I can't improve....

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Duracell4673

I have a problem, 3 years ago i was 800 on chess.com and now i'm 1300 just by studying on youtube, i study openings, i made my own repertoire, i study endgames from books, i know a lot of chess information, i have 2400 in tactics, i understand a lot when i watch games that are more then 2000 but i have a problem, when i play a game i just cant find something to win, i do everything by a plan, i look for tactics but i just can't beat my opponent if he doesn't blunder something, when i watch at analysis i just make 4 blunders per game, i just cant understand how i know 2400 in tactics, i understand a lot of things, i'm studying EVERY DAY on youtube, on chess.com i do lessons, i even paid for a course in my language and understand and know a lot of things, but when i play... im just not seeing the improvement, i know how to mate with knight and bishop, know the lucena position and a lot of endgames but i just never met the situation to put them in practice, i just don't know what i'm doing wrong, i'm not improving at all, what should i do? i just played a game with a 1400 and he just beat me very hard and i had 4 blunders and 64 accuracy, but did everything like on the book, i just cn't get it... what the f am i doing wrong, what to do? please help!

PopcornSC

There is a lot that could be wrong. Do you play over master games at all? Also, the tactics problems here tend to be more focused on basic patterns at the low ratings and become more calculation based at higher ratings. A good practice is to set the rating low to work on patterns and set it high to work on calculation. However, the most important thing is to play over a lot of GM games. You don't even need to do anything special just play over the games and give a bit of thought to each move and make sure to take longer after moves that really catch your attention or that you don't understand. If you notice, most high rated players can reference games from memory that have similar themes to their own games.

TolisT

brother i still remember your queen being trapped on f6 when we first met .this isnt the place to ask for advice,and propably 99% youtube isnt the place to learn chess.the first guy that responded here its roughly 1200 on rapid and the other guy doesnt have enough games to be counted .you play the sicilian against e4,obviously you gonna make lots of mistakes ,since even masters get destroyed in those positions.another thing is that we dont always trust a computer to judge our play because the computer cant think like us humans.

most masters i have heard also dont like chess.com's puzzles at the high rates (as you can see in my profile i was almost 2800) ,but still even after 2 years i may blunder a back rank mate with 5 minutes on the clock cause i was "sleeping".  

find a coach,find a partner to play themed games with ,and look for good books.dont focus only on openings,thats what most randoms do .middlegame is the biggest part of the game and i doubt that you will find any master arguing with that statement.you can find opening moves everywhere ,but middlegame? and since you "cant find something to win" ,maybe its the middlegame ,exactly the same problem almost everyone else has.even masters.but still ,im not the right guy to answer it so if i was you and wanted to improve by doing anything,i would consult an actual master to criticize me and guide me to find the paths of improving my problems in certain situations in the game (i mean my weak points ,and yours).

since i remember that you are a good guy ,maybe text me from time to time for chess matches with longer time controls,so you can have the time to actually think and not worry about playing with a cheater (at least thats my problem online).

PS even youtubers laugh at people that think they are learning chess through youtube.

TolisT

one thing i forgot .if you notice people's ratings under 1800 rapid ,they all have a massive amount of games in bullet and maybe blitz too ,but no more than 300 rapid games. they all do bad moves and their rating charter never moves.something to consider as to why some people never improve

tygxc

@1
"i study openings" ++ Waste of your time.

"i study endgames from books" ++ Good.

"i have 2400 in tactics" ++ Good.

"i just cant find something to win" ++ You can only win if your opponent makes a mistake.

"i just make 4 blunders per game" ++ Learn from those so as to avoid them.

"i just cant understand how i know 2400 in tactics" ++ In a tactics puzzle you know there is a tactic, and for which side. Time per move in a game should be more than time per tactics puzzle.

"i'm studying EVERY DAY on youtube" ++ A book is better than video.

"i just never met the situation to put them in practice" ++ If you blunder 4 times before...

"what should i do" ++ Analyse your lost games and learn from your mistakes.

"i had 4 blunders and 64 accuracy, but did everything like on the book" ++ Not possible.

zone_chess

The opportunity for tactics happens only every so often in high-level games. When there's no tactics you need strategy.

Look for ways to arrange the board so it facilitates the activity of your pieces.
Try to create subtle weaknesses in the enemy's camp.
Create the right pawn structures depending on which pieces you and your opponent have.

Seek to open lines and diagonals with the aim to bring up your pieces, preferably as outposts, and infiltrate the enemy grounds. Learn when to sac a pawn, and when to bring up your kingside pawns.

Create superior piece connectivity so you can get your pieces to the king.

Make double-edged stratagems, for example, finding ways to attack a weak point (say b7) and once the opponent has it defended, ensure superior piece elasticity so you can now attack a weakness in another zone of the board where your attackers can switch faster than his/her defenders. Just a few of many ideas.

 

TolisT

tygxc's profile is exactly the opposite of what i was reffering to,i would propably trust him just by that to be honest

Duracell4673
Tolist, you just helped me a lot, you just Said the obvious and It’s true, I will do what you said and for sure I will play with you some games, the problem is that I just can’t stop watching YouTube videos, it’s something I like a lot, I will try, and thanks for being honest with me
Duracell4673
tygxc, thanks a lot for your advices, I will for sure try to not make the same mistakes and do what you said
TolisT

i also watch youtube mate,but not for tips,i just watch recaps and then take the games i see that are in my repertoire  ,put them on the board,and analyze the sh1t out of them .

Duracell4673
The thing is that I don’t watch YouTube videos for recaps, I watch for tips, like Gotham Course, or Hambleton Course, and are also books that are shown on YouTube, I know that I won’t improve from YouTube but I say don’t know why it’s hard for me to study from real books, I tried “how to reassess your chess” but I don’t know why it was hard for me, i also tried a book in my language and I made about 30 positions from book and it was like a lot of time and like hard to find time to make daily from books, but from YouTube I can study even when I travel by bus, I play Sicilian because it’s something I learned from a 2000 player, I don’t know if I should do it more or not, and about the coach… I don’t know, in my country is very expensive, one hour is like 25$ and I can’t afford, I’m trying with my own forces, the thing is that I can’t see an improvement like from past 3 months, that’s the issue, anyway, I get the point and I should listen to what you said
TolisT

gotham was the exact person i was thinking when i said youtubers laugh with people thinking that you can learn chess from youtube.he has said it in one of his videos tongue.png

tygxc

@14
"you can learn chess from youtube"
++ The problem with video is passive learning.
When you watch / listen to a video, it all seems to make sense. Then in a game it is not like that.
You cannot learn to swim, or to ride a bicycle, or drive a car from a video either.

@12
"put them on the board,and analyze the sh1t out of them"
++ Now we are talking. That helps to improve. Especially your own lost games.
Ask yourself: Why this? Why not that? What if that?

TolisT

who said that you can learn from youtube in this post brother?

TolisT
tygxc wrote:

@14
"you can learn chess from youtube"
++ The problem with video is passive learning.
When you watch / listen to a video, it all seems to make sense. Then in a game it is not like that.
You cannot learn to swim, or to ride a bicycle, or drive a car from a video either.

@12
"put them on the board,and analyze the sh1t out of them"
++ Now we are talking. That helps to improve. Especially your own lost games.
Ask yourself: Why this? Why not that? What if that?

those questions that tygxc provide here are the exact same questions i use on my self too .

although great kasparov suggested that your won games are also full of room to learn from.but obviously lost games are a good proof that you did something wrong

TolisT

think about it this way if it helps .

you get an opening book .it provides you with the main lines ,and some notes usually on side moves and side lines.what happens when someone gets off the main lines ? what do you do there? propably studying the romantics would be a solution on that,since chess back then wasnt so theory based.also everyone learnt from the romantics ,especially morphy.

like every science,you have to look in the past and understand it before you move into the present ,because theres no player above 2k that doesnt know by heart the romantic's games

StumpyBlitzer

Work, do lessons, puzzles, tactics, 

Good luck