Fake training and no progress? What to do (and what to avoid)

It obviously means that the lessons aren't helping you. You need to train yourself to work things out for yourself. Why assume that lessons are an effective training method?

I wouldn't trust anything cc does for training, they just want your money

Read books, do chesstempo, play OTB

Yes in puzzles I like to calculate as long as I can to get it right. Sometimes being stuck in one for days or even a week before answering. In lessons it's a bit different since you can't always continue it from the point where you are at, if there's for example 10 sections in one lesson and you are stuck at the last one... if u close it to think then the progress is gone and gotta start again so I end up guessing. Also the master games lessons are super unpredictable! Because it's masters playing masters examples trying to outsmart and surprise each other resulting into the most difficult answers to figure out. By doing a lot of lessons u start to remember some of the classic patterns and get them right first try. But the master games are just a different story 😁

Yes I have struggled to put everything I have learned into practice. I think I am just very exhausted from too much training and other things in life for optimal performance... I need that break from learning. Plain and simple. Also when I have tried to play blitz after a break I played over 90% accuracy opponents x3. I lost with having over 80% accuracy. I did get compensated from one of those games. It was a fare play violation. the level of players is crazy even at 400+.

But I am just most into 960. Because it puts players into a more equal position because of the changing starting positions. I have 900+ in that. Peaked at 1000. I really love playing it! I feel most confident in it. I have received a bronze medal in the 5 min 960 too, not only in 1 min. So there must have been some thinking involved 😁 And I think the lessons have helped with that! Do everyone have to like and play classic chess if they are simply better at 960?

If you prefer learning from books: do that!!! I'm just saying that there are different methods that still work. If cc is too expensive there's also free Lichess lessons. Or just get all the books with all the same lessons that are here in lessons. Whatever works! As long as remembering to take breaks too.

What I loved most about the article was the passion behind the writing. The vibe of writing about something that feels important to the writer. That's inspirational stuff! What I took from it was to think about my life and what I am most passionate about: 960, animal rights, plant based nutrition... Continuing chess lessons after I have a well deserved break.

After taking part in this conversation I have started to prioritize stuff in my life and made some discoveries. Therefore I am very grateful 😊 I am not one to follow orders, kind of a rebel 😅 but I am one who becomes inspired from others who are passionate about what they do!

If u don't believe me it's ok! Here's James Clear talking about his book Atomic Habits (that I have repeatedly read and listened to the audio book). Basically just making habits until they eventually become automatic.

https://youtu.be/U_nzqnXWvSo?si=dInbx_pzwNIvsOjU

I couldn't find the Zen Buddhist meditation routine video anymore that I applied to chess lessons doing them in certain parts of the day. But the principle is the same: making it an automatic habit. The difference is that instead of emptying your mind/letting your mind flow freely with chess lessons you are putting more information in. Also with the atomic habits concept is mostly applied to things that don't require as much thinking as doing chess lessons. Therefore breaks become necessary at some point. I just didn't think about that when I started. But it was easy to follow trough the habit path at least until 1000. If u don't want to try it and don't think it's worth trying then don't 😁

Thank you, that’s probably the greatest compliment.

Your ideas are interesting and, more importantly, they are yours. I personally like books and hard work; find your own path and your own obsession.

I’m rooting for you

Thank you! I'm rooting for you too 😊💪🏻🚀 I have no proof that my methods work 😂 All I have is that I was able to do 1000 lessons. That habit building is an effective way to get things done. If I actually learned something remains to be seen 😅🙈 I lack consistency because I struggle with having hyper focus (long win streaks) and no focus (long loosing streaks) and not much is in between. Sailing extreme waters... Hyper focus is great in tournaments!

I have improved my puzzle rush scores a little bit: 22 (was 18) in 3 min and 24 in 5 min & survival (was 20). I know it could be better, I am trying to improve... I always study afterwards the ones I got wrong. Puzzle rush is currently my substitute for the daily lessons. I'm going to try with the books too! I like Bobby Fischer's book challenges, I have not done them all yet. Pretty easy though.

Losing streaks? Set a limit, for example, a maximum of 4 or 10 mistakes per day. Once you reach it, you don't play any more. Review each game quickly.

With that level of commitment and time, you should play much stronger.

Lol I played 200 bullet games yesterday on lichess. I don't think the 4-10 mistakes per day limit would work for me

Yes I think losing streak limiting works! I have tried those before but then I forgot about it ending up with 10 losses in a row recently 🙈 I will now put a limit max 4 (or 3) losses in a row. My problem is that I like to play trough whole tournaments (I mainly play 960 tournaments) to see how many points I get and not quit it half way 😅 if I have a lot of points in the tournament and close to getting a medal it might feel impossible to quit... Losing in the beginning though even only 2 times is enough to convince me to quit it. So it depends when the losses start coming... Also exemption to the loss limit during community bullet brawl Saturdays because it has much higher rated players and losses are very common. Doesn't affect my 600+ elo much to lose to a bunch of 2000 rated 😂 although I have come close to winning them, only 1 second time difference sometimes. At least I have survived & didn't get checkmated. I do win over 1000 rated often in it!

Oh yeah Lichess tournaments... I wouldn't put a loss limit on those either 😅 Recently I have mainly played 15 sec tournaments with much higher rated players there. My hyperbullet elo is currently only 900+ (I am not so good at it but I still do it for fun and speed training sometimes) bullet 1000+ Rapid 1000+ Blitz 1200+ 960 1300+ but everyone knows that it's much easier to get a higher rating there 😁 Perhaps I can put a goal of getting to 1200 in rapid and 1300+ blitz there! Getting more confidence to eventually play those modes here again too. One day. If it's less crazy then. Or soon over 90% accuracy even with 300+ players - who knows 😂

Everyone does what they want 200!

Hi, Play less and train more calmly. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

But I love speedy chess 😇 and I am on a holiday from serious chess until next year! I will practice the slower modes at Lichess. If it feels good. I'm not doing anything that I don't enjoy doing during relax time. After new year it's time to get more serious again. With continuing lessons etc.

I am loving Lichess blitz and rapid, so relaxing 😌 I already got to 1300+ in blitz. Played one rapid game and opponent resigned after under one minute, I was winning too hard 😂 Compared to this place those modes at Lichess are like a walk in the park! At least at 1000+, 2000+ might be different 😅 If I ever get there... but now I can actually enjoy slower chess without the pressure of playing against over 90% accuracy. I can definitely recommend switching to Lichess momentarily if suffering from low blitz & rapid self esteem here.

Switch to lichess in general, it's so much better than here

I still like certain parts and people at chess com, so I'm not willing to switch to Lichess completely.
I thought about the loss limit and tournaments further. U can't really go into a tournament with an attitude of "I'm going to quit if I lose 4 times in a row". It simply doesn't work. It's a whole set of physical and mental preparations before going into a tournament. When you are pumped up with battle energy you gotta get that out or feeling "what if's" and incomplete the rest of the day. Sure if it starts really badly that's different. But to quit after getting several points... no 😅 There's always a chance to bounce back.
Loss streaks (in tournaments) are part of life and it's not something that discourages. I get pumped up with comeback energy after it happens. And getting a loss streak can burst an inflated ego and make you more grounded. It's fine. At least with quick games.
In individual games setting loss limits makes total sense & I have followed that principle for a long time in those. Even having a draw after a long torturous endgame can feel discouraging. That happens in rapid. While playing rapid here u start to think about life choices and all that... Someone in my life quit playing chess completely because of 4 rapid losses in a row. It's completely different than losing 4 1 min games. U get over 1 min loss rows in a minute or 2.
I do play 10 min person games at Duolingo occasionally. And enjoying Lichess blitz and rapid.

If I would teach a chess class I would probably specialize in pumping up students with battle energy 😁💪🏻

How to prepare yourself for the ultimate chess battles!! For example imagine yourself as a force of nature. The scorching fires, cold winter blizzards, windstorms like tornadoes or floods of water... The revenge of nature unleashing on humanity for destroying nature... Staring into the souls of opponents so fiercely that they will quit frightened from the energy alone. Something like that or something else that motivates into full battle mode in chess! Whatever it might be. That would be my kind of chess school 😜