at least 10 min), have a plan. Read a book about chess, do some puzzles, there are lessons here, play some bots.
Play some daily games, set one up on a table with a real board and actually look at the moves.
Chess is hard, I played from 9-12 as a boy, now 55 trying to play again I find the idea of a time limit very difficult to deal with, I played my dad on a board in the hallway with one chair and a card to flip over "John's move"/"Dad's move" that game might take weeks, we would sit there for hours looking at the board (3 not 24hr TV channels, no internet, I had friends who had no TV in their house full stop!) I'd get told off for being out of bed looking at it, look at every move I can make, look at every move he can reply with....god, I was 10, maybe make the move, put a 1/2p coin where the piece was and just look!
I do almost all puzzles, every lesson and I watch so much openings
Mar 15, 2026
0
#32
I have a tip tarde pawns when you have less points then your opponent and trade “normal pieces” when you are leading in material
Play slower games so u have time to think about the new stuff ur gonna be learning (or learing if u live in Minneapolis). Do tactic puzzles daily. Try to get them right, don't worry about speed. Learn basic, simple ENDGAMES. King and pawn. Rook and pawns. Etc. Basic opening principles such as control the center (target central squares), development (get ur back row out fast. Castle early. Always ask urself WHY ur opponent made their last move, WHAT r they threatening? Ur definitely gonna improve if u do those things.
Mar 15, 2026
0
#34
empeq_sigma wrote:
because you haven't got time to think.
Learn some chess fundamentals, learn some openings, play 30 min rapid (or at least 10 min), have a plan. Read a book about chess, do some puzzles, there are lessons here, play some bots.
Play some daily games, set one up on a table with a real board and actually look at the moves.
Chess is hard, I played from 9-12 as a boy, now 55 trying to play again I find the idea of a time limit very difficult to deal with, I played my dad on a board in the hallway with one chair and a card to flip over "John's move"/"Dad's move" that game might take weeks, we would sit there for hours looking at the board (3 not 24hr TV channels, no internet, I had friends who had no TV in their house full stop!) I'd get told off for being out of bed looking at it, look at every move I can make, look at every move he can reply with....god, I was 10, maybe make the move, put a 1/2p coin where the piece was and just look!
I do almost all puzzles, every lesson and I watch so much openings
"I watch so much openings"
Learning more openings won't help you improve. You want quality, not quantity. Pick one or two openings that you like the most. Then learn how to get really good at those one or two openings.
Don't bother with opening traps. They become less and less effective as you gain elo. You're far better off learning a good, solid opening. Learn all the key ideas of that opening and counterattacks that your opponent can do against it.
Doing lessons is good, but retention is equally important. How many of the lessons do you remember? Do you pick a particular lesson, or just pick a lesson at random? At your elo rating, I would recommend doing lessons about tactics.
LineDodger escribió:
empeq_sigma wrote:
because you haven't got time to think.
Learn some chess fundamentals, learn some openings, play 30 min rapid (or at least 10 min), have a plan. Read a book about chess, do some puzzles, there are lessons here, play some bots.
Play some daily games, set one up on a table with a real board and actually look at the moves.
Chess is hard, I played from 9-12 as a boy, now 55 trying to play again I find the idea of a time limit very difficult to deal with, I played my dad on a board in the hallway with one chair and a card to flip over "John's move"/"Dad's move" that game might take weeks, we would sit there for hours looking at the board (3 not 24hr TV channels, no internet, I had friends who had no TV in their house full stop!) I'd get told off for being out of bed looking at it, look at every move I can make, look at every move he can reply with....god, I was 10, maybe make the move, put a 1/2p coin where the piece was and just look!
I do almost all puzzles, every lesson and I watch so much openings
"I watch so much openings"
Learning more openings won't help you improve. You want quality, not quantity. Pick one or two openings that you like the most. Then learn how to get really good at those one or two openings.
Don't bother with opening traps. They become less and less effective as you gain elo. You're far better off learning a good, solid opening. Learn all the key ideas of that opening and counterattacks that your opponent can do against it.
Doing lessons is good, but retention is equally important. How many of the lessons do you remember? Do you pick a particular lesson, or just pick a lesson at random? At your elo rating, I would recommend doing lessons about tactics.
ok
Mar 15, 2026
0
#36
Another note: Most games of Chess are won and lost in the middlegame. Usually because of one of these things (or sometimes both of them):
- A player blunders and hangs a piece. The other player takes it and the losing player struggles on until they either get checkmated, time out or resign.
- A player finds a tactic and successfully uses it to either get checkmate or win material. Same as above, the losing player then struggles on until they lose the whole game.
If you're rated below 1,000 elo, then probably most of your games are lost because of the first reason. It will most likely happen during the middlegame. Here are some key things to remember:
- Before moving a piece, do a quick scan of the board and make sure nothing can capture it if you move it to the square you want to move it to.
- Look for pins, forks and skewers. Do puzzles specifically based around these three concepts. Your games are probably full of pins, forks and skewers that you're not noticing, because you haven't yet learned how to notice them. Once you do that, you'll gain elo very quickly.
- If you do manage to pin a piece, start attacking it. Your opponent can't move it, so if you put more pressure on it, you'll probably win material.
- During games, look for checks. You don't have to play the check: But just know that it's there. It might be useful a few turns later.
- Also, look for pieces that are on the same rows or columns. This is how you get forks and skewers.
- Look for knight forks. These tend to become easy to spot as you improve at Chess.
I agree with everyone
I looked at your last several losses.
Although you are now playing 15/10, you are not taking time to think. You are hanging pieces and allowing mate, and you end up with more time than you started with.
Here are some suggestions.
Dont play blitz, since you need time to think.
Dont play 15/10, if you wont use your time to think.
take a week or two off from playing chess and read some good instruction books. Learning basic opening principles will help you to improve more than playing blitz or solving puzzles. For example, in one game, you had castled kingside and then advanced your g-pawn two squares. That is a beginner’s mistake.
also learn some middle game tactics since you only have openings and mate ideas