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advice for discouraged beginner
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Dec 8, 2022
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#3
Having read questions from discouraged beginners for some time, I finally got around to making a blog about it. It has exercises and some links that I think will help.
https://www.chess.com/blog/llama36/beginner-instruction-ignores-basics
@1
"take one hour lessons every week" ++ Stop that, apparently it does not help.
"I study tactics" ++ You cannot study tactics, you can and should analyse your lost games.
"do puzzles" ++ solving 4 tactics puzzles is a good warm-up,
but in a game nobody tells you there is a tactic, or for whom.
"play bots" ++ Do not play bots. Bots err, but in a non-human way.
"play live" ++ That is good, but analyse your lost games to learn from your mistakes.
Play 15|10 time control and use all your time before move 30 and finish the game on increment.
"My rating peaked at about 450"
++ That is a sign of frequent blunders. Always check your intended move is no blunder before you play it. That little mental discipline is enough to reach 1500. Sit on your hands.
"a really bad losing streak" ++ Whenever you lose a game, stop playing and analyse it first.
"With all the time and effort" ++ You spend your time and effort in a wrong way.
"a few wins would be nice" ++ Focus on not losing first, wins will come automatically.
Thanks for the good advice. What is the best way to analyze lost games?
@5
"What is the best way to analyze lost games?"
++ Since you lost a game, you must have made at least one mistake. Find the last mistake that made you lose. How much time did you spend on it? How much time did you have available? What was the good move? Did you consider the good move? Why did you play the mistake?
What I really meant to say is should I use the Chess.com self analysis or is there some other way? Is that tool reliable?
@7
You can use the chess.com tool and it is reliable enough, but you can also analyse without any aid, just by yourself. The essence is not the tool, but the introspection into your own thought process and time use.
Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.
Dec 9, 2022
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#10
Do nothing but tactics and rapid games until you are 1400.
When I was 1100 OTB, i just spammed tactics and pretty soon I got to 1500
Dec 9, 2022
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#11
I think, and it is only my humble opinion, daily games improve your overall chess better than fast games. I expect some stick for this opinion........ (sorry in advance).
Dec 9, 2022
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#12
Derek-C-Goodwin wrote:
I think, and it is only my humble opinion, daily games improve your overall chess better than fast games. I expect some stick for this opinion........ (sorry in advance).
They have their advantages. Daily games, theoretically, allow you to take more time per move and so play better, but in reality almost everyone plays their moves instantly and plays worse than rapid
I only play 30 minute games but usually finish in 15 to 20 minutes
Dec 9, 2022
0
#14
tygxc wrote:
@5
"What is the best way to analyze lost games?"
++ Since you lost a game, you must have made at least one mistake. Find the last mistake that made you lose. How much time did you spend on it? How much time did you have available? What was the good move? Did you consider the good move? Why did you play the mistake?
Do this!
Also, this is where playing against bots can help. Don't play bots to win them, play the bots to practice doing what @tygxc recommends. The more you practice doing what he suggests, the better you will become.
Dec 10, 2022
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#15
tygxc wrote:
*Snip*
"I study tactics" ++ You cannot study tactics, you can and should analyse your lost games.
"do puzzles" ++ solving 4 tactics puzzles is a good warm-up,
but in a game nobody tells you there is a tactic, or for whom. *Snip*
Disagree. While analysing your games is important, it does not generalize. Pattern recognition is important. This is where puzzles/tactics help. But you must understand the general pattern that you learn not just the specifics so you know when it works and when it doesn't - Like the Greek gift.
Get professional help! Lots of affordable chess coach online.
I bought Chess Tactics for students by John Bain on the recommendation of my instructor. After looking thru the book it seems like a waste of time. I know what pins, forks, skewers etc are. Any thoughts on whether spending time on this would be useful?
It does help you to learn to write moves in algebraic notation though.
I agree with Derek. Slow down and play daily games. Set up an actual board and study each new position before making your move.
Can anyone give me some tips or advice? I don’t plan to quit anytime soon and I know this is just for fun. I’ll never be or want to be a grandmaster but a little improvement and a few wins would be nice.