how can i improve my chess? - Chess Forums

robertrange

Nov 1, 2019

0

#1

My friend I deal with the same issues when it comes to chess...I would suggest learning to decipher when one part of the game ends and where the next part begins, always try to develop your pieces Efficiently and don’t underestimate your opponent. I wish you luck and hope this helps

mattcat2000

Nov 2, 2019

0

#2

I am struggling with the same part of my game as well. It sounds like we both need to study middle game strategies.

Pode conversar comigo em português também. Morei no Rio Grande do Sul por 2 anos servindo um missão pela Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Últimos Dias. Faz tempo, mas ainda falo a idioma. Adoro Brasil meu amigo!

hisokaxhunter

Nov 2, 2019

0

#3

study endgame, and how to win fast, don't go for long games, u r a math teacher, u can use ur calculation on how to do it, see the pattern not memorising the steps

hisokaxhunter

Nov 2, 2019

0

#4

study endgame, and how to win fast, don't go for long games, u r a math teacher, u can use ur calculation on how to do it, see the pattern not memorising the steps

SpiritoftheVictory

Nov 2, 2019

0

#5

shakaadriano wrote:

I am a math teacher here in Brazil, and I have studied openings like Italian, Lady Gambit, French defense and Sicilian defense. I do tactical lessons every day, 30 min a day and my rating was 1300 in Blits, recently my rating in blits is 1099 and I can't win! I have Bipolar Disorder, ie I have moments of "depression" where my playing force is approximately 1100 and moments of "euphoria" where I can play at the same level of 1800 rating and in my regular would be 1300. This disease is genetic and not I have a cure, only treatment and I take medicines. But I wanted better results, I study tactical training openings and when I play, I lose! how to improve my chess?

I would suggest you to stop playing blitz and start playing the correspondence chess. Longer time will help you THINK. Also, I suggest buying the premium membership and doing the lessons. Reading books is hard, watching videos alone is not productive either. But in Lessons, you have the opportunity to watch a short video and do some challenges. It is a recent feature of chess.com and it is a mighty excellent combination for people like you and me who have a relatively short attention span. Good luck!

Nnomi

Nov 2, 2019

0

#6

The_Corroded_King wrote:

I've played chess a long time, started again now, I'm totally off though still getting back into it. I was usually around 1700. And I know pretty much every opening there is, not that is going to get me anywhere though, haha. But what the heck is the "Lady Gambit?."

Pretty sure he means Queen's Gambit. The Queen is sometimes referred to as a "lady" in different languages.

Jenium

Nov 2, 2019

0

#7

Postpone studying openings and read a book on strategy.

IM pfren

Nov 2, 2019

0

#8

I play chess for some 50 years, and I have no idea what the hell this Lady Gambit is. Unless you mean Queen's gambit, of course.

Openings is the least important part of the game for beginners and low rated players. I suggest following Capablanca's and Nezhmetdinov's recommendation, and start studying basic endgames. This will also teach you to calculate with precision.

kindaspongey

Nov 2, 2019

0

#9

"... for those that want to be as good as they can be, they'll have to work hard.
Play opponents who are better than you … . Learn basic endgames. Create a simple opening repertoire (understanding the moves are far more important than memorizing them). Study tactics. And pick up tons of patterns. That’s the drumbeat of success. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (December 27, 2018)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/little-things-that-help-your-game
https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-start-out-in-chess
https://www.chess.com/news/view/a-new-years-resolution-improve-your-chess-with-new-lessons

Strangemover

Nov 2, 2019

0

#10

I have found that the lady gambit involves sacrificing for inadequate compensation. Perhaps I have not played it correctly.

Ziryab

Nov 2, 2019

0

#11

hisokaxhunter wrote:

study endgame, and how to win fast,

You misspelled slow

st0ckfish

Nov 2, 2019

0

#12

shakaadriano wrote:

I am a math teacher here in Brazil, and I have studied openings like Italian, Lady Gambit, French defense and Sicilian defense. I do tactical lessons every day, 30 min a day and my rating was 1300 in Blits, recently my rating in blits is 1099 and I can't win! I have Bipolar Disorder, ie I have moments of "depression" where my playing force is approximately 1100 and moments of "euphoria" where I can play at the same level of 1800 rating and in my regular would be 1300. This disease is genetic and not I have a cure, only treatment and I take medicines. But I wanted better results, I study tactical training openings and when I play, I lose! how to improve my chess?

I recommend studying not only the openings, but the resulting middle game positions. I also highly recommend you keep doing tactics -- try reading The Woodpecker Method by Axel Smith, it really helped me improve my rating. Other book recommendations include all of the volumes in the Winning Chess series by Yasser Seirawan, How to Reassess your Chess by Jeremy Silman, Dynamic Chess Strategy by Mihail Suba, My 60 memorable games by Bobby Fischer, and Chess Master Vs. Chess Amateur by Max Euwe (although that one is in descriptive notation). Of course, you can only get so far without practical over the board experience, so I would recommend playing in some local tournaments and get an official FIDE, or National rating. Send me a PM if you would like me to analyze some of your games and give you some more suggestions

kindaspongey

Nov 2, 2019

0

#13

"How to Reassess Your Chess, 4th Edition was designed for players in the 1400 to 2100 range." - IM Jeremy Silman (2010)

You might want to consider Amateur's Mind by Jeremy Silman.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094419/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/ammind.pdf
https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/amateurs-mind-the-2nd-edition/

RussBell

Nov 2, 2019

0

#14

kindaspongey wrote:

"How to Reassess Your Chess, 4th Edition was designed for players in the 1400 to 2100 range." - IM Jeremy Silman (2010)

You might want to consider Amateur's Mind by Jeremy Silman.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094419/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/ammind.pdf
https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/amateurs-mind-the-2nd-edition/

How To Reassess Your Chess is too advanced for players rated 1400 - better to attempt this once one has reached 1600 or above. However The Amateur's Mind (which is excellent) is appropriate for those rated around 1400 or so...

RussBell

Nov 2, 2019

0

#15

shakaadriano wrote:

.....I usually do for chess time because it's free.

There are many free chess courses on Chessable. The following are just a few of them, so browse the courses to see more...

https://www.chessable.com/courses/s/free

You might also discover something of interest here...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell

najdorf96

Nov 2, 2019

0

#16

Indeed. Playin's the thing with me first n foremost. I've been playing for 30+ years and believe me when I say... having an opening repertoire IS the most important thing to establish. Those Elite players who often say opening study is a waste of time or not as important as everything else are deluded by their own prowess. Capablanca, Reshevsky, Morphy were child prodigies with ultimate innate skill. Alekhine, Fischer used opening theory as an asset: though talented, they both knew openings were as important as any facet of the game. Maybe even more so~by today's standards with the advent of engines very very much standard to be prolific in this phase. That said, it goes without saying the QGD is one of those mainstay lines which is absolutely a must in everyone's repertoire. No doubt. Black or white guys. Why go on a journey without foresight or a map? Yeah, you may know what the goal is but how to go about it? Unlike Random chess you can get by with knowing basic fundamentals: middlegame themes, tactics, positional strategies, endgame themes etc. But in Classic Chess? I doubt anyone besides those Elitests (whether they admit it or not) could ever get along without any or nil without an opening repertoire. Take IMphren, for example...he is very knowledgeable in many openings, has produced many many insights on various forums concerning opening play; to say that one needs to just focus on end games or that studying & establishing an opening repertoire is not important is (to me) misleading. Sure, HE can say that as one of the most prolific openings on chess.com opining but how the heck did he attain such a level simply by studying endgame? Heh. Just food for thought my friends. But then again, for me? To get better, means to get experience. Experience begets learning various things and not confined to any one thing. And playin's ALWAYS the thing with me. Best wishes 😉

Nicator65

Nov 3, 2019

0

#17

shakaadriano wrote:

I am a math teacher here in Brazil, and I have studied openings like Italian, Lady Gambit, French defense and Sicilian defense. I do tactical lessons every day, 30 min a day and my rating was 1300 in Blits, recently my rating in blits is 1099 and I can't win! I have Bipolar Disorder, ie I have moments of "depression" where my playing force is approximately 1100 and moments of "euphoria" where I can play at the same level of 1800 rating and in my regular would be 1300. This disease is genetic and not I have a cure, only treatment and I take medicines. But I wanted better results, I study tactical training openings and when I play, I lose! how to improve my chess?

Tactical training and opening study is, at your level, a good way to not to develop your understanding of chess.

In essence, chess is about coordination to increase the relative –and absolute– value of your forces as a unit rather than the sum of scattered pre-established values, when compared to the opponent. Such coordination aims for piece activity (typically a chain of logically connected threats) which, in turn, aims to be transformed into an unstoppable initiative.

How to do that is not the same in every single opening nor middlegame position nor ending, but if you focus on studying a few systems then it will be easier to see and understand why and how masters do that, which in turn will help you to apply the same methods in your own games.

Now, most have an opinion of which books should others study at first. Mine is to follow what was tested and proven in the Soviet Pioneer's Chess Clubs: Alekhine's Best Games (the 2 tomes, by Alekhine), Capablanca's Best Games (by Kotov is okay, but if you can find by Golombek then better), Zurich 1953 (by Bronstein, although the same collection by Najdorf is really good too), and Botvinnik's Best Games (the 3 tomes, by Botvinnik).

Nicator65

Nov 3, 2019

0

#18

Ya, the order suggested (Alekhine, Capablanca, Zurich 1953, and Botvinnik) follows a pedagogic reason: Both Alekhine (working towards dynamism) and Capablanca (naturality) show classical refinement and are easier to understand, Zurich shows how to play inside and outside classical patterns, and Botvinnik was iron logic no matter if classic or dynamic. The student was supposed to choose from what was shown to him according to what suited him better.

Now, to be fair, those Soviet kids were not the average and casual sort of players we often see, as there are stories of GMs not scoring even 50% in simultaneous exhibitions against them. Should anyone just want to play a bit better by acquiring a number of "filters" to use as effective guidelines against other casual players, then "Three Hundred Chess Games" by Tarrasch would be my suggestion.

kindaspongey

Nov 3, 2019

0

#19

"... Suba makes one point abundantly clear in the beginning – [Dynamic Chess Strategy] is not for players who cannot be considered advanced, and by that he means not for children (unless they are prodigies) and not for players under 1900 Elo. An Internet poster noted that many lower-rated players 'fool themselves' into thinking they understand very advanced chess books because 'they read them like novels' without ever really grasping the main points. As Suba is such an entertaining writer – he has an incredible wit – there is a danger lower-rated players may fall into this trap here. ..."

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233425/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review775.pdf

kindaspongey

Nov 3, 2019

0

#20

Nicator65 wrote:

... Zurich 1953 (by Bronstein, ...

https://store.doverpublications.com/0486238008.html