7 Bad Habits that Prevent us from becoming better chess player

1)Not studying any chess =whatsoever (Believe it or not but this is a very common and a very bad chess habit which is common to millions of chess players who play chess on regular basis. They “just play” and don’t get any better. Don’t get me wrong, they get better, but their rate of development is very slow and it’s almost impossible to take track of it. If you are serious about chess and want to become a better player just playing isn’t enough, you need to learn some chess fundamentals. Trying to get everything in chess through experience is like trying to build an airplane from the Stone Age technologies. It’s a lot better to open a book and to see the current progress.)

2)Playing a lot of blitz games = (Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against blitz, but it’s not exactly chess. By playing dozens of Blitz games against opponents you’re not going to improve much. Maybe you will train you intuition somewhat, but your calculation technique, strategy and endgame will not improve at all. You cannot get better without long time control chess. Have you ever observed a “very good blitz player” playing a long-time control game? If you have you know why they don’t play it: calculating two moves ahead and playing 2 moves per second isn’t very necessary in long chess.)

3)Not analyzing your own games = (For some weird reason many chess players believe that analyzing your chess games is a waste of time. They would rather play another blitz game than sit down and look at the game they just played. It is very important to analyze your own games, especially the games you have lost. By doing so you will see your weaknesses and will improve your chess.)

4)Dedicating too much time to openings =(Of course an opening is a very important stage of the game which literally dictates the way at which the game will progress. But most people spend too much time studying openings, memorizing variations they will probably never face in their games. These players of course know what to play on 14th move in Queen’s Gambit Accepted/Classical Variation, but since their opponents do not know what to play on move 7 and change the route their knowledge is useless. They would be so much stronger players if they just focused on tactics and endgames.)

5)Not solving any tactics problems =(Tactics is the key element of chess. Majority of games are being won or lost because of tactics. Forks, skewers, double attacks, sacrifices are basic elements of tactics. In order to spot them, regular training is required. A chess player needs to spend a lot of time solving tactics problems/studies in order to improve and keep the tactical vision sharp.)

6)Ignoring endgames = (This is another common misconception that endgames are boring and useless and that all the games are being won beforehand. Maybe some endgames are boring, but every little mistake counts in the endgame, every wrong move and a lost tempo is what separates winner from loser. In order to be able, the endgames when you are up a pawn from the middle game regular practice is required. Spend some time on endgames and you will be amused how your what used-to-be loses will change to draws and draws will become wins. )

7)Playing too much online chess =(I have already talked about the differences between real and online chess, so here I would just say that over the board experience is what teaches you to become a better player, while online chess is just fun time spending. In order to get better at chess, you need to play over the board, the sooner you realize it the faster you will become your improvement.)

 Article by Yashas Pessi

This is a list that really ought to include heroin addiction.

Its essential for every chess player 

3, 6 and 7 are my bad habits. Great Article!

Thanks @bong711

the worst thing that will ruin your chess is slagging off putin, not that the Russians start sending people that cheat to beat you into a pulp or anything, god forbid.

While you are correct in general, there is also a problem with what you are suggesting. Some people want to get better and view it as worthwhile to spend time on studying chess. Other player simply want to play and see what they can achieve without studying and/or who also do not have time to study chess, or who have better activities to spend their time on.

Rule 8 - Getting married is bad for your chess.

Rule 9 - Having children is bad for your chess.

Rule 10 - Having to work a 60hr week is bad for your chess.

Rule 12 - Drinking whisky while playing online is bad for your chess.

Thanks for posting this article by Yashas Pessi.  I do need to be reminded of my bad habits!!

Why though, why do we have to play OTB. It's hard to even see the pieces and especially the board when all the pieces are in the way at chess club!

Согласен с привычками.

well done, number 7 was my problem, I took 5 years off from tournaments, online chess is tough but OTB is the real deal, I try to play once a month now in uscf, it's valuable experience

Great article Yashas! It will really help my chess! Thanks a lot! 👍

2)Playing a lot of blitz games = (Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against blitz, but it’s not exactly chess. By playing dozens of Blitz games against opponents you’re not going to improve much. Maybe you will train you intuition somewhat, but your calculation technique, strategy and endgame will not improve at all. You cannot get better without long time control chess. Have you ever observed a “very good blitz player” playing a long-time control game? If you have you know why they don’t play it: calculating two moves ahead and playing 2 moves per second isn’t very necessary in long chess.)

Is it as bad as playing 100s of Daily Chess? I saw one with 800 ongoing games.

Blitz can be good for you. I have taken my blitz games and I study what I did wrong .

Sometimes trying to read / make sense of these forum posts is very bad for my brane in general

This thread deserves to stay relevant.