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I need advice

#11

One more piece of advice is to analyze your own games and mistakes. If you've been playing classical chess for 4 years, you may not do this enough.
You need to not only understand what mistakes you made, but why you made them and how to prevent yourself from making the same mistake in the future - this could be lack of knowledge, tactical vision, poor thinking process, etc. and you fix that up and the feedback loop will result in improvement. Eventually it gets harder and harder to improve, but you should certainly be able to get out of 1500 range on this site

One more piece of advice is to analyze your own games and mistakes. If you've been playing classical chess for 4 years, you may not do this enough. You need to not only understand what mistakes you made, but *why* you made them and how to prevent yourself from making the same mistake in the future - this could be lack of knowledge, tactical vision, poor thinking process, etc. and you fix that up and the feedback loop will result in improvement. Eventually it gets harder and harder to improve, but you should certainly be able to get out of 1500 range on this site
#12

Il give puzzles one more shot...

Sometimes I play like shit, below average for my standard. And sometimes I beat 1600-1650 level guy. Last few games are bad. Not representative of quality chess I can play.

Il give puzzles one more shot... Sometimes I play like shit, below average for my standard. And sometimes I beat 1600-1650 level guy. Last few games are bad. Not representative of quality chess I can play.
#13

In last year Ive found kings gambit to be quite enjoyable for me. And I made sucess with it gainig 50-100 points.

In last year Ive found kings gambit to be quite enjoyable for me. And I made sucess with it gainig 50-100 points.
#14

I'm still far from 1600-level play, but I can give advice. As your rating increases, the number of players at your level decreases, and success depends more on playing with discipline. From what I’ve observed, there’s only one way to consistently defeat a tactical master: through diligent training, study, and research, until you yourself become a master of discipline.

One of my favorite quotes from social media is: "Analysis beats strategy, discipline beats tactics." I find it to be a smart and concise conclusion applicable to any strategy game. The worst-case scenario for a chess player is when they become overly dependent on routines and stop playing even for a single day—it can lead to a noticeable decline in performance. This is similar to how AI systems experience catastrophic forgetting.

From this, I’ve reached a conclusion: chess players need to be more organized. They should form teams, create websites, establish clubs, build playing hubs, and ultimately curate monumental book libraries. This vision could end with a statue of honor commemorating their dedication.

If this grand vision isn’t achievable, I think it’s still valuable to focus on becoming more organized individually. Only highly adaptable and talented individuals can play casually yet still improve rapidly. Even players with high IQs are prone to blunders.

Luck also plays a significant role, and sometimes, it’s how a less skilled player can beat a genius.

When it comes to competitive chess, things get even more complicated. It’s like a mini-PC trying to outperform a supercomputer through software efficiency alone. In such cases, taking care of your physical health becomes just as important as refining your skills.

I'm still far from 1600-level play, but I can give advice. As your rating increases, the number of players at your level decreases, and success depends more on playing with discipline. From what I’ve observed, there’s only one way to consistently defeat a tactical master: through diligent training, study, and research, until you yourself become a master of discipline. One of my favorite quotes from social media is: "Analysis beats strategy, discipline beats tactics." I find it to be a smart and concise conclusion applicable to any strategy game. The worst-case scenario for a chess player is when they become overly dependent on routines and stop playing even for a single day—it can lead to a noticeable decline in performance. This is similar to how AI systems experience catastrophic forgetting. From this, I’ve reached a conclusion: chess players need to be more organized. They should form teams, create websites, establish clubs, build playing hubs, and ultimately curate monumental book libraries. This vision could end with a statue of honor commemorating their dedication. If this grand vision isn’t achievable, I think it’s still valuable to focus on becoming more organized individually. Only highly adaptable and talented individuals can play casually yet still improve rapidly. Even players with high IQs are prone to blunders. Luck also plays a significant role, and sometimes, it’s how a less skilled player can beat a genius. When it comes to competitive chess, things get even more complicated. It’s like a mini-PC trying to outperform a supercomputer through software efficiency alone. In such cases, taking care of your physical health becomes just as important as refining your skills.
#15

@Majki2111 said in #12:

Sometimes I play like shit, below average for my standard. And sometimes I beat 1600-1650 level guy. Last few games are bad. Not representative of quality chess I can play.

I"m going to disagree. We all have games where we play bad, but yours are showing me that you don't even look at the position when playing moves. There's virtually no consideration whatsoever to what your opponent move does. I just looked at your last 5 games (classical) and wow, all of them are not only lost to blunders, but in several cases, 1 move checkmates. In the one game, your opponent blundered mate in 5 when "defending" with his queen which was actually left en-pris to your Q-B battery WITH CHECK. Instead of taking the queen, you played a pawn move in 6 seconds (with 25+ minutes on the clock) blundering #1. There's no amount of advice anyone can give that stops you from making ill-fated moves while using no time in a classical game. You're simply going to have to resolve that on your own.

Everyone suffers from what I'll call, lack of full-board-vision. The video linked above shows very strong players making mistakes, we all do. But most of those were in time scrambles, not with all day left on the clock. Perhaps go watch some Agadmator videos of his own rapid games. He plays 10 minute rapid while recording and then posts the video of the game. The difference between his videos and other streamers is, he's playing players at his own rating level where most others are playing people way below themselves. After opponent moves, you will constantly hear him say, What is this? What's going on here? What am I missing? Nearly every move will have some comment telling you he's working out what they're up to. Your games do not show me that you're ever looking at your opponent's threats.

Lastly, chess games ARE puzzles. If you do not enjoy solving puzzles, you're not going to improve much. You have to enjoy the calculation, and you have to practice it a lot. As a few others here mentioned, you lack pattern recognition and puzzles really help that. And one last item, when you solve puzzles here, after you've solved 30 or 40, go back to your puzzle menu, go to puzzle dashboard, and REPLAY the ones you missed. These are clearly things you're blind to because you don't recognize the patterns. That's why replay is available is so you can actually learn them. And, don't be afraid to look at the engine to see what it is you're missing, but don't leave it on all the time so you don't think some.

@Majki2111 said in #12: > Sometimes I play like shit, below average for my standard. And sometimes I beat 1600-1650 level guy. Last few games are bad. Not representative of quality chess I can play. I"m going to disagree. We all have games where we play bad, but yours are showing me that you don't even look at the position when playing moves. There's virtually no consideration whatsoever to what your opponent move does. I just looked at your last 5 games (classical) and wow, all of them are not only lost to blunders, but in several cases, 1 move checkmates. In the one game, your opponent blundered mate in 5 when "defending" with his queen which was actually left en-pris to your Q-B battery WITH CHECK. Instead of taking the queen, you played a pawn move in 6 seconds (with 25+ minutes on the clock) blundering #1. There's no amount of advice anyone can give that stops you from making ill-fated moves while using no time in a classical game. You're simply going to have to resolve that on your own. Everyone suffers from what I'll call, lack of full-board-vision. The video linked above shows very strong players making mistakes, we all do. But most of those were in time scrambles, not with all day left on the clock. Perhaps go watch some Agadmator videos of his own rapid games. He plays 10 minute rapid while recording and then posts the video of the game. The difference between his videos and other streamers is, he's playing players at his own rating level where most others are playing people way below themselves. After opponent moves, you will constantly hear him say, What is this? What's going on here? What am I missing? Nearly every move will have some comment telling you he's working out what they're up to. Your games do not show me that you're ever looking at your opponent's threats. Lastly, chess games ARE puzzles. If you do not enjoy solving puzzles, you're not going to improve much. You have to enjoy the calculation, and you have to practice it a lot. As a few others here mentioned, you lack pattern recognition and puzzles really help that. And one last item, when you solve puzzles here, after you've solved 30 or 40, go back to your puzzle menu, go to puzzle dashboard, and REPLAY the ones you missed. These are clearly things you're blind to because you don't recognize the patterns. That's why replay is available is so you can actually learn them. And, don't be afraid to look at the engine to see what it is you're missing, but don't leave it on all the time so you don't think some.
#16

You are all wright I cannot name any pattern in chess. I dont know them. Im not sarcastic.

I would say patterns, endgames and calculations are weakneses.

Middlegame planes are my strenghts. In most cases I can easly navigate trough middlegames in most of my games.

Middlegame is part of chess I enjoy playing the most.

You are all wright I cannot name any pattern in chess. I dont know them. Im not sarcastic. I would say patterns, endgames and calculations are weakneses. Middlegame planes are my strenghts. In most cases I can easly navigate trough middlegames in most of my games. Middlegame is part of chess I enjoy playing the most.
#17

"... Logical Chess [(Batsford edition by Chernev)] ... a collection of 33 games ... is definitely for beginners and players who are just starting to learn about development, weak squares, the centre, standard attacking ideas, and the like. In many ways, it would [be] a wonderful 'first' book (or first 'serious' book, after the ones which teach the rules and elementary mates, for example), and a nice gift for a young player just taking up chess. ..." - IM John Watson (1999)
https://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/assorted-recent-books
https://www.amazon.com/Logical-Chess-Every-Explained-Algebraic/dp/0713484640?asin=0713484640&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1004861

“... Certainly for players who do not fully grasp the meaning of terms such as skewer, pin, fork, discovered attack, and the like, Winning Chess [(Batsford edition by Chernev and Reinfeld)] is a wonderful resource to bring the budding player to a much greater appreciation of the game. But also for intermediate players who all too often fall victim to these tactical maneuvers, or who realize in postmortems the many attacking threats they overlooked, this should be a book to consider. ..." - Steve Goldberg (2013)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf

"... Silman’s Complete Endgame Course ... I'm convinced that Silman's book will take its place in history as one of the most popular endgame books ever. ... He writes in a clear and casual style, and time and again has shown the ability to reach those who feel intimidated by the lofty approach that a grandmaster will often take. ..." - IM John Watson (2007)
https://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/theres-an-end-to-it-all
https://www.amazon.com/Silmans-Complete-Endgame-Course-Beginner/dp/1890085103?asin=B00H273OJS&revisi5a3244f2&format=2&depth=1

"... For beginning players, [the book, Discovering Chess Openings by GM Emms,] will offer an opportunity to start out on the right foot and really get a feel for what is happening on the board. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
https://www.amazon.com/Discovering-Chess-Openings-Building-Principles/dp/1857444191?asin=1857444191&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1

"... As [First Steps: 1 e4 e5 is] a First Steps book, I’ve tried to avoid encyclopaedic coverage. In any case, you certainly don’t need to remember every single variation and all the notes before playing the opening. Take in the first few moves and the key ideas, and then try it out in your games! ..." - GM John Emms (2018)
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7790.pdf

My First Chess Opening Repertoire for White
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9033.pdf

Simple Attacking Plans
https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Attacking-Plans-Fred-Wilson/dp/1936277441?asin=B00NLPJULG&revisionId=ead47e50&format=1&depth=1
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf

Better Chess for Average Players by Harding
https://store.doverpublications.com/products/9780486290294

"... Irving Chernev’s The Most Instructive Games of Chess Every Played was ... originally published ... in 1965. It contains sixty-two well analyzed games, each one possessing both artistic and educational value. Now Batsford has republished Chernev’s book in algebraic format, ..." - John Hartmann (2015)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/

"... The Amateur's Mind ... (for players 1000 to 1600) ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2010)
https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/the-amateurs-mind-2nd-edition/
"... The Amateur’s Mind ... is one of the best instructive books in print. ..." - Taylor Kingston (2009)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094419/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/ammind.pdf

“... [Simple Chess by GM Stean] will definitely help players in the general rating range of 1300-2000 with their positional play and strategic thinking. ...” - Jonathan Winer (2003)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104258/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/review400.pdf
https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Chess-New-Algebraic-Dover/dp/0486424200?asin=0486424200&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1

Best Lessons of a Chess Coach
https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Chess-Coach-Sunil-Weeramantry/dp/1936277905?asin=B08C7HLWFJ&revisionId=78cd6cbc&format=1&depth=1

“How to Reassess Your Chess, 4th Edition was designed for players in the 1400 to 2100 range.” - IM Jeremy Silman (2010)
https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/how-to-reassess-your-chess-4th-edition/
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708095832/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/review769.pdf

How to Become a Candidate Master by Alex Dunne
https://www.amazon.com/How-Become-Candidate-Master-Practical/dp/9056919210?asin=B08PHF79J6&revisionId=9cdf7692&format=1&depth=1

"... Logical Chess [(Batsford edition by Chernev)] ... a collection of 33 games ... is definitely for beginners and players who are just starting to learn about development, weak squares, the centre, standard attacking ideas, and the like. In many ways, it would [be] a wonderful 'first' book (or first 'serious' book, after the ones which teach the rules and elementary mates, for example), and a nice gift for a young player just taking up chess. ..." - IM John Watson (1999) https://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/assorted-recent-books https://www.amazon.com/Logical-Chess-Every-Explained-Algebraic/dp/0713484640?asin=0713484640&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1 https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1004861 “... Certainly for players who do not fully grasp the meaning of terms such as skewer, pin, fork, discovered attack, and the like, Winning Chess [(Batsford edition by Chernev and Reinfeld)] is a wonderful resource to bring the budding player to a much greater appreciation of the game. But also for intermediate players who all too often fall victim to these tactical maneuvers, or who realize in postmortems the many attacking threats they overlooked, this should be a book to consider. ..." - Steve Goldberg (2013) https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf "... Silman’s Complete Endgame Course ... I'm convinced that Silman's book will take its place in history as one of the most popular endgame books ever. ... He writes in a clear and casual style, and time and again has shown the ability to reach those who feel intimidated by the lofty approach that a grandmaster will often take. ..." - IM John Watson (2007) https://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/theres-an-end-to-it-all https://www.amazon.com/Silmans-Complete-Endgame-Course-Beginner/dp/1890085103?asin=B00H273OJS&revisi5a3244f2&format=2&depth=1 "... For beginning players, [the book, Discovering Chess Openings by GM Emms,] will offer an opportunity to start out on the right foot and really get a feel for what is happening on the board. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2006) https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf https://www.amazon.com/Discovering-Chess-Openings-Building-Principles/dp/1857444191?asin=1857444191&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1 "... As [First Steps: 1 e4 e5 is] a First Steps book, I’ve tried to avoid encyclopaedic coverage. In any case, you certainly don’t need to remember every single variation and all the notes before playing the opening. Take in the first few moves and the key ideas, and then try it out in your games! ..." - GM John Emms (2018) https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7790.pdf My First Chess Opening Repertoire for White https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9033.pdf Simple Attacking Plans https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Attacking-Plans-Fred-Wilson/dp/1936277441?asin=B00NLPJULG&revisionId=ead47e50&format=1&depth=1 https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf Better Chess for Average Players by Harding https://store.doverpublications.com/products/9780486290294 "... Irving Chernev’s The Most Instructive Games of Chess Every Played was ... originally published ... in 1965. It contains sixty-two well analyzed games, each one possessing both artistic and educational value. Now Batsford has republished Chernev’s book in algebraic format, ..." - John Hartmann (2015) https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/ "... The Amateur's Mind ... (for players 1000 to 1600) ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2010) https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/the-amateurs-mind-2nd-edition/ "... The Amateur’s Mind ... is one of the best instructive books in print. ..." - Taylor Kingston (2009) https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094419/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/ammind.pdf “... [Simple Chess by GM Stean] will definitely help players in the general rating range of 1300-2000 with their positional play and strategic thinking. ...” - Jonathan Winer (2003) https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104258/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/review400.pdf https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Chess-New-Algebraic-Dover/dp/0486424200?asin=0486424200&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1 Best Lessons of a Chess Coach https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Chess-Coach-Sunil-Weeramantry/dp/1936277905?asin=B08C7HLWFJ&revisionId=78cd6cbc&format=1&depth=1 “How to Reassess Your Chess, 4th Edition was designed for players in the 1400 to 2100 range.” - IM Jeremy Silman (2010) https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/how-to-reassess-your-chess-4th-edition/ https://web.archive.org/web/20140708095832/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/review769.pdf How to Become a Candidate Master by Alex Dunne https://www.amazon.com/How-Become-Candidate-Master-Practical/dp/9056919210?asin=B08PHF79J6&revisionId=9cdf7692&format=1&depth=1
#18

If you're not keen on puzzles - and frankly you should be! - then giving what you have said, try this:-

Get a hold of a book with plenty of decent commented IM/GM games, and walk your way through the games. This is an 'old' style way of doing things, but still pretty effective - ask any GM.

ANY such book will do. But I would recommend 'The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games' by Burgress, Nunn etc - not mentioned so far. Book is cheap, 700+ pages, with 125 games. There is also plenty of history and 'lessons' thrown in as well. Just don't get too bogged down in the 'mega-analysis' - what you are looking for is odd moves you wouldn't normally make etc, just rolling through the games you'll pick up some tips as well as experiencing the greatest chess games ever played. Pick one game a day!

Alternatively - and easy to try out without too much of a $ commitment! - try watching higher rated games on Lichess (the slower formats the better). Try and guess the next moves, and note you can always download 'interesting' games later (or copy them into a study). Avoid games with openings you normally play!

I have found from my own game analysis that half my errors come from just not considering or even 'seeing' the best move. If you don't look at other peoples' games you'll just keep missing typical 'best' moves.

If you're not keen on puzzles - and frankly you should be! - then giving what you have said, try this:- Get a hold of a book with plenty of decent commented IM/GM games, and walk your way through the games. This is an 'old' style way of doing things, but still pretty effective - ask any GM. ANY such book will do. But I would recommend 'The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games' by Burgress, Nunn etc - not mentioned so far. Book is cheap, 700+ pages, with 125 games. There is also plenty of history and 'lessons' thrown in as well. Just don't get too bogged down in the 'mega-analysis' - what you are looking for is odd moves you wouldn't normally make etc, just rolling through the games you'll pick up some tips as well as experiencing the greatest chess games ever played. Pick one game a day! Alternatively - and easy to try out without too much of a $ commitment! - try watching higher rated games on Lichess (the slower formats the better). Try and guess the next moves, and note you can always download 'interesting' games later (or copy them into a study). Avoid games with openings you normally play! I have found from my own game analysis that half my errors come from just not considering or even 'seeing' the best move. If you don't look at other peoples' games you'll just keep missing typical 'best' moves.
#19

Just noticed that the Burgress Book above has been updated to 145 games and is available on Amazon's Kindle for £2.99. Needless to say I immediately bought the updated version and suggest people buy the Kindle version as it's a bit awkward to read as a paperback giving it's size and the density of the text.

Just noticed that the Burgress Book above has been updated to 145 games and is available on Amazon's Kindle for £2.99. Needless to say I immediately bought the updated version and suggest people buy the Kindle version as it's a bit awkward to read as a paperback giving it's size and the density of the text.
#20

Look bro, I have been solving chess puzzles everyday for one year straight. But I am also working on an engine prep for myself. I got 1900 at blitz in a year. I don't recommend playing longer time controls. Solve chess puzzles. The faster you get, you are going to blunder less.

Look bro, I have been solving chess puzzles everyday for one year straight. But I am also working on an engine prep for myself. I got 1900 at blitz in a year. I don't recommend playing longer time controls. Solve chess puzzles. The faster you get, you are going to blunder less.

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