1Luceman wrote:
what has helped you the most to get better?
Regularly playing at an OTB (over the board, meaning IRL) club, analyzing my games within a few days of having played them, and reading good books.
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Mar 30, 2022
0
#3
llama51 wrote:
1Luceman wrote:
what has helped you the most to get better?
Regularly playing at an OTB (over the board, meaning IRL) club, analyzing my games within a few days of having played them, and reading good books.
I try to look back on most of my games, almost always the losses. (That keeps me off the streets!) I always see the mistakes in retrospect, but a lot of times I can’t see the “why.” It’s easy to see the missed fork for or against afterwards. When one says to “analyze” your games, walk me through what it means to you. I’m not being snarky here. So, how does one truly analyze their own game and ultimately grow?
Mar 30, 2022
0
#4
Wits-end wrote:
llama51 wrote:
1Luceman wrote:
what has helped you the most to get better?
Regularly playing at an OTB (over the board, meaning IRL) club, analyzing my games within a few days of having played them, and reading good books.
I try to look back on most of my games, almost always the losses. (That keeps me off the streets!) I always see the mistakes in retrospect, but a lot of times I can’t see the “why.” It’s easy to see the missed fork for or against afterwards. When one says to “analyze” your games, walk me through what it means to you. I’m not being snarky here. So, how does one truly analyze their own game and ultimately grow?
The nice thing about playing at a club every weekend is you're playing the same people over and over... which means you're already in the frame of mind that you need to find something to do differently next week. If a player is known for a certain opening, or if you've been failing to execute attacks recently, or if you've been losing due to time management... whatever it is, as soon as the game ends, you're already thinking about ways to fix it, or trying a new approach.
And that's basically what analysis is about. You find something about your play that you're dissatisfied with, even if it's something very small (not every game will contain something amazing to discover). And then you strategize about what you'll do differently.
One time I quit going to the club for 1 month, and I dedicated the time I usually spent playing to solving tactics out of a book. Every time I got a puzzle wrong, I saved it for the next session (so I reviewed all the failed puzzles over and over).
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As for how exactly to do analysis, I mean, you'll get more comfortable over time. It's especially useful if a higher rated opponent is willing to analyze with you after the game.
These days I'm not as serious about it, but for example after an online game I almost always go to a moment where I thought the evaluation changed. I want to look at moves or positions that I have a strong opinion on (if I think a move/position is good or bad for me or my opponent) and I check whether the engine agrees... and as far as the engine, I wouldn't use it too much for positions where you were really confused on what to do. Use books to learn how to play the confusing positions, use engines to check tactics and check moves you have a strong opinion on. That's my advice.
Mar 30, 2022
0
#5
Thank you llama51 ! I truly appreciate your advice and examples. It won’t be hard to find something wrong in my game I’m dissatisfied with… I’ve used the engine at times, mostly to find that hidden (to me) gem or disastrous move causing a huge point swing. Admit, i don’t always see the gems either. I’m going to go back over your advice many times. (Get my money’s worth…)
Really, thank you.
what's the t-shirt section?
What in the world is Hess in the T-shirt section? Is this dude old, real, or just a nerd? By the way, I really like Chess.com. I have been on for a few months. What sort of routine of playing on the computer, lessons, looking at historical games, and playing real-live games would you recommend to get better? I know! All of the above! A better question is what has helped you the most to get better? Some days I win a lot and others I totally suck! Thanks!