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i feel like im not improving !

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Avatar of SmaaliAhmed
SmaaliAhmed
Jun 29, 2018
0
#1

hello everyone and thanks for the great chess community , i have a simple question , its have been like a year i got 200 elo points ( from 800 to 1000) , and right now i cant improve or climb elo , i always win some games get to 100X then lose back to 99X , what is the best way to test my progress and help me climb elo ? thanks a lot

Avatar of ponz111
ponz111
Jun 29, 2018
0
#2

Your problem may be that you are playing way too many blitz chess games. You cannot learn that way.

It is very probable that you are making the same mistakes over and over again.  What you could do is to start playing "slow games" and then going over those games to find your mistakes.

You will not be able to do this yourself so you need a strong player to look at  your games [your slow games] and he will find what kind of mistakes you are making.

Then with that knowledge you will stop making the same mistakes over and over again and you will improve your chess playing strength.

Avatar of kindaspongey
kindaspongey
Jun 29, 2018
0
#3

"... In order to maximize the benefits of [theory and practice], these two should be approached in a balanced manner. ... Play as many slow games (60 5 or preferably slower) as possible, ... The other side of improvement is theory. ... This can be reading books, taking lessons, watching videos, doing problems on software, etc. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627084053/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman19.pdf
"... If it’s instruction, you look for an author that addresses players at your level (buying something that’s too advanced won’t help you at all). This means that a classic book that is revered by many people might not be useful for you. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2015)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-best-chess-books-ever
Here are some reading possibilities that I often mention:
Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
http://dev.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Simple-Attacking-Plans-77p3731.htm
Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1948)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
Back to Basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233537/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review585.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-back-to-basics-tactics
Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Chess Endgames for Kids by Karsten Müller (2015)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf
A Guide to Chess Improvement by Dan Heisman (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105628/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review781.pdf
Studying Chess Made Easy by Andrew Soltis (2009)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090448/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review750.pdf
Seirawan stuff:
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092617/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review560.pdf

Avatar of SmaaliAhmed
SmaaliAhmed
Jun 29, 2018
0
#4

ponz111 wrote:

Your problem may be that you are playing way too many blitz chess games. You cannot learn that way.

It is very probable that you are making the same mistakes over and over again.  What you could do is to start playing "slow games" and then going over those games to find your mistakes.

You will not be able to do this yourself so you need a strong player to look at  your games [your slow games] and he will find what kind of mistakes you are making.

Then with that knowledge you will stop making the same mistakes over and over again and you will improve your chess playing strength.

you're right i was surprised by how accurate your answer is related to my condition , i only play blitz 10l0 and 5l5 and i feel like i dont have enough time to think , in the other hand i hate long games because im afraid i might get bored , but you're advice is good for sure and i will try to play normal games more from now on , thanks a lot

Avatar of SmaaliAhmed
SmaaliAhmed
Jun 29, 2018
0
#5

kindaspongey wrote:

"... In order to maximize the benefits of [theory and practice], these two should be approached in a balanced manner. ... Play as many slow games (60 5 or preferably slower) as possible, ... The other side of improvement is theory. ... This can be reading books, taking lessons, watching videos, doing problems on software, etc. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627084053/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman19.pdf
"... If it’s instruction, you look for an author that addresses players at your level (buying something that’s too advanced won’t help you at all). This means that a classic book that is revered by many people might not be useful for you. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2015)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-best-chess-books-ever
Here are some reading possibilities that I often mention:
Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
http://dev.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Simple-Attacking-Plans-77p3731.htm
Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1948)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
Back to Basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233537/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review585.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-back-to-basics-tactics
Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Chess Endgames for Kids by Karsten Müller (2015)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf
A Guide to Chess Improvement by Dan Heisman (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105628/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review781.pdf
Studying Chess Made Easy by Andrew Soltis (2009)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090448/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review750.pdf
Seirawan stuff:
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092617/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review560.pdf

thanks a lot for your help i will try my best to read as many as possible and lets hope that im not dumb a lot hhhhh

Avatar of SmaaliAhmed
SmaaliAhmed
Jun 29, 2018
0
#6

MegasAlexandros86 wrote:

Do you have at least 2100 or 2000 at tactics??? Have you solved at least 10.000 tactical problems?

 

Do you have a chessbase with your openings commented + typical endgames analyzed MOVE by MOVE?

the answer is no and you know that , hhh and stop being agressive , chess is a game of love no place for someone to try to look cool

Avatar of IMKeto
IMKeto
Jun 29, 2018
0
#7
SmaaliAhmed wrote:

hello everyone and thanks for the great chess community , i have a simple question , its have been like a year i got 200 elo points ( from 800 to 1000) , and right now i cant improve or climb elo , i always win some games get to 100X then lose back to 99X , what is the best way to test my progress and help me climb elo ? thanks a lot

This pretty much sums it up for you.

Member Since: May 31, 2015

Blitz: 258 games

Standard/Online: 6 games

Tactics Total Time: 0.7 hrs

Chess Mentor: 4 lessons

 
Avatar of NeilBerm
NeilBerm
Jun 29, 2018
0
#8

I don’t know how seriously you attempted to improve, but you should make quick progress from that rating if you make more of an attempt to think before you make your moves. Just try to calculate more when you play and play longer games so that you are afforded the opportunity to try to be more precise in your moves. That should get you to see more simple tactics and drop pieces less often and should be enough to improve past a 1000 rating.

Avatar of Daniel_Lang
Daniel_Lang
Jun 29, 2018
0
#9

Use the Chess.com lessons!

Avatar of fatdoobies33
fatdoobies33
Jun 29, 2018
0
#10
[COMMENT DELETED]
Avatar of fatdoobies33
fatdoobies33
Jun 29, 2018
0
#11
[COMMENT DELETED]
Avatar of kindaspongey
kindaspongey
Jun 30, 2018
0
#12
SmaaliAhmed wrote;

… thanks a lot for your help i will try my best to read as many as possible and lets hope that im not dumb a lot hhhhh

I was just trying to identify possibilities. Use your own judgment in selecting books that you feel that you are likely to want to study.