Just adding that playing more OTB chess seems like a good idea to me. Have you got a friend who you can play with? Playing OTB against a skilled opponent really keeps you on your toes. Talking about chess (and playing a few games) with an extremely knowledgeable friend is what finally convinced me to stop being such a blunderous patzer and start studying/working on my chess (although I've a ways to go obv).
How do I overcome my laziness? - practical tips needed
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PardonMyBlunders wrote:
Being a lazy player myself, I did the following.
A. Got Fritz 16 and for 10 mins every morning do "defensive training", where you are being shown many positions and you have to click on(marking) all white and black pieces(pawns too) that are floating(=completely undefended). When done correctly fritz immediately serves you with the next position. It takes a week or two, but this creeps into my own thinking when playing, and one starts to do it on every move(shouldn't take more than a glance once you've trained it a lot), resulting in many blunders less, thus many defeats less.(of course one should quit the bullet and blitz,play at least 15+10 so you have time to practice new ways of thinking during your games)
B. The second thing, most tactics are trained from the winning sides perspective, so to remedy this, get Heisman's book "Looking for trouble", study it with real board and pieces, it trains you in identifying the opponents threat and finding a remedy to it. Doing these 2 things adds about 150 rating points to your game, maybe even more.
3. Just before you move in a game, ask yourself "Is my move safe?"
The golden rule is : In chess, always think about the opponents move and it's ideas, and possible threats first, BEFORE you start thinking about your own aggressive ideas.
Number three is very important
When u study, make sure to take breaks to rest,but focus when u are training
Always ask yourself what is your opponent trying to do
No shortcuts to succeed if u are lazy
Dec 23, 2018
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#47
I can appreciate wanting to get some tips on how to overcome being "lazy" in terms of chess, and people here have come up with some good ideas. I'd just like to point out that the task you've set is a really difficult one, and any degree of success at it should be applauded. "Laziness" has some deep roots, I think, most of them involving fear. Here a few that come to mind.
1. Fear of intensifying the unpleasant feelings that naturally go with any loss: the more time and effort someone invests in a game, the greater the "let down" with a loss will be -- the deeper the disappointment at having one's hopes dashed about getting that "Winner's High!" (all that dopamine! all that testosterone!... if only I could feel them now, like that other player can... sigh...)
2. Fear of losing self-esteem -- It makes sense here to think of "laziness" as a psychological strategy. Having invested an absolutely Minimal amount of time and effort into a game can really pay off, if the game ends badly. Given a choice of "explanations" for losing a chess game, most people would probably choose this one: "I am, and always have been, a really, really Smart person, but alas, I have to admit it: I'm also just plain Lazy...." over this one: "After the Enormous amount of time and effort I've put into learning this game, I've Lost Again!! OK. That's it. This proves, once and for all, that I am Just Plain Dumb!"
3. Fear of wasting one's leisure time doing something not that intrinsically enjoyable -- a realistic fear for anyone who plays the game primarily to "prove" his or her intelligence to others and/or to her- or himself.
4. A deep sense of caution about getting increasingly ego-involved in the game, going on to acquire better and better skills, and perhaps eventually becoming an expert player -- at which point, any precipitous drop in one's rating would lead to a big, more public loss in status, potentially feeling "shamed" in front of a large group, considered "a loser." Continuing to act "lazy" about chess from the beginning could keep a person flying under the radar indefinitely.
5. That natural resistance we all have to starting work on changing a long-standing habit pattern (moving too quickly in chess, for example) -- most of us have an idea of how much hard work habit-changing calls for, and we'd be reluctant to dive into it unless we were pretty certain the eventual emotional payoff (becoming a better player) would outweigh all that extra effort.
[By the way, I noticed just now that I came up with these ideas about "laziness" pretty fast. Want to guess why? The answer is: I myself am, indeed, a Truly "Lazy" Chess Player! (I knew you'd get it!)]
Dec 23, 2018
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#48
Nobody can play chess by calculating as much as is needed, not even chess engines can do that. In my case, I just try to find a good move in the position (which does not always need to be the best move) I suck at calculation...
Uh-huh... but, say, let's say ... what if ... you know ... what if I don't really actually want to reach my full potential? What then?