How to improve at Tactics Trainer

Hi, I've done over 1.000 problems (about 14 hours) on the tactics trainer here at chess.com and my rating there stabilized at around 1800 (highest being 1896).

I've been trying to break the 1900 barrier for quite some time already, but I've seemed to have reached my "tactical plateau".

What else could I do to improve my tactical skills besides spending time at the tactics trainer?

My goal would be to reach the 2000 mark there.

Thanks for all advice!

PS: Out of curiosity: what is your tactics trainer rating in comparison to your live and online chess rating? How much time have you spent training there? Did you see your actual rating on regular chess go up because of that?

Well, I've done about 20, and my Tactics rating is 750.  I'm not very good yet at them, I have trouble figuring out what the goal is, but my online chess rating is in the high 1100's, and my live is 950-ish.

I recommend you buying the book Winning Tactics by Yasser Seirawan. It's a great book to learn tactical themes, one by one. After you do that, you should be able to identify each theme and goal at generic tactical problems.

I review tactics I've failed and tries to stick new patterns in my brain this way.

Have you used the tactics trainer a lot here in chess.com? How has it improved your play?

Hey demetriusnunes.. I don't spend too long on Tactics trainer, but I seem to have days in wich I'm focused and others when I just keep screwing it up. I've gone up and down a lot in a short amount of time reaching peaks over 1900 and beneath 1300. I'm more or less stable now at 1800.

I have an issue with ratings. None of them seem to look alike. My Online games rating is actually at 2007, thou I expect it to fall soon. My live chess ratings are down a lot because of disconnection but even if I had no connection problems, I doubt any of them would get over 1700.

I seem to do a lot better in long games I guess, since I'm less exposed to "positional blunders".

I also experience the same rating variations in all the modes around here.

In Chess Mentor, it's over 2000. In tactics trainer is around 1800. In Live Chess is around 1600 (long) and 1400 (blitz), although I've also had my fair share of disconnects. In Online chess is around 1750, with less than 10 games completed, although I believe I can still go up there.

I've always considered myself to be a 1600-player (which has been my rating for a long time in FICS and ICC), although when I'm in shape, specially sharp with my tactical play, I believe I can play at around 1800-level.

Coming back to the original subject: the tactics trainer. I also experience the same variation in performance, but I can usually come back to the 1800 level. But I've been down to 1300 too, specially when I am tired or sleepy, it's almost certain downhill, which proves the point of not playing important games without rest and having a good night of sleep.

Anyway, thanks for the input!

Hi,

To answer some of your questions:

 - My tactics trainer highest rating is 2063, but it does fluctuate and I think that is to do with fatigue more than anything.

 - I have spent 6.6 hours on there.

 - My Chess.com rating has gone up a bit but I don't necesarily think it's to do with that alone.  My Chess.com rating is around 2150.  One thing it has definately helped me in is OTB games, I find that I decide on better moves more of the time and my analysis is usually more accurate.

 - I think if you want to get better at them try to work out why you are getting some wrong.  Are you focussing on the wrong area of the board?  Are you not seeing where a sacrafise would give you a winning position?  Work this out and then focuss training on those areas.  To get better = practise, practise and practise.

A

Thanks AMcHarg, that was great help. Will try to implement your advice!

Try harder :)) I improved 400 points in 10k excercises...

@Trebe why did you resurrect an 8 year old topic? He's in the 1400s now anyway. Oh well, I suppose I will post an answer for future readers....

In the 1800s something just snaps and then you start seeing all the problems, they become quite easy suddenly. I was stuck around 1800 for a long time and then suddenly VWOOP up I went. It will come if you keep trying. I have taken 881 attempts haha but I intend to keep cracking at it. You can also try chesstempo.com as they have a ton of puzzles. At our level, if a move seems to good to be true, it usually, but not always, is. Look for open files and consider ALL your pieces. Not all roads lead to mate

As you can see, I made steady progress until I got to 1800. Then I leveled off, but once I got the hang of it and had the right mindset, I quickly sprang up.

Improve Tactics Trainer: When you go to a position, it is automatically ready for you to make a move so you don't have to waste that half a second clicking "attempt". You don't lose points (off your rating) when you are unable to make your move in a nanosecond. It has not been proven to me that taking longer than a nanosecond to find the right tactic is an automatic loss in a game. I've watched enough games played by guys with ratings 2000 plus to know that isn't true.