my advice -- you should take a lot of time with each tactics puzzle and not care about the rating. If you are wrong on a puzzle, go over the solution slowly, until you "understand" it to the extent that you feel comfortable -- that given that starting position again, you would play the sequence of moves leading to the win.
a lot of strategy and tactics comes with experience. you should not care about your Rating. Play a lot of games and go over them. As you are a paying member, you can submit more games for computer analysis. Do that, to see what you missed, and again, try to see if you would play those recommendations when you study those positions.
hello,
I am constantly making blunders in my openings. I have learn't some things about the opening principles but I keep making mistakes. I am still only playing white and I have thought about trying an openings book as that seems the best move; but a lot of people are saying that is a common mistake made by beginners. I am working through the lessons and playing the tactics al lot. I have a 42% pass rate which is rather poor and it is making me feel like I am not learning anything. What do all the stats on the tactics page mean? there is a rating with a hash mark and then a number like 1242, what does this mean? is it the rating of the problem. So if I get around 850-900 on tactics then solving a 1200 rating problem would increase me by some percantage? Then there is a percentage for pass rate? and then attempts which is a very large number usually. Is there a page that explains how the tactics work?