What is the most important thing you did to improve in chess?

Some of you experienced perhaps a substantial jump in your rating after you began to play in a different way, or after you began to train specific parts of your game. I am interested in what you have to say about this. 

From my side, I didn't experienced any fast improvement in my game. My improvement was rather slow. I guess one thing that helped me to play somehow better was the realization that in some positions you have to be ready to give material in order to get more active pieces. Another thing that I realized is that I really have to search harder for candidates. I should really not play the first good looking move, but search for even a better one. And of course the blunder check is essential: when I am lazy and think I can just do a move without a blunder check I will usually destroy my game. This happen to me all the time in rapid, but sometimes also in Daily games.

I got some inspirations from the Hertan Hierarchy. I know, some people perceive this as a kind of joke, but for Daily Games or in the post-mortem Hertan's ideas are quite useful. 

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/the-hertan-hierarchy

Whoa, that's a long list. I didn't read it all because it's long but it seems good. And sure a lot of people (including me) tend to scoff at lists because no one has a rigid conscious thought process like that during an OTB game... people do something like that (check for forcing moves first etc), but it's automatic... so I have to admit it's useful to spell out to players who aren't doing it automatically yet

The most important thing I did, hmm.

(This is something I did more than once)

I got a classic or well regarded book, I got a notebook and set up a board, and went over every line of analysis in the book using the board while taking notes and re-reading interesting or instructive parts.

As for a checklist, I remember after I'd read a strategy book and an endgame book I became aware of strategy (knowing endgames is important for any long term plans that don't involve mate).

So while playing I'd consciously ask myself 2 things just before moving:

1) Does this move make sense in the short term? (one last tactical check)
2) Does this move make sense in the long term? (does it fit in with what I've decided is the overall strategy)

But like most conscious questions, over time they become automatic (or you move on to something more effective).

For example during the middlegame I used to consciously rank up to all 8 minor pieces from best to worst based on mobility. You know, a "bad" bishop is something you want to trade, but a centralized knight gets a big thumbs up

But later I sort of moved away from that, because you'll notice that sometimes in a GM game a knight on the rim is good. Or they leverage their "bad" bishop in an endgame to... win!

So now I tend to think more in terms of infiltration potential and targets (targets are often pawns or the king because they're slow moving)... but maybe someday I'll abandon that too heh.

is there any particular reason you didn't use chessbase. I ask because my coach also recommends a notebook.

Stiggling, I tried already sometimes with going through a game and analysing every move, trying to make a list of candidates for both sides, trying to find the best place for the pieces. I took a position from one of Nunn's books and spend a lot of time analysing this position. I wrote pages and pages of analysis and when I compared with Nunn's comments I was really disappointed that I even did not considered any of the variations. The move I thought it should be played was even not mentioned!
After this exercise I got aware of how important it is to try to make a list of candidates.

Of course I should go on with this exercise (actually I began to do the same with a game between Fischer and Petrosian), and I am sure that this kind of exercises will make me improve a lot.

About the Hertan Hierarchy: it was really conceived to be used in the post mortem, not to play a game. But I am sure if you use this list often you will find yourself thinking in terms of the Hertan Hierarchy.

For example, once when I had the feeling I am losing a game, I usually played a series of blunders. Now I really try my best to offer a strong fight to get at least a draw. If you check my last draw in Daily Chess you will such a game. When I saw that I would be a piece down (for two pawns) I began to play for a draw, planing everything in detail to have the best chance, and it worked. I have this attitude from the Hertan Hierarchy.

 

I think coaches recommend notebooks over Chessbase because they are typically teaching people to play OTB. And you need to be able to see the stuff OTB or it doesn't really help you. Chessbase gives you a 2d representation of the board (even if you use their 3d boards). It isn't the same.

My own opinion is that it doesn't hurt to mix in some 2d work. Your mind can get pretty adept at switching back and forth. But you have to develop that core competence of working with an actual board and pieces. And the best way to develop that is to use them and a notebook to document those moves.

There is another reason to use a notebook that is a little less obvious. It is a little too easy to document lines in Chessbase. With a notebook, unless you like writing all day, you need to prune things down a bit which means being more selective, having the right candidate moves, etc. This again is a core competence that needs to be developed, and a notebook is a good way to do it.

And a final reason - with Chessbase when you make the move it shows on the board. With a notebook it doesn't. So using a notebook helps develop your calculation skills in a way that Chessbase does not. This is probably the most important reason of the three.

For me, a board and notebook make me think more. I guess because it takes longer to move pieces around and write notes. Also there's no easy button to click to take back moves or reset the position, so you're forced to remember the position in case you need to go back and check something, so you're really paying attention. Since writing is slower than typing, you spend more time thinking about what you want to say.

I tried going through some of a book with chessbase... and afterwards it always feels like I don't remember anything.

This is just my experience, maybe some people work very well with chessbase.

By the way, I use chessbase to collect similar positions and openings into databases and I make notes and it's very useful to organize that sort of thing, but going through a book somehow chessbase just doesn't work for me.

For me, books are good in solidifying the knowledge of the game that I already have, but have trouble translating into reality in an actual match. If I try using books to learn new things, I seem to have trouble putting this new stuff into my games. For one, I am not even thinking about it when I'm playing a game. But maybe the issue lies in the repetition of going over it and over it to-again-solidify the knowledge into your actual games. 

Personally, I recently started playing quite a bit again after a break, and now that I'm older and playing, I can definitely tell my base calculation ability is better than it once was in my early 20's. Nerves aren't as big a problem, fear of losing doesn't seem to be as strong, and just plain ol' ability to see the full board seems to have helped me a lot.

Oh, and one more thing. For me personally, having a stable family life and work situation has helped me more than anything else has. State of mind evidently (for me) has a huge impact on games.

1.  Tactics, drills, and lessons on chess.com

2.  I Use the following on Lucas chess:

    a. Play against the engine (tourney ELO), evaluate every game, look, at least, at all my moves in RED and analyze the better variations.

    b.  "Your daily test", tactics and other training tools.

    c.  Play against an engine with tutor (tells you immediately the quality of each move and better suggestions).

3.  Play live chess on chess.com 15/10 and analyze every game.  

4.  Play against a computer and transpose moves onto a real board to help with 3D vision.  

My brilliant training strategy has me up to around 1250 rating LOL.  But I actually do think I am slowly getting better.  

In any case, it seems extremely useful for some of you to use a physical board and forcing yourself to think, to calculate, to set up the position after analyzing. This is what my coach says, he is old-school, use books and a physical board. 

If I remember well it was Vassily Ivanchuk who said that he always use a physical board for analysis, and he even carry with him a tournament board in his trips to tournaments. A great example for us all who spend too much time playing online or analyzing without a physical board. 

I checked your lifetime Rapid rating, and yes, although it has held relatively steady over time, in very recent months you have improved it seems. 

I think I am blundering a little less and making a higher percentage of best moves than I used to, although I still miss a lot of stuff which holds my rating down.  I lose a lot of games on 1 stupid move after gaining an advantage, but I suppose a lot of people could say the same.  

I should also note I am 58 years old, and feel that chess improvement is an overall strategy for maintaining and improving overall mental acuity.  They say its harder to learn and improve as you get older, but that doesn't mean you can't greatly improve yourself, maybe just not as fast or as far as if you still had your teenage brain.  

I don't think I want my teenage brain at this point. Too much distraction! But I know exactly what you mean.

For me, it was gaining some understanding of the middlegame, and how to develop a basic middlegame plan.  While tactics are important, if you do not understand piece activity, space, and how your pawns are used to gain space, and get your pieces active, you're not going to have tactics. 

Im not talking about tactics 101: Pins, forks, skewers, etc.  Those are what all beginners should have an understanding of.  Im talking about using your active pieces, and space advantage to create/take advantage of a weakness.

Started playing.

Thx for your insights. Very helpful. I think I will make a notebook too. I am really struggling to improve. My current predicament is that I am not getting playable middlegames due to being outclassed in the opening. I have bought a few videos with universal systems from Chessbase. 

I'm at a low level but the biggest factors for improvement of my game have been :

1. Understanding the threats of the opponent
2. Not looking at each move as a single move but rather as a sequence and seeing the resulting position
3. Tactical awareness