At any level, the most efficient improvement tool is to analyze your games with a stronger player and identify what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong, then work on your weaknesses.
You can do this with a club friend, study buddy or a coach.
Just enjoy chess is the best advice and will work for any level!
The method that worked for me was to play often, and learn from your previous games. Find out where you lost - opening, middlegame, endgame. Over 90% of the time it was my opening. I failed to play the best moves or fell in some trap, or was actually winning, but missed the winning move. I always play over my previous games (over 30,000 in 40 years) and my losses (300 in competitive play). I studied mostly opening traps - how to play it or avoid it. I also studied less than common openings unless I felt I knew it better than my opponent. Less than 10% of my games went into endgames - or at least any endgame that I had to study to know how to draw or win. I study 2 openings as White for a tournament, and prepare 2 openings as Black on any opening that White may choose. I have to watch my time so that I do not use up all my time and get in time pressure. I do realize I don't concentrate enough and sometimes walk away from the board when I should stay at the board and look even harder at what my opponent can do or what I can do. In almost all my losses, I had a better move that I failed to see and played the first instinct move, not thinking it would lose. Now I can put strong chess engines on my games as far back as 1969 and see all the moves I missed or my opponent missed. I swindled my way to win on 10% of my games and missed winning moves on about 20% of my games that I can see now. My first OTB rating in 1969 was 1522. By 1989 I was over 2100 with over 2200 performance ratings. I have slipped due to inactivity and older age, but I enjoy the game more and play plenty online for fun and experiment with irregular openings and chess traps. I keep a database of my games and try to play something different every game to make it fun - win or lose. I used to be very active in chess clubs, but they seem to be almost extinct now. Of the weaker players I play, over 90% of them do not know the opening or lost in the opening with some opening trap. So most players need to work on a solid opening to play a good middlegame and endgame if they make it that far. I don't think you need to worry about endgames until master strength. Get past the opening and middlegame first. Specialized opening books seem to help me the most (now it's databases) as well as playing a lot. I had no coach, but learned from playing dozens of experts and masters. I guess the most helpful is lots of playing and experience. If you can handle 5 minute games, that gives you a lot of games in a short amount of time.
@ Bill Wall - I wanted to leave a note of thanks to you. Your 500 Miniatures compilations have been a great help to me in learning what works and what doesn't in the opening. Thanks for your great efforts in getting all of that organized and in print. It seems that computerization has taken over, but back in the day your books were a great find for me!
Yup, the computerization and databases and chess engines took over. I did over 30 books and could have done 100 more miniature series and irregular openings (large chess library), but no more demand for the books when the databases and chess engines became cheap to buy. Now anyone can put together any collection of games and have it analyzed by very strong chess engines.
I have been playing for 45 years. Lately I use some computer power for study, but still enjoy sitting down with an actual book. That's how I learned - with an actual book and an actual chess board - Old habits that are enjoyable and hard to break. (It was your books that prompted me to learn Algebraic Notation! For years Descriptive was good enough.)
Hi guys,
An important, recurring question: How do I improve?
The very reason we play chess is the excitement of competition; the euphoria of winning; the drive to excel, enhance, improve.
I know that this topic has been done many times before but I have read many threads on 'Improving Chess' and the information is often contradictory and directed at different strength levels. Also, it is strange how often it is the lower ranked players (1000-1400) that are giving advice on reaching 2000+ level.You cant teach someone to run if you cant yet walk.
Please suggest an improvment method(s), preferebably one that has worked for you and the level it is aimed at. Did you use tactic trainers? book study? playing more? a coach?
Ill make a suggestion for anyone below 1400 on Chess.com:
-focus on basics(rules and guidelines eg. attack the center) and practise (play until you no longer make silly blunders)
1400-1600 on Chess.com:
-focus on the very basics of openings (only 2-3 moves), more 'advanced' concepts (weak squares, knights vs bishops) and play some more
What is your advise?