Black is more difficult for me also. But I saw a video where hiakru said to play as defensive as possible wihh black and wait for your opponents mistake. Its helped for me. I just slow down and play defense with no aggressive moves in the beginning. Just takes time and practice though
Advice for improving as Black?
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#1
Black is OK. Just think carefully before each move. Always check your intended move is no blunder before you play it. That alone is enough to get to 1500.
Bump for more suggestions.
Feb 6, 2022
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#5
There really shouldn't be that much problem playing either side. If you are consistently losing as black, it might be due to your openeings. Try to find a good black repoitire and learn the ins and outs of it. You'll get more comfortable with those positions. Ultimately, do focus more on puzzles untill you reach somewhere between 1200-1300 RAPID as 800s still make 1 move blunders.
MicrophoneDmg wrote:
Ultimately, do focus more on puzzles untill you reach somewhere between 1200-1300 RAPID as 800s still make 1 move blunders.
Absolutely! I do as many puzzles for free each day on Chess.com. So far I've completed 325. However, since I started doing puzzles, my Rapid ELO dropped significantly and I don't know how to explain that.
Feb 6, 2022
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#7
It's the opposite for me. At least, I feel more comfortable as black.
It may sound cliche but you need to learn better opening for black because it helped me win most of my games as black.
Finally, your rating is 800-ish.
So, my advice would be to learn not to hang pieces first, and then improve your tactical vision. Don't just solve puzzles. Repeat the solutions of the puzzles and commit them to your memory.
Believe it or not, I made my own traps and opening system for myself. Not sure if it is accurate but the openings that I designed for myself has many tricks, although some of them are less tricky and more defensive (which gives up the initiative). Perhaps, they are bad at higher level but pretty safe for 1500-1600 rated. I have even defeated many 2000-ish players with my tricks and system.
How am I able to make opening systems of my own? In my life, I have played over 15 thousand games (not including blitz and bullet). Therefore, I have created my own style.
Anyways, my point here is that you need to learn better opening system for black. Not just openings, but a whole system.
Study the Nimzowitsch Defence, especially study "My System" from Nimzowitsch. It's not just an opening but a system for playing. It's good for both and black and white, but the closed style approach is good for you to defend yourself as black.
I’m a full time college student and I work part time so my schedule is busy and I can’t afford a chess coach. Last year, I was doing okay in chess but the more I played as Black, the more I lost and my rating dropped 200 points. Any tips and tricks you feel I can use as Black I’ll feel much obliged. Thanks in advance.