Starting learning chess after 30 - what goal to set ?

Hi,

I'm playing chess online for a few months, and I am a total beginner. But I fall through the rabbit hole, and can't get tired of playing, watching videos online, buying books, discovering new openings, etc.

My only frustation is that I didn't discover chess earlier. I'm 34, and I feel that not beginning chess when I was a child could come up against a glass ceiling. I know 30+ isn't a big deal, but memory, mental agility, etc., aren't the same.

Also I have a wife, a child, a full time job (I work 50h+ a week), which give me maybe 1 hour a day, a bit more on the weekends.

So my question is : could anyone in the same situation could reassure me, and tell me he could reach a 'good' level in chess ?

What goal could I set, eg. as 'ELO ranking' on chess.com (which I know isn't the same as a real ELO ranking when playing sanctionned OTB events) ?

Thanks for anyone answering this thread.

@1

"playing" ++ That is essential
"watching videos" ++ Not really useful
"buying books" ++ To buy is not enough, you have to study. No more than 3 books per year.
"discovering new openings" ++ Not useful
"etc." ++ Analysing your lost games, study of endgames

"1 hour a day, a bit more on the weekends." ++ With 1 h / day you can reach 2000 in 1 year.

First tip: take everything @tygxc says with a truckload of salt. Sure, you COULD reach 2000 on chess.com within a year but that is given you have talent for chess or great study habit without losing your motivation along the way. Everybody think their motivation will take them to the starts and yet I already see a significant drop in gymgoers from start of Januari. 

You could buy some good chess book or rent it from your library. But if you don't really like studying with books, videos are a great substitute. After all, a lot of my classes in university have been recorded videos and the difference between live lecture is almost non-existent. 

So if you prefer videos, take a look at Gothamchess "Chess Steps" guide and Bartholomew's "Chess Fundamentals". Watch and re-watch, take notes, analys you games and see if you follow the principles and avoid misstakes they mention, write down misstakes you do, try to not make them again. 

Try to use most of you time when you play 15 min games, don't lose with half your time still on the clock. Try to visualize what pieces are defended, what pieces you and your opponent can take and what has changed since the last move. 

Since you have Dimond membership (since 2020 but 25 months are "a few" depending on your perspective), do listen to the lesson and revised them again. Same for puzzles, try to choose custom puzzles related to themes you're studying or do the puzzles you made misstakes on. And once again, take your time thinking. Learn to crawl slowly before running fast.

Hello,

Thanks for the reply. Well, I can tell you that I wasn't going to set 2000 as a ranking goal. I don't think I'm particularly gifted for chess, and more probably the opposite.

I like studying books, thanks to my general studies and occupation (i'm a lawyer in FR), so I love diving into books, repeating games and positions on a real board or on the analysis tool of chess.com

But I like to watch videos from french youtubers or GothamChess (I tried Hikaru but frankly, even if I think I'm quite good in english, I can't figure out what he says most of the time, he speaks too fast and eats words, lol).

I do have diamond membership since 2020, but actually I stopped it for almost a year in between. So i'ts really not evocative of my involvement in chess until now.

I think I can set 1400 or 1600 as an objective in a year or 2, and I'll be happy with it. Actually, I'd be glad to be able to at least 'understand' GM games or moves, the implications of a given position, even if I wouldn't be able to find them myself.

@4

"I don't think I'm particularly gifted for chess" ++ No talent is required to reach 2000, only work. 'I have only one talent: a talent for hard work' - Kasparov

"i'm a lawyer" ++ Morphy and Alekhine were lawyers too.

"I can set 1400 or 1600 as an objective in a year or 2"
++ That is unambitious. 1500 is just a matter of blunder checking: not hanging pieces or pawns and grabbing whatever pieces and pawns your opponent hangs.

"I'd be glad to be able to at least 'understand' GM games or moves"
++ That is harder and requires more than 2000 rating.

"if I wouldn't be able to find them myself"
++ If you understand them, then you can find them yourself.

Well then, you can have multiple goals or milestones: reaching 1000 in 3 month, 1500 in 6 month, 1700 in 12 month and 2000 in 24-36 months; understanding basics well and crossing out misstakes you made before which you now stop making. 

Do analyze your own game without engine before using engine, so that you don't just recognize correct moves but instead try to find them yourself. Otherwise it becomes more of checking answers before doing the exercises. And of course, like with most skills, you need to revisit videos you watched and books you read as well as reading your notes and making new ones continuously instead of just watching once and thinking you "got it". 

Basic tips from me, actual book advices should come from someone with more knowledge on the subject. And I stand by my advice about taking any GM quotes as something more serious than an inspiration. Great for motivation but worthless if you think you progress is bad just because you didn't "work hard enough".

I used to be decent at chess (around 2000 Over-The-Board rating) but then I stopped playing entirely for 30 years or so. Not even an occasional friendly game.

Started again on chess.com about ten years ago, in my late 50s and early 60s.

Reached 2350 rating at 62 years old.

So improvement is certainly possible for a 30+ beginner.

Thanks. It really comforts me a lot.

As for books, I got the one from Capablanca, swallowed it, My system 1 & 2 from Nimzowitsch, and both Reassess your chess from Jeremy Silman. Found also a couple a bit more from more unknown authors in second hand book stores (where I also spend a lot of times, haha).

My all-time favorite chess book... which must have added HUNDREDS of points to my rating over the years... is "Pawn Power in Chess" by Kmoch.

Be aware that you will probably have to read it, mull it over, play lots of games, read it again, think it over again, continue playing, read it again... I think I read the book three times before it all sunk in properly.

Also be aware that it is a very controversial and polarizing book. Many people... including some strong GMs, and including myself... swear by it, as one of the best chess instruction books ever written. Other people... again including some strong GMs... hate it. HATE it.

Working 50+ hours a week in France! Sorry I'm still trying to come to terms with that.

As someone who is much older than you, I will tell you that your only goal should be to enjoy yourself.

My goal was to have a clue what to try to do after developing my pieces and be able to beat any person who only knows how the pieces move.  Goal achieved, now I play for fun.

I do not think that your age has anything to do with you not reaching your goal in chess. If you keep loving the game and stay curious on where you can improve in your games. And let me be very clear on this chess has to be fun!  Not a task you have to slave yourself through.

I started in 2021 when i was 24 and i am currently swinging in the 1000-1200 ratings but i am still improving, but it takes time.

I can currently see that my accuracy is good in the opening and en the endgame, but my middle game is not as strong as i wanted it to be, so i know where to stay more focused and analyze more.
But i am not going to buy a book for middle game strategies, I would much rather watch some GMs play, try to understand and come up with their next move in my head - that is the fun way for me.
I hope the best for you and I hope that you will reach your goal!

I'd aim to have lots of fun and enjoy playing, and not to get obsessed with the numbers to the point where it becomes more important than the pleasure that the game can give.

Far too many people here are so completely fixated on rating that I wonder if they actually enjoy the game. It's like a job for them. Great players like Tal, Fischer and Capablanca started out by falling in love with the game, becoming captivated by it. They focused on exploring the game's mysteries. During that process of exploration they discovered that they also had great talent, and that is how they became great players. But everything starts out with love.

You certainly have the capacity to reach a "good" level in chess. But don't expect it to happen overnight.

Chess skill is built upon experience. And experience takes time to accumulate.

I also echo those above me who say not to worry about rating. If you focus on rating, you will be setting yourself up for frustration. Every loss will upset you, because it will push your rating down further. This is not the ideal mindset to be in.

You should focus on learning, and striving to improve, instead. Every loss is a learning opportunity. Every game has something to teach you.

If you think of chess as an exercise in continual learning, and if you're willing to be in it for the long haul, you can trust that your ability will climb over time ...

Well, I'm my own boss, got a law firm to run.

Thanks for all the advices given here. I'll try not to focus on rating. I'm having fun playing the game and learning. I see chess as an intellectual challenge. It's the only game I played in my life with this perfect learning curve and reward, and all the time you put into it is never lost, because chess will always be chess.

I think my main difficulty will me memorization. It has always been my weak point, and I struggle to recognize patterns and recover well known openings. But I'm working on it!

@18

"my main difficulty will me memorization" ++ Strange for a lawyer

"I struggle to recognize patterns"
++ Analyse your lost games. You remember the loss and you remember the pattern.

"recover well known openings" ++ Do not worry about openings.

makes sense then :-)  enjoy the game.  especially the simpler beautiful ones by morphy etc.

e.g. https://www.chess.com/terms/opera-game-chess

Everybody thinks lawyers have to memorize laws and stuffs. We don't. Being a lawyer isn't like having to recite a lesson by heart. We have books, and databases and many tools for that. Strange to see that this clichee won't die across borders.