How to improve from 1600? • page 1/2 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

As an adult beginner I feel I've done quite well in the past year to improve (from like 1200 to 1600) but now at 1600 I don't know how to get better. I already train tactics, have an opening repertoire (thanks to openingtree.com and an Android app called "Chess Reps"), am playing longer time controls and read beginners books on positional play ("Play Winning Chess" and "Weapons of Chess"; books like "Simple Chess" are still too advanced for me though).

What would be the next step for me to get better to maybe to stabilize at 1750 or even break 1800? It seems impossible to me at the moment.

As an adult beginner I feel I've done quite well in the past year to improve (from like 1200 to 1600) but now at 1600 I don't know how to get better. I already train tactics, have an opening repertoire (thanks to openingtree.com and an Android app called "Chess Reps"), am playing longer time controls and read beginners books on positional play ("Play Winning Chess" and "Weapons of Chess"; books like "Simple Chess" are still too advanced for me though). What would be the next step for me to get better to maybe to stabilize at 1750 or even break 1800? It seems impossible to me at the moment.

MsBlueberries

#2

I scored a rating of 2,000, training only tactics. The ct art app helped me with this.

AryanPaul

#3

You can also play puzzles.They help us improve.

Bbpspp10

#4

Okay thanks.

Please share few apps for puzzles

Okay thanks. Please share few apps for puzzles

AryanPaul

#5

You can also play puzzles in lichess.

FuzzyCheese

#6

Look over your games, if you fall for some trap or tactic make sure you never fall for it again. If you fail to convert a winning game make sure you understand the winning idea. Also at lower levels your tactics should be well above your rating. After a few thousand games you'll improve whether you want to or not.

IndianDoraemon

#7

Make less blunder.
I generally lose to 2000+ either at the endgame or make wrong moves which I realise later. Check your move before you make. There is no difference between 1600 and 1700.

Make less blunder. I generally lose to 2000+ either at the endgame or make wrong moves which I realise later. Check your move before you make. There is no difference between 1600 and 1700.

IcyAshura edited

#8

The answer to that question is not a general one. When I stopped playing OTB around 15 years ago with a 1900-2000 rating, I was stuck for years at that level. I was better than most 2000s in tactics and positional play and strategy, but totally lacked in opening knowledge and endgame (guestimating my rating of that around 1200-1400). What I'm trying to say is that not every 2000-ish rated player needs the same training to get to the FM-level. Same with 1600. Just by knowing your rating, we cannot tell you what to improve first. We would need to go through your games, analyze them and then we could tell you what to do. And that is exactly a job of a coach.

Hiring a coach would be the fastest way to get over that hump. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to get you to hire me as a coach. I'm not a coach, nor am I willing to become one. Alternatively you can take a longer road, which I have taken too recently, by watching some chess videos/streams of titled players. Here it depends on your style which videos or streams are best for you. Don't think that your learning-curve will be better if you watch streamers with higher ELO. Hikaru Nakamura is definitely a very high-rated streamer, but his videos are not very educational for players rated about 1300-2000, imo. He explains certain 1-move threats and stuff that goes way beyond your head. For me the videos of GothamChess and Eric Rosen helped me a lot. Once in a while they will drop some knowledge/ideas that must sound so obvious to them, as they were probably told/taught that by their coach decades ago, but for me that is eye-opening. I would recommend though to watch videos of players who are at least IM.

The answer to that question is not a general one. When I stopped playing OTB around 15 years ago with a 1900-2000 rating, I was stuck for years at that level. I was better than most 2000s in tactics and positional play and strategy, but totally lacked in opening knowledge and endgame (guestimating my rating of that around 1200-1400). What I'm trying to say is that not every 2000-ish rated player needs the same training to get to the FM-level. Same with 1600. Just by knowing your rating, we cannot tell you what to improve first. We would need to go through your games, analyze them and then we could tell you what to do. And that is exactly a job of a coach. Hiring a coach would be the fastest way to get over that hump. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to get you to hire me as a coach. I'm not a coach, nor am I willing to become one. Alternatively you can take a longer road, which I have taken too recently, by watching some chess videos/streams of titled players. Here it depends on your style which videos or streams are best for you. Don't think that your learning-curve will be better if you watch streamers with higher ELO. Hikaru Nakamura is definitely a very high-rated streamer, but his videos are not very educational for players rated about 1300-2000, imo. He explains certain 1-move threats and stuff that goes way beyond your head. For me the videos of GothamChess and Eric Rosen helped me a lot. Once in a while they will drop some knowledge/ideas that must sound so obvious to them, as they were probably told/taught that by their coach decades ago, but for me that is eye-opening. I would recommend though to watch videos of players who are at least IM.

run_queen_run

#9

playing analyzing and puzzles will help and it will take around a year but you will reach 2000 like in my account candygrandmaster

Gautham_A

#10

Play more games, Analyze them, don’t do the blunder again. My father always tells me this and now I’m 2200 in rapid only using this. Also choose openings according to your style, find blunders. People around ~1700 blunder a lot, we just need to see them.