How to improve during the summer

I would like some advice on how to improve my chess play during the summer.  The issue for me is there is almost no opportunity for me to play OTB chess, so I've been stuck with only FICS chess/Chessmaster 10th eidtion for actual games.  However, I can't seem to play at the same level online as I do in real life.  Perhaps it is something to do with my reputation and honor being on the line in OTB chess, while online I don't have to bashfully accept defeat and can just get up from my computer or jump immediatley into another game. 

 I've been through a lot of the "lesson" type things in Chessmaster 10th edition, and have recently acquired Sharpen Your Tactics and the huge book of chess problems by Polgar.  I'm also going on a 2 week vacation soon (probably with no internet access), so my question is what is the best way for me to improve?

 Should I spend time on chess literature and puzzles, or time on computer chess?  Any other advice is greatly appreciated.

These are good questions that you have!

 

First of all I would like to address your problem about not being able to practice OTB situations. I found a good way to do this with online games. When I am playing on a chess server I would seek a long standard game (such as 90 5 time control) and then set up a tournament size board at a tabel next to my computer and actually play the moves out on the chess board next to me. Then when it is my turn to move I will study the position from the actual chess board next to me to decide on my move and then play out my decided move on the online chess board. This way I can "feel" like I am playing in a real tournament game.

 

Next I would like to address the best way for you to improve your game. I suggest that if you are not +2000 level the main focus should be tactics. A great online resource for studying and improving your tactics is the "Chess Tactics Server" webpage. If you visit http://chess.emrald.net/ you will find it there. I know that I visit this site daily to do about 50 tactical puzzles each day and it has really helped my play over the years!

 

I hope that these two things will be able to help you in your chess journeys. Good luck!  :)

Well, my advice is to play as much as you can, write the moves down, and when you have time, go over your games.  I am not a fan of playing the computer or solving chess problem, but since you have the Polgar book called Chess, I would recommend studying the short games and miniatures in that book (one of my games is in there).  Here at www.chess.com, I would recommend you play email chess.  Take two to four challenges or games.  Play 2 games as White and 2 games as Black.  Try to play a gambit and tactical in one game as White, and positional in the other game as White, and do the same for Black.  Pick two openings you want to study as White, and two as Black.  99% of the players need to improve their opening, so get comfortable with some openings that you like or are successful at.  Go over your games every month and see if there is progress, either in future games, or analyzing the games you already played and found more ideas.  If you have anyone stronger to look at the game, that would help.  Otherwise, after a game, try to run it against a strong chess program.  If you have Chessmaster 10, I guess I would play the first 10-15 moves, rather than the whole game to get in more time understanding the openings.  Take advantage of the free downloads here and study the games.  For a 2 week vacation, get a book on openings or the Polgar book, and study the openings or the shorter games.  Try to guess the next move after each line and try to understand why your move was good or not or why the book move was the recommended move.  Finally, make it enjoyable.  If you are getting too burned out, stay away from the game for awhile, or just play over your old games for fun, and perhaps rotate the board to see the opponent's point of view.

Great, a 9 year old thread that talks about improvement, just like the GMs threads that are currently going on.

BUMP.

Check out the other billion threads on the subject bud.