Which aspect of your chess would you improve?

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Avatar of Hightider
LieutenantFrankColumbo hat geschrieben:
Hightider wrote:
LieutenantFrankColumbo hat geschrieben:
DoYouLikeCurry wrote:

I dunno mate at 16-1-0 you seem to be doing fine

Give anyone with a decent skill level 3 days to think and it will generally turn out ok.

Now my OTB play is a completely different story. I took 6 years off and have played in 2 tournaments since July of this year. I am at my USCF floor of 1600. I came back from a tournament a couple weeks ago where I scored 1 draw out of 6 rounds.

For the first time in my life I hired a chess coach to correct all the things im doing and learning incorrectly. I dont expect overnight result. Just some slow steady progress. My goal at 62 is to eventually make Expert. We will see.

I don't know how great chess coaches are, but I approve of you trying. Too many people are too stingy to invest in themselves and their hobbies. Everyone wants to get good at something as an autodidact, but it's really difficult to teach yourself. Even with free materials out there. A tutor gives you real life feedback and figures out your weak spots, which you might not even notice on your own. 
They also urge you to have consistency, which you'll probably slack if you're on your own. Not necessarily, but there is a strong tendency.
I had a roommate who always said he wanted to learn how to play guitar, but he never got around to it. For a month or two he'd talk about chords and such, then it became obscure and he never got to play any songs well.
Couple years later, I had already moved out long ago but stayed in touch, and he got himself a teacher and suddenly he had successes and learned more in 3 months than he did by himself in 5 years. 
I taught myself how to code, and it's discouraging without guidance. Hard even. 
So if you really enjoy your hobby, you should always seek ways to improve the fastest way possible. Even if you enjoy stringing half correct songs on your guitar, you'll be a lot happier when you get more proficient. 
Same with any hobby. Chess. Hema. Boxing. Coding. Wood working. Fishing. Cigars. Wine/beer/spirits tasting/making, welding. WHATEVER really. If have you spend some money on tutors, who can guide your hand, you'll learn things a lot faster. And time is really the only thing we run out of.
You need to dedicate yourself to something. Don't be afraid to spend money on yourself.

Appreciate your comments.

After 50 years of self-study and peaking as a USCF A player. I somehow thought I was bullet proof, and was something "special" because I was now an A player. So yes the obvious happened. I couldn't play well if my life depended on it. I bottomed out at my rating floor of 1600. I grew to despise the game, I had convinced myself I was a failure and was wasting my time.

I now realize that a combination of ego and insecurities were holding me back. So I started playing again. My results have been less than "good" :-) But im sticking with it and wanting to learn and grow. I have a coach that tells me what I want to hear. Not what I need to hear. I have no ego to bruise anymore.

Now if it was about money? I wouldn't be doing this. I view my investment in this the same way I view paying for a gym membership. Its for my mental health and brain health.

I am sure improvements will be quick. How could they not? You now have two members on team "you" instead of just one. What you miss, they'll catch and relay. 
You are not limited by yourself any more.

Avatar of LieutenantFrankColumbo
Hightider wrote:
LieutenantFrankColumbo hat geschrieben:
Hightider wrote:
LieutenantFrankColumbo hat geschrieben:
DoYouLikeCurry wrote:

I dunno mate at 16-1-0 you seem to be doing fine

Give anyone with a decent skill level 3 days to think and it will generally turn out ok.

Now my OTB play is a completely different story. I took 6 years off and have played in 2 tournaments since July of this year. I am at my USCF floor of 1600. I came back from a tournament a couple weeks ago where I scored 1 draw out of 6 rounds.

For the first time in my life I hired a chess coach to correct all the things im doing and learning incorrectly. I dont expect overnight result. Just some slow steady progress. My goal at 62 is to eventually make Expert. We will see.

I don't know how great chess coaches are, but I approve of you trying. Too many people are too stingy to invest in themselves and their hobbies. Everyone wants to get good at something as an autodidact, but it's really difficult to teach yourself. Even with free materials out there. A tutor gives you real life feedback and figures out your weak spots, which you might not even notice on your own. 
They also urge you to have consistency, which you'll probably slack if you're on your own. Not necessarily, but there is a strong tendency.
I had a roommate who always said he wanted to learn how to play guitar, but he never got around to it. For a month or two he'd talk about chords and such, then it became obscure and he never got to play any songs well.
Couple years later, I had already moved out long ago but stayed in touch, and he got himself a teacher and suddenly he had successes and learned more in 3 months than he did by himself in 5 years. 
I taught myself how to code, and it's discouraging without guidance. Hard even. 
So if you really enjoy your hobby, you should always seek ways to improve the fastest way possible. Even if you enjoy stringing half correct songs on your guitar, you'll be a lot happier when you get more proficient. 
Same with any hobby. Chess. Hema. Boxing. Coding. Wood working. Fishing. Cigars. Wine/beer/spirits tasting/making, welding. WHATEVER really. If have you spend some money on tutors, who can guide your hand, you'll learn things a lot faster. And time is really the only thing we run out of.
You need to dedicate yourself to something. Don't be afraid to spend money on yourself.

Appreciate your comments.

After 50 years of self-study and peaking as a USCF A player. I somehow thought I was bullet proof, and was something "special" because I was now an A player. So yes the obvious happened. I couldn't play well if my life depended on it. I bottomed out at my rating floor of 1600. I grew to despise the game, I had convinced myself I was a failure and was wasting my time.

I now realize that a combination of ego and insecurities were holding me back. So I started playing again. My results have been less than "good" :-) But im sticking with it and wanting to learn and grow. I have a coach that tells me what I want to hear. Not what I need to hear. I have no ego to bruise anymore.

Now if it was about money? I wouldn't be doing this. I view my investment in this the same way I view paying for a gym membership. Its for my mental health and brain health.

I am sure improvements will be quick. How could they not? You now have two members on team "you" instead of just one. What you miss, they'll catch and relay. 
You are not limited by yourself any more.

Thanks again. Yes I have set goals.

Goal 1: Get back to 1700

Goal 2: Get back to 1800

Goal 3: Make 1900

Ultimate Goal: Make Expert.

I understand that at 62 I have more years behind me than ahead of me, and as you age progress becomes more difficult. But that is no excuse not to have goals.

Avatar of Just_an_average_player136

My goal is to become 1100 rapid by the end of this year and 1200-1300 next year

Avatar of RichColorado

I am 87 no way i can get my youth brain back . . .

RICH

Avatar of Verwarr

Vision, most blunder I did because either that I'm not focused or because of narrow vision.

Avatar of LieutenantFrankColumbo
RichColorado wrote:

I am 87 no way i can get my youth brain back . . .

RICH

You can always set goals Rich.

Avatar of TheAssamAssassin-68

Creativity

Avatar of ChickenvinhOG42

Defense in middlegame

Avatar of getdizzygetjaded

Probably vision. It would be super cool to play a game of blind chess, and I believe that good vision correlates very strongly with proficient analytical skills.

Avatar of DoYouLikeCurry
getdizzygetjaded wrote:

Probably vision. It would be super cool to play a game of blind chess, and I believe that good vision correlates very strongly with proficient analytical skills.

Having played a couple of blindfolded games - it does make people around you think you’re super smart! I’m not particularly good at it, though.

What’s interesting to me is some people can properly visualise the board in their head, as in physically present, whereas I have to do it by memory? As in remember all the moves and therefore where the pieces are. Jealous of people who see pics in their head

Avatar of Hightider
DoYouLikeCurry hat geschrieben:
getdizzygetjaded wrote:

Probably vision. It would be super cool to play a game of blind chess, and I believe that good vision correlates very strongly with proficient analytical skills.

Having played a couple of blindfolded games - it does make people around you think you’re super smart! I’m not particularly good at it, though.

What’s interesting to me is some people can properly visualise the board in their head, as in physically present, whereas I have to do it by memory? As in remember all the moves and therefore where the pieces are. Jealous of people who see pics in their head

A lot of people have inner dialogue and when they remember things, they actually see images. I am not one of those. My thoughts are more like knowing what I was thinking instead of hearing a voice say it to me, and memories are more the concept of what happened, how it made me feel, how i liked what I saw, but it's not like a film of events I just replay. 
You're not alone.

Avatar of Josh11live
Creativity? Yep, that one pls.
Avatar of Josh11live
Although I hate when my blind spot gets me when a bishop is literally 2 squares away from the square I will move to and I move there anyways. Creativity is 1st and board vision is 2nd.
Avatar of MaetsNori

Like others above me, I also have no board vision. Can't play blindfold to save my life. Would be fun to change that, though.

The official term is: Aphantasia, which means one doesn't have the ability to visualize something in their mind.

If you tell me to close my eyes and picture an apple, I see nothing but the darkness of my eyelids. I can think of the idea of an apple, but that's it.

Same with chess - if I try to play blindfold, I have to try to do it verbally. "We have the starting position, with Black's pawns on e6 and d5, and Black's bishop is on b7 ..." is what I tell myself ... This makes it really inefficient to visualize positions.

It's also why I'm amazed by GMs that can do blindfolded simuls. It almost seems like a superpower ...

Avatar of DoYouLikeCurry
MaetsNori wrote:

Like others above me, I also have no board vision. Can't play blindfold to save my life. Would be fun to change that, though.

The official term is: Aphantasia, which means one doesn't have the ability to visualize something in their mind.

If you tell me to close my eyes and picture an apple, I see nothing but the darkness of my eyelids. I can think of the idea of an apple, but that's it.

Same with chess - if I try to play blindfold, I have to try to do it verbally. "We have the starting position, with Black's pawns on e6 and d5, and Black's bishop is on b7 ..." is what I tell myself ... This makes it really inefficient to visualize positions.

It's also why I'm amazed by GMs that can do blindfolded simuls. It almost seems like a superpower ...

I have to do that too aha but I’m reasonably okay at it, providing no really weird moves have happened. It’s why, conversely, I find it tougher against weaker opponents - they’re more likely to wind up with knights on weird squares early on etc. with strong players I just try and trade quickly so there’s less to keep in the head. Obviously terrible chess advice for real play, but no one expects you to be strong blindfolded 😅

Avatar of lunasantin

I would chomp on more hanging pieces and fianchetto my king.

Avatar of Fet
#36 that's why you're 600 still


I would personally choose Positional Understanding. It's the key to everything.
Avatar of DoYouLikeCurry
lunasantin wrote:

I would chomp on more hanging pieces and develop my king to the center.

This is some really sad fanboying, bud. Chomper doesn’t care about you back, you know that right?

Avatar of lunasantin
Fet wrote:
#36 that's why you're 600 still
I would personally choose Positional Understanding. It's the key to everything.

Is that not a good rating? It's above 50% of the playerbase, so you are above average.

Avatar of MaetsNori
lunasantin wrote:

I would chomp on more hanging pieces and develop my king to the center.

This thread is actually a decent attempt to encourage chess discussion.

Let's not muddy the waters ...