Some good advice. I've been trying to break 2000 in tactics so I'll try to keep this stuff in mind.
How to Make the Most of Tactics
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Awesome, I'm glad to hear it was useful. As a diamond member yourself, how many tactics do you end up doing each day?
Let's see I guess I've done about 70-100 each day. But as you said if I do fewer problems I would probably rememebr them better. And reviewing the problems I failed wouldn't hurt either.
I got the puzzle right! :D Dvoretsky really came in handy for it pawn racing and deflection of the knight along with promoting with check were critical. I also got the underpromotion right but only because I went for the technical win rather than to avoid stalemate.
Wow Kriptacular, 70-100 is pretty impressive! If you want to keep up that number then I'd also suggest spacing them out through the day. Do you ever get on downwards streaks? I found that to be the main detriment to tactic enjoyment.
I couldn't solve 100 puzzles unless I spent 10 hours lol. Are you sure you're counting correctly?
Haha congrats TheGreatOogieBoogie! Did it take you the full 13 minutes (!) that the puzzle allows? You've pointed out the key themes (promoting with check was what I noticed first) but aiming for the "technical" win is just showing off :p
Well I've had my account for about a week and I've attempted 570 puzzles, passing 58% of them with 8.5 hours total. I didn't do that many the first couple of days. And no I don't usually go on downwards streaks but when I do I don't lose too many points.
That's nice work! It would be interesting to see if you did less a day whether that would improve your accuracy ratio as well. If you don't mind me asking, do you only play chess960? How do you find that works with your tactical training?
Yeah I've only been playing Chess 960 because I'm tired of theory and databases. I think it helps with tactics because you have to think from move one. Also it keeps you on edge because you have to play in unfamiliar positions.
Yep, that's pretty much how most people feel about 960. I've experimented with it, but found it kind of haphazard, if that makes sense. Also castling annoyed me! I have been watching some really fun blitz 960 though, where they do indeed have to think from move one (and you can listen to him doing so :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdTVqzoUNMY&list
Well this is a good place to ask if chess.com tactics have changed the way they compute ratings recently. I noticed a week or two ago my rating suddenly nosedived about 150 points in one session and I have not menaged to recover. My tactics lately usually hovered in the 1700 range occasionally topping 1800, but now I just struggle to keep it at about 1600.
Has anyone else experienced anything similiar?
Hey Ubik42,
I haven't noticed anything like that personally, but I have seen a lot (a dozen+) threads about it, although I can't recall if there was anything conclusive. Were you using the chess.com app?
Also, love your username. is it a combination of two sci-fi novels at once? (Phil K. D and Douglas Adams?)
Yes, correct on both novels!
Where were the threads? I want to find out if I became a whole lot dumber in one day.
Don't bother with all this stuff. Just practice tactics until you can look at a board position and tactical ideas start to "pop out" at you. As I like to say, do tactics "until your eyes bleed."
I think 40-100 tactical positions a day for a few months is sufficient. If you aren't mentally tired after your exercises, the examples are too easy.
With strategic learning, you'll need to look at good examples and revisit them over time until they "stick," but tactics should be learned "by eye" if you want to be able to REALLY find them in a game.
Hey Andre,
Thanks for your thoughts, it's clear that works well for you. I guess what I was offering was to get maximum return without requiring a large output. These tips are more for those who don't have the time to do 40-100 a day, or who want to keep chess fun and not until they bleed :p
In tactics, have you found though that sometimes there can be learning blocks, or themes that continue to be wrong? And which would benefit from a more targeted approach?
Oh, and Ubik,
there's this one
http://www.chess.com/forum/view/help-support/tactics-trainer---scoring-changed
and this is from a while back,
http://www.chess.com/forum/view/suggestions/tactics-trainer-rating-changes-changed
and this is even further.
http://www.chess.com/forum/view/community/a-change-on-tactics-trainer
I don't know if that helps you. Perhaps if it continues, take screenshots and send a support ticket to chess.com?
Good luck, and all the best with your tactics!
Robert-Paulson wrote:
Hey Andre,
Thanks for your thoughts, it's clear that works well for you. I guess what I was offering was to get maximum return without requiring a large output. These tips are more for those who don't have the time to do 40-100 a day, or who want to keep chess fun and not until they bleed :p
In tactics, have you found though that sometimes there can be learning blocks, or themes that continue to be wrong? And which would benefit from a more targeted approach?
Again, if a player hopes to find tactics at the board, in real life, there is no way around "a large output."
Now, you don't need to do this forever, but at some point to make real progress with tactics, you must do them to the point of obsession.
If someone had the choice to, hypothetically, do 5 hours of tactics a day for three weeks (105 hours) and then take the rest of the year off, or to do one hour a day for a year (365 hours), the former would bring more benefit.
As one of the best ways of improving your overall game, tactics are invaluable. Here are some ideas to get the most out of them.
Examine incorrect modes of thought
An early mistake that can trip players up is materialism in tactics. Going for an advantage in material when there’s a checkmate, or not playing a winning sacrifice fearing it would leave a material disadvantage. Your own situation may be different, but if you find yourself getting the same problems wrong many times over, check to see if it is your thinking that needs a shift.
Train the tactics you need
This relies on an awareness of your own shortcomings in chess. But once you know where you need to improve, you can tailor your training to make those improvements. The basic chess.com tactics usually train for quick thinking, but you might find you need endgames, specific mating patterns or drawn positions. Make your weaknesses your strengths!
Train Periodically (but not in excess)
The chess.com limitation of basic membership getting only three problems a day has large benefits for a regular player. Doing tactics daily, but not too many at a time, means you can focus on a few, learn from them, and then put into practice what you learnt. I know of players who try to do 20, 50, 100+ tactics some days, and then nothing for weeks. There are others who go on losing streaks, downward spirals etc, which besides being demoralising, is hard to retain lessons learnt from every puzzle.
Compile mistakes
This is especially good if you’re regularly getting a certain type of problem wrong. Special prizes go to en passant, stalemate and underpromotion problems, which often trip players up.
Here’s a good example of all that (from chess.com tactic no 0044839)
Revisit them periodically
Reinforcement is great. Compile a list of tactics you’ve got incorrect and then go over them to assess your improvements as well as properly cement any new ideas/ techniques.
So! Do you have others methods of improving training to add to the list? Or a favourite tactical problem that always seems to trip you up? I look forward to your thoughts.
(I'm a writer and a coach on chess.com - feel free to message me if you'd like a free coaching game :)