Does solving puzzles actually help your rating? Feeling stuck.

Alright, need some real talk about puzzles.

I've been grinding them almost every day for the past month. I'm talking dozens of rated puzzles on all themes - tactics, endgames, you name it. But for all that effort, my rating feels completely stagnant. Zero progress, honestly.

It's starting to feel like I'm just memorizing patterns for the puzzle trainer instead of actually learning how to use them in a real game. Maybe my brain just isn't connecting the dots from the puzzle world to the board.

So, I'm curious: Do you guys find that puzzle grinding actually translates to rating gains for you?

And if puzzles aren't the magic bullet, what's the most effective thing you've found for actually improving? Is it just playing more games and analyzing them? Studying specific openings? Endgame theory?

Because right now, it feels like I'm just spinning my wheels. Any advice is appreciated.

You can do all the tactics in the world and that won't make you a better player as long as you're playing speed chess.

That's a fair point about the importance of moving away from pure speed chess to properly apply tactical knowledge.

Just to clarify, when you say "speed chess," what time control are you referring to specifically? I primarily play 10-minute games, which I've always considered to be rapid chess. While it's certainly faster than classical, it's not as extreme as bullet or blitz, and I find it allows for at least some amount of calculation.

I'm curious about your perspective on where the line is for a time control that's too fast for tactical improvement to translate.

Simple test. Can you ask and answer each of the following questions on each move without losing on time: Am I following opening principles? Is my opponent following opening principles? Are my pieces safe? Did my opponent hang material? Did I miss a tactic? What is my game plan? What is my opponent trying to do?

At the end of the day. Do what makes the game fun for you. But make no mistake. There is a huge difference between having fun and improvement.

You are “solving” most of puzzles in less than 10 seconds. It is completely absurd. If you are solving a puzzle, you have to do following steps: 1.You have to count material of both sides. It will take you about 20 - 30 seconds. 2.Then you look for threats of your opponent. 3.Then you can start to consider a winning move. 4. You are analysing following moves: 1. Checks 2.captures 3. Threats. First you analyse moves which are checks and captures. Then you analyse moves that are only checks. Then you analyse moves that are only captures. And then you analyse moves that are only threats. This is how solve the puzzles.

Valid points, but if its a pattern you know. You can skip all of that.

Lieutenant: I am talking to OP not to you. Your comments got zero sense.

We can agree to disagree. But if it is a pattern you know. You do not need to go through a checklist like that to be able to solve it. When you tie your shoes. Do you think about each step or do you just do it?

i believe that puzzles will make you better at spotting blunders, which will help if your opponent males one. Puzzles ask "why is this a mistake?" They improve tactical awareness.

I think puzzles can help a beginner learn common tactical themes. They may also help to get warmed up and ready to play.

But puzzles have a few major limitations.

During a game, no one is there to tap you on the shoulder and say that a tactical trick is available.

Puzzles don’t teach a player how to play in the opening and middlegame so that they reach a position in which a tactical shot is available.

And puzzles encourage players to adopt an overly tactical style. They look for tactics and nothing else.

so, after you have solved several hundred puzzles and have seen the basic tactical tricks, you need to work on opening play and middlegame planning.

Thank you for this detailed and thoughtful comment. You've perfectly articulated the limitations I've started to feel but couldn't quite put into words. The point about no one tapping you on the shoulder during a game is especially true.

This leads to my main question: How exactly do you recommend "working on opening play and middlegame planning"?

Could you share some specific methods or resources you've found effective?
For the opening, is it about deeply studying the ideas behind a few chosen lines, rather than just memorizing moves?
For middlegame planning, what's the best way to practice that? Is it through analyzing master games, working with specific books, or something else entirely?

I'd really appreciate any practical advice on making that transition from being a puzzle-solver to a more well-rounded player.

That's a very good point. You're absolutely right — puzzles are excellent for building that foundational tactical awareness and training you to constantly ask "what's the threat?" and "why is this a mistake?" It's a crucial skill.

My biggest struggle right now, which puzzles don't really address, is the inability to convert a winning advantage, even when I'm up several pieces in an endgame. I often get a winning position out of the middlegame but then just flounder, make passive moves, and sometimes even draw or lose from a completely won spot.

So, my question is: Where can someone actually learn the technique for this? And more importantly, how do you practice it? Is it about studying basic checkmate patterns with limited material, or are there specific drills or resources you'd recommend for learning this "conversion" skill?

This is too general a question. Post a few games in which you failed to convert so we can analyse and tell you something.

There are several ways to win when you are significantly ahead in material.

1. Use your extra material to attack. If you have more attackers than defenders, you should be able to win even more material or to checkmate their king.

2. use your extra material to gain space. Eventually, the extra space can be converted to even more material gain.

3. exchange pieces to reach an easily won ending. Since exchanges help the side that is ahead, you can use threats of exchanging to gain more space.

Which of these approaches is best will depend on the specific position.

when ahead, trade pieces... when behind, trade pawns. simplify when ahead, complicate when behind.

do survival puzzles ad infinitum & try to beat my 74 pb: tactical skill + pattern recognition isn't everything, but it's a huge chunk of overall chess skill & there's no substitute for solving hundreds of thousands of them.

play tal bot (2705) a few dozen times & you'll begin to seriously appreciate the value of rapidly developed & properly placed pieces.

learn --> endgames --> complete all challenges (this is obscenely difficult but well worth it).

learn --> lessons --> skip the videos & complete all the challenges (i've finished every lesson & you will learn a LOT from this).

probably the best improvement advice is to treat every move as a 'find the best move' puzzle, spend as much time thinking about your opponents' responses as you do your own ideas & always blunder check your moves.

I do puzzles for fun. For improvement in slow time controls, I review my games and master games with board, pencil, and paper. Especially endings. For improvement in fast time controls, I don't know yet how to improve board vision under time pressure. Playing over the board seems to help.

Puzzle positions you solve are earned by good openings and positional moves,to get those positions you need to have initiative most of the time. So puzzles are just one piece of the "puzzle". Play longer games and study the endgame so that your puzzle work can shine.

I did about 5000 puzzles on this site plus a lot in some books over six months from December 2022 through May 2023. What I found during a tournament in May was that I was enjoying calculation more. Time spent on puzzles helped me enjoy the hard work of tournament chess. I also won the tournament and lifted my USCF rating from 1820 to 1872.

Of course, I’ve been in the 1800s since falling from the 1900s eleven years ago. So, I cannot say that puzzles have made me better. Perhaps they serve as a guard against the inevitable decline as I push through my 60s.

I’ve done more than 1300 puzzles on this site since December 2022. I’ve done twice that number in books during the same time. However, the vast majority of the book puzzles were in books for players well below my level. I read some tactics books so that I can recommend them to my students.

For instance, I did all of the more than 1400 exercises in this book over one year’s time. The first 700 took less than a week at 30 minutes or less per day. I slowed down, but only found the last 200-300 contained any that were challenging. The second volume is at the correct level for me for training.