Should I just give up ?

Hi,

I have been training on Chess.com for a year, doing tactics for hours.  The highest I ever got on tactics was 1000 and change.  I cannot beat the computer set to the easiest 1 setting.  Should I just give up?  Does this mean chess is just not for me?

Best regards,

Joe

The real question(s) are what are your goals and are you having fun?

1)  What are your goals:  Do you seek to be World Champion?  A master?  Better than anyone in your neighborhood?  Why?

2)  Are you having fun?

3)  1000 is only bottom quarter or so--it's not so terrible.  Why would you expect to be top half (above 1200) after only a year?  Many, many people have played their whole life.  They are trying hard too, same as you are.

4)  Computer on easiest setting is something I would never even attempt.  Playing computers is a complete waste of time.  They are godlike strong, and even on "beginner" they play nothing like beginners.  They play like god, who purposely gives you two pieces, and then crushes you anyway--quite simply nothing like humans.

I have been playing for about 8-9 years now and rated about 1500. I play chess more for fun, relaxation and concentration. Not so much of being competitive. Keep playing....

1. Are you enjoying chess?

2. What is your goals?

3. How old are you? ( If you are below 10 then you are doing great and even if you are like 11 you tend to get real strong when you are in your teens. If you are over then you teens who cares? Most people have been playing since they were 5 and only make it too 900. It is impressive that you made it too 1000. It is super rare for people too make it even too 1000 since most people do not play chess. 

 The best advice I can give you is to use all your resources at your disposal. Take advantage of your platinum membership and use it to explore the many lessons chess.com offers. The one course that helped me the most was called "study plan". The lessons were a treasure trove of information on tactics, strategy, endgames, opening, and middlegames. Some of the lessons can even be done in rapid fire without having to worry about exceeding your lesson limit. You can find a link here. https://www.chess.com/lessons/study-plan. Find an opening that you like and explore different lines out of it so you are not crushed out of the opening. Some people will tell you that openings are not important below 2000, but I think it is good to have a few opening lines up your sleeve. You can look at your options using the chess.com openings explore which you will have full access to as a premium member. Finally when using the tactics trainer, take it slow. Look at your moves carefully and choose the best one. If you do this every day on top of playing a few games practicing what you have learned, you should be able to improve.

What time controls have you been using in your games?

Zoombda,

Before you give up on Chess.com, could you lose a bunch of games to me (stats: 600-> 800->500->600->?)) because I could use the ratings help?



I'm coming back to chess after a 40+ year hiatus.  So I'm enjoying the occasional "holy smokes,  I can mate him in 3!"  moments among the more common "oh no, Oh no, Oh No, OH NO" ones.

I'm treating this experience a bit like picking up an instrument that I played in high school.  So long as I'm having fun and not annoying others by my playing, what's the harm?

The other comments about platinum benefits might just be enough to get me to sign up for the premium membership.   But if you're serious about quitting Chess.com, I'm serious about playing a bunch of games first ... my sons bet me I couldn't crack 1000 in a year and I could use the help.

Quit this game before it is too late, I stopped hanging out with my friends, stopped ice hockey practice and I dont want to socialize, even I am lazy to do my homework at school because I want to play chess, watch youtube videos about  chess and learn opening with schoolmates.

I am addicted to the game and mom knows it so she is gonna call the pastor of the church to make me consider quitting chess, sometimes she confiscates my laptop, but I go to the library to play there or on my phone in the bathroom.

You know what a good confidence builder is? Go and play some of the people you used to play before you took chess seriously. You will see how far you've come when you're destroying them, big time. I used to play my sister's old boyfriend when I was around 15 or so, and he would kick my butt every time. I saw him at a wedding about two years ago and played him a couple games. It wasn't pretty lol. If I had to guess his rating I'd say it's  about 300 or so. Bottom line you are making progress. Just keep at it and you will gradually see results. I'd also like to add that I loved chess even before I became a diehard, and that's really the only thing that matters like BobbyTalparov said.

 I noticed you just do tactics problems on here when I looked at your profile. Tactics problems are just a tool to get better.....why don't you actually play a few hundred games on here and see how you do??? Tactics help but are not all there is to it.

An obvious, but overlooked point is to try to improve the weak points in your game.

We all like to review our wins, but hate to review our ugly losses, but that is where the growth comes easiest - Finding out what you are doing wrong. 

If you are only scoring 1000 in tactics training, you need to improve that area or your best laid strategic plans will fail to tactical blunders.  Tactics are really about pattern recognition.  If you study them (and learn from your mistakes), you will improve your score.

If you really understand the basics of pins, forks and double attacks, you will be better than 1000.  These tactics happen in almost every amateur game.

P.S. Start with live 10 minute blitz or 15 minute rapid, if you play any shorter time controls than that you won't get much out of it but frustration as a beginner....

Go to "Lessons" and "Drills" under the "Learn" tab. I found both very helpful in improving. If you can't figure out the problems, click on the light bulb and get the answers and you'll learn. Chess is more than just tactics. Play games. Don't worry about losing. You'll get matched with people around your level, if you set it that way. Run the computer analysis of your losses and figure out what you did wrong. Don't give up. I felt ill and frustrated a couple of weeks ago and resigned all my games. It cost me almost 100 rating points. Looking back, it was a bad idea. I should have just taken a brief "vacation" on my games until I felt better.

Take a more comprehensive approach to your training. Tactics are only one small part of the game.

Tactics wont help you much if you dont understand and develop an opening repertoire. They also wont help you if you can't close a simple "won" endgame.  

yes, stop wasting time in a dumb game like chess.

Of course, you need to study all aspects of the game, but I couldn't disagree more with this poster.  If you are rated at 1000 or lower, you need to study tactics more than anything else.  (You also need to play - and lose - a lot of games to improve your tactics.).

In terms of openings at your level, you need a conceptual understanding of a few openings you can play as white and black, but if you study GM openings without a better foundation in tactics, you are wasting your time.

The same can be said of endings, learn tactics so you are up a queen or checkmating your 1300 level rated opponent and the end game gets easier for you. 

the short answer I suppose must be yes.

cuz, if your were enjoying yourself; you would not be all in the dumps about your rating. 

there are Millions (per chess.com) of chess players near 1000 and most are Not giving it up.  but you find it unbearable.... so I think you are NOT enjoying yourself.

and I don't see why a person should make themselves miserable playing a game in their free time