How to improve and train your middlgame

Hello,

I feel like i understand more and more about chess as long as i study annotated games (and do tactics daily on the side). But i have difficulties to apply it well in practice (OTB even moe difficult, can't visualise as well). For instance, in a position, i will notice key points about the structure and weaknesses in both camps but i often fail to find the right moves to take advantage.

To make it short, i'm "better" at analysing than actually playing the game ... Do you guys feel the same or have some thoughts to share?

Playing a game (and winning it) requires more skills than just analyse a position. A good way of improving your game is to know your weaknesses and practice to improve them, one by one. If you have trouble to visualize, practice that, train your memory. 

Exploiting a weakness is not always easy. There may not be a direct way of exploiting it. Study general chess principles and strategy, it will develop your skill to find good moves where there are no obvious tactic available.

Play more OTB games if you wish to improve on that, set up the tactic puzzles on a real board.

Thanks for the tip I'll do more otb exercices

I am much better at daily chess or 90 min. or more clock games where I can spend a lot of time to analyze the position than in 10-30 min. games.  And it's not just because I'm 68.

In my 20's in the 1970's I had (and still have!) a 2116 USCF correspondence rated but only a 1632 OTB regular rating.

Back then, it was not as easy to train and get information as it is now.  So when I returned to chess after 16 years away in 2016,, I decided to look at WHY I made so many blunders in short-time games.

I think the reason is poor PATTERN RECOGNITION!  I've been studying the Tactical and Positional Motifs on these pages and refresh my memory every so often. It helps me see the positions better:

https://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-tactics--definitions-and-examples

https://chesstempo.com/tactical-motifs.html

https://chesstempo.com/positional-motifs.html

Additionally, Dan Heisman and others have written books and chapters about the mental mechanics of making moves and how to be more efficient about it.  It's important to be complete about some variations - so you don't have to come back and look at it a second time - and it's also important to be disciplined making sure you are not hanging any pieces, that your pieces are mutually protecting each other, that your moves threaten your opponent, that you don't lose tempos, etc.

The Internet didn't even EXIST in the 1970s. It was only developed for industry in 1989, and didn't become available in private homes until the mid 1990s.

... kids...

Why don't you read the article, instead of just pointing at it and telling me I'm mistaken?

That was a military network (I used to work as a systems analyst for National Defense, by the way. Just saying). Did you have a military network in your home?

I am no computer history expert or anything, but I do not think that there were online chess ratings in the 1970s. When did they start to appear? My guess would be the 1990s.

I don't get the debate he didn't say anything about online rating in the 70' or did i missread?
This is all a bit off topic guys

I do not see the original ChessMoveAlot post. Just the above.

The post has been deleted and the account closed or renamed. Probably just our return troll.

I was also on Arpanet way back when.

But plz can we stay on topic :)

Have you read my posts in this thread:

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/gm-larry-evans-method-of-static-analysis

They explain how to "read" a position, and how to break it down into elements and formulate a basic plan or set of goals that ought to harmonize with the position.

thanks i have read it and found it very valuable (i've to reread it one or two times to discipline myself in this form of thinking!)

The problem with playing a game is you can be right 90% of the time, and that remaining 10% can kill you. But if your analyzing and getting 90%, hey you got an A on the test!

And if you want to play OTB, you simply will HAVE to work with a real chess set. It is a separate skill that needs to be developed. It really isn't all that difficult, but the time needs to be spent.

I agree with you. I'm just explaining why he can feel like he is analyzing well, but in fact can't play a game well. He thinks he is analyzing well but in fact, it is entirely insufficient for playing.

It is like driving a car. Being right 99% of the time gets you dead. Fast.

In addition to what I said originally, when analyzing, people often move the pieces around. You can't do that playing a game either.

Thanks for the tips, i play around 2 casual games otb/week without time control but with the same opponent ( a friend) whose style doesn't change and hasn't really got a opening repertoire (he always starts with 1.e4 and against my caro kann changes constantly defense. Against my 1.d4 he switches constantly between a  sort of QGD, Nimzo and english defense). Which is actually interesting because our games are various in form (we never draw). A play only 2 slow club matches a month which are always quite interesting.

I now will play all the games of my current game collection on a real life board. It's fun and helps me (i hope) visualize better.

Concerning the last post: what are you on about?

Deirdrie might be troll yes? is definite patzer anyway... they give you very bad advising my friend... play lots and lots of blitz game, 3 or 5 min, do not worry too much about losing... as long as you think about move and do not just move and hope you are improving yes? by playing many game pattern recognition improve fast... listen to lion, become strong player yes?

No

Yes, lion v rat... who do trust?