I Finally Made 1000 In Rapid, and What I Learned on the Way

I know a 1000 rating on Rapid on Chess.com might not sound like a great feat given the number of great players on here, but it took me a long time to get here and I am proud, bettr than 80% of the folks here.  Here is how I got here. I learned to play chess as a kid so I could follow the Fischer-Spassky world championship match on TV (No TV in the playing hall per Fischer, moves were telegraphed to the TV studio and analyzed on a big board by Shelby Lyman). Played sporadically throughout my life, joined here 10  years ago, mostly played bots, and didn't get serious about playing humans till this year. In the last 90 days I have raised my Rapid rating by over 200 points, not bad for an old guy! Here is what I did in hopes it will help others.

1. Choose a couple pet openings, learn them well, and stick to them. My improvement started when I began playing Anna Cramling's Cow opening almost exclusively. I know theory-wise some think it not sound, but it allows me to make the first several moves without worrying, helps me avoid time pressure, sets up a really good defense, and fits my style well.

2. Don't Blunder Pieces! At my level the biggest reason people lose is to blunder pieces. I have seen players rated 1100+ still blunder queens occasionally. Memorizing theory or studying obscure openings is not going to help you at this level. Learn to look before you leap, and look at the entire board before you so and you will improve.

3.Forks and Pins are your Friends - I win most of my games by setting up a solid defense, waiting for my opponent to make a mistake, and then pouncing. The mistakes are not normally pieces left hanging, but forks and pins. No need to calculate 10 moves ahead, or develop a complex strategy, at this level the mistakes will come and you have to be ready for them without making the same mistakes yourself.

Hope this helps! Good luck out there!