I had a quick look at your last 3 losses with black. In these games you made some general chess mistakes, hanging a piece occasionally and generally not developing efficiently. With black moving second there is obviously less chance to recover a mistake. I don't think playing black is the issue, just getting the basics right. Firstly if you can avoid hanging pieces to tactics (and win pieces when your opponent misses your own shots) and only lose if your opponent gradually out manouvers you, then you will quickly achieve an intermediate rating of say 1400-1600. Do plenty of tactic puzzles to train your eye for tricks. They are mostly from an attacking perspective rather than defending but it will help you to remember where there is potential danger (forks, pins, discovered attacks, temporary sacrifices which leave your position a wreck etc. Then it is also about development of pieces and king safety. From the opening you should try to develop all your pieces to a useful square as quickly as possible, castle your king, put your rooks on good files, then re-assess in the middle-game. Make only pawn moves that are necessary to get you knights and bishops out. Don't put pieces on squares where they can be attacked and you will have to move them again. Think of it like a race. eg if you see that with the black pieces you have moved out both knights and both bishops whilst your white opponent has only moved out both knights and 1 bishop, then he has made a mistake and you have a development advantage. Try to stay in the lead...eg. you have castled, he has not...or your rooks are on c8 and d8 whilst he has only moved 1 rook to a central file. From such a situation you will find it is much easier to see ideas and plans that you can do because you are 'ahead' and the opponent must respond to your ideas rather than the other way round. In terms of openings, pick 1 opening vs e4 and 1 opening vs d4 (all the main openings are equally good for getting a playable position/game, they just produce different types of middlegame positions), do a little reading on them and stick to them. Try to understand them as much as possible. And lastly stick with those 30 minute games and really try to concentrate and take your time. All the best.
Playing as Black
I had a quick look at your last 3 losses with black. In these games you made some general chess mistakes, hanging a piece occasionally and generally not developing efficiently. With black moving second there is obviously less chance to recover a mistake. I don't think playing black is the issue, just getting the basics right. Firstly if you can avoid hanging pieces to tactics (and win pieces when your opponent misses your own shots) and only lose if your opponent gradually out manouvers you, then you will quickly achieve an intermediate rating of say 1400-1600. Do plenty of tactic puzzles to train your eye for tricks. They are mostly from an attacking perspective rather than defending but it will help you to remember where there is potential danger (forks, pins, discovered attacks, temporary sacrifices which leave your position a wreck etc. Then it is also about development of pieces and king safety. From the opening you should try to develop all your pieces to a useful square as quickly as possible, castle your king, put your rooks on good files, then re-assess in the middle-game. Make only pawn moves that are necessary to get you knights and bishops out. Don't put pieces on squares where they can be attacked and you will have to move them again. Think of it like a race. eg if you see that with the black pieces you have moved out both knights and both bishops whilst your white opponent has only moved out both knights and 1 bishop, then he has made a mistake and you have a development advantage. Try to stay in the lead...eg. you have castled, he has not...or your rooks are on c8 and d8 whilst he has only moved 1 rook to a central file. From such a situation you will find it is much easier to see ideas and plans that you can do because you are 'ahead' and the opponent must respond to your ideas rather than the other way round. In terms of openings, pick 1 opening vs e4 and 1 opening vs d4 (all the main openings are equally good for getting a playable position/game, they just produce different types of middlegame positions), do a little reading on them and stick to them. Try to understand them as much as possible. And lastly stick with those 30 minute games and really try to concentrate and take your time. All the best.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! i admit that with some of the games i was very frustrated and practically threw the match. I was at the point where if i saw i loaded as black i was already checked out. But the quick development of pieces was something i noticed when studying the higher ranked games on the site, so I'm trying to incorporate it into my play! I appreciate the advice, and i will focus on not leaving any hanging pieces. Like i said i have no prior chess training so the beginning, middle and end game are new to me. I checked out some resources (books, articles and videos) to get some additional info about that.
If you need help, please contact our Help and Support team.
Okay so I've been trying to work my way up to the 1000+ rankings but i CAN NOT get past the 900 range. After some time of struggling and paying close attention, I realized that I lose almost every game I play as black. I've climbed as high as 970 or so (so only a game or two away) only to be defeated as soon I'm slotted as the darker pieces. Is there something I'm missing here or is my superstition just getting in my head?
I don't have any prior chess training or lessons, I've just taught myself and practiced by playing with others. That being said, I'm wondering If there is a different playing style or set of openings one should adopt to better their chances as black? I know that Black always starts second & is a move behind but does that really affect the game that much? Help!