I'm an average player and I want to know how to improve. What ways can I improve playing chess? • page 1/1 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

All cookie-cutter, ambiguous, carpet-bomb, 'hope something sticks' methods of learning chess aside, let's focus on a process that is 100% value-added and targeted to your own specific strengths and weaknesses.

Every time you find yourself faced with a decision to either do X, Y, or Z in a game, take a mental note.

Then, after the game is finished, go back to these kinds of "forks in the road" and see exactly how your decision worked out for you.

If you wish, you could even ask an engine about "the paths not taken".

This method is what's known as "studying your own games", and it will only endeavour to teach you what you don't already know, and it will cause you to ask the most appropriate questions, where the answers to those questions will all be information that you can use and apply in subsequent games.

Example:

You can choose to:

x) Pin his N for unclear reasons.
y) Win a race to an open file with your rook, where you can control that file instead of your opponent.
z) Prevent your opponent from taking too much space with his bc/fg pawns.

As the game played, you chose "x", and then went on to lose because your opponent dominated an open file that you couldn't easily contest without causing additional problems.

In retrospect, you learn that controlling files can SOMETIMES be more important than making ambiguous moves for unclear reasons.

You decide to cross-check with the engine and realize that even winning that race to the file was insufficient, because while your opponent's control of that file was a problem, there was actually a "blink and you miss it" opportunity to stop him from moving a pawn to the 6th/3rd, where your castle would be under permanent and irresistible attack.

As a result of this study, you learn that, depending on the tactical justifications, preventing pawn attackers from taking too much space around your castle, can SOMETIMES be a primary consideration.

This entire process starts with being very self-aware of your reasons for making your moves, paying close attention to EVERYTHING that pieces do and influence, and then revisiting those ideas after the game and studying them in retrospect.

You'll begin to learn that things that you once used to put a priority on, don't necessarily deserve to be a primary factor.
You'll begin to distinguish between when these ideas are, and are not, primary.
You'll begin to understand ways of exploiting these lessons when you see your opponents incorrectly putting a priority on secondary issues.

Your study will serve as both shield and sword.
Your study will always address and improve your own specific perspective, and it will deal with all of the exact ideas that you need to learn.

*** !IMPORTANT! ***

Be very patient!!

I can't stress this enough.

Be very very very patient.

There are at least 1000s of different ideas to recognize, learn, and perfect, but none of them occur every single game.

This means that even if you are spending time after your games to better understand and prioritize your decision making process, and taking time to understand the nuances of when and why those decisions are better/worse, or are more applicable/less applicable, you will still only be seeing these instances once every 10-25-50 games depending on the theory, and your capacity to recognize it.

In other words, ideas that you take time to learn about in January, might only reoccur in March. That's just enough time to forget what you learned a few months ago.

So this continuous process will take some time, but as you continue on the path, you'll begin to see separate lessons merge into a more basic, umbrella, fundamental, and absolute kind of a paradigm. Likewise, when playing games and faced with x/y/z, you'll be much better equipped to measure the 3 against each other, and to more efficiently assign a priority that simultaneously encompasses all three variations.

Eventually, you'll start finding tandem variations that simultaneously justify and satiate all three variations, and you'll then begin arguing between a/b/c instead.

A metaphor might help what I'm trying to get across:

I liken it to children learning to read.
Initially, they're aware of every single letter.
Then they become aware of letter combinations.
Then they begin to use those combinations to 'sound-out' entire words.

In this process, they make note of all of the wEIrd and strange PHenomena, where the language appears to break it's own rules, and where there are counter-intuitive nuances; however, these instances are eventually fully understood and seamlessly committed to the sub-conscious.

The end result is seeing all words as their whole, and, moreover the ideas that they were intended to communicate.

Now, this is a TERRIBLE way to describe chess to someone asking "how best to improve", because it seems like an inordinate amount of work, and is probably just as discouraging as it is productive.

So let's make sure that we qualify what we've spoken about here with some iron-clad mandates that shall not be trespassed upon...

Only so far as chess remains completely enjoyable, exciting, and worthwhile, should rigorous study be invested!!

**
*

Right now, new players and lower-rated players have a certain excitement and energy about the game.
At the end of the day, this is the only thing that will keep anyone at the chess board.

So by all means, study as much as you please...but make sure it's "as you please" and never "as you detest".

Chess growth occurs when you're in the middle of a game, lecture, live coverage, book, etc., and you think, "Hmmm....I never thought of that before...but I can see how that's probably an important idea..." and then having that same idea, about that same position, reoccur again and again and again, until it's second nature and habit. To where that idea is easily recognized, understood, considered, and included.

Ultimately, by simply playing lots and unintentionally picking up tidbits here and there as you explore the chess world, you will grow, learn, and improve.

It's inevitable.

If you want to hyper-accelerate that learning, simply pay attention to the questions you asked yourself during the game, and then take time to find those answers when it's done.

Self-study is the most underrated form of improvement.
It's so simple, obvious, and "do-it-yourself" that novices will often overlook this as being their most principle, most accessible, and most efficient form of development.

Very simple. Very straightforward.

So.

The most important rule to studying is...

Always make sure that you are having fun and enjoyment at the chess board.

**
*

Bonus Section:

Try to find the core of chess (fundamentals) which has very little to do with "You move here, then I move there, then you do this, and I do that."

While this process takes place in every single move, it's not chess itself, and it's senseless to have this kind of a 'bug-brain' approach. It will only get you so far.

At some point, we have to elevate our game to start paying attention to how the strengths and weaknesses of our/our opponents' light/dark coloured bishops are affected by changes in the pawn-structures (an aspect of colour complex).

For example (one out of MANY):

We might consider what happens if every single pawn moves / doesn't move / captures, and what the resulting influence that the newly opened lines/diagonal/colours mean to the scope of the pieces on the board.

In this kind of a situation, we'd be using the "you do this and I do that" tactical calculation in order to justify the prognosis of certain pieces being more or less viable, for us and for our opponents, in the later stages.

Very very very subtle.
Has nothing to do with "winning a piece outright".
Has everything to do with a frustrated opponent that can't find a plan 10 moves down the road because everything that they want to do is ineffective and "magically" on the wrong squares.

In other words, "the fundamentals".

So for bonus marks, try to pay careful attention to focusing your questions on matters of chess fundamentals, and not so much chess tactics. Focus your reasons for moving a piece, to address the improvement of the fundamentals within the position.

It goes without saying, that overlooking a mate in 2, just so that you'll have a better endgame, is folly.

So again, it's not like we wouldn't pay careful attention to the tactics at all times...it's just to say that there is a whole bigger, better, badder side to chess that deals with chess itself. These are the chess fundamentals.

CAUTION:

On this note, while it's interesting to sometimes study engine lines regarding tactical justifications, it's important to realize that some/many of these variations are literally not something that you're capable of. I bought Fritz 9 mid-2000s, and I took a long break from chess a few months later. And this is why.

So make sure that when you're asking questions and consulting engines, that you're mainly doing it to absorb fundamental truths about chess that you will be able to recognize and navigate the next time that those instances occur in your game.

Getting wrapped up with attempting to calculate like an engine, is a great way to go insane and zap any and all enjoyment out of chess.

Just ask Kasparov. Any lesser man, and Deep Blue would have absolutely retired 'said' chess player.

So.

Study in order to learn to ask questions like a chess master? YES!
Study in order to learn to calculate like an engine? NO!

Good luck and keep us all posted.
We're all interested to see your progress.

Most of all, HAVE FUN and ENJOY CHESS.

@LimitedDeck All cookie-cutter, ambiguous, carpet-bomb, 'hope something sticks' methods of learning chess aside, let's focus on a process that is 100% value-added and targeted to your own specific strengths and weaknesses. - Every time you find yourself faced with a decision to either do X, Y, or Z in a game, take a mental note. Then, after the game is finished, go back to these kinds of "forks in the road" and see exactly how your decision worked out for you. If you wish, you could even ask an engine about "the paths not taken". This method is what's known as "studying your own games", and it will only endeavour to teach you what you don't already know, and it will cause you to ask the most appropriate questions, where the answers to those questions will all be information that you can use and apply in subsequent games. - Example: You can choose to: x) Pin his N for unclear reasons. y) Win a race to an open file with your rook, where you can control that file instead of your opponent. z) Prevent your opponent from taking too much space with his bc/fg pawns. - As the game played, you chose "x", and then went on to lose because your opponent dominated an open file that you couldn't easily contest without causing additional problems. In retrospect, you learn that controlling files can SOMETIMES be more important than making ambiguous moves for unclear reasons. You decide to cross-check with the engine and realize that even winning that race to the file was insufficient, because while your opponent's control of that file was a problem, there was actually a "blink and you miss it" opportunity to stop him from moving a pawn to the 6th/3rd, where your castle would be under permanent and irresistible attack. As a result of this study, you learn that, depending on the tactical justifications, preventing pawn attackers from taking too much space around your castle, can SOMETIMES be a primary consideration. - This entire process starts with being very self-aware of your reasons for making your moves, paying close attention to EVERYTHING that pieces do and influence, and then revisiting those ideas after the game and studying them in retrospect. - You'll begin to learn that things that you once used to put a priority on, don't necessarily deserve to be a primary factor. - You'll begin to distinguish between when these ideas are, and are not, primary. - You'll begin to understand ways of exploiting these lessons when you see your opponents incorrectly putting a priority on secondary issues. Your study will serve as both shield and sword. Your study will always address and improve your own specific perspective, and it will deal with all of the exact ideas that you need to learn. - *** !IMPORTANT! *** Be very patient!! I can't stress this enough. Be very very very patient. There are at least 1000s of different ideas to recognize, learn, and perfect, but none of them occur every single game. This means that even if you are spending time after your games to better understand and prioritize your decision making process, and taking time to understand the nuances of when and why those decisions are better/worse, or are more applicable/less applicable, you will still only be seeing these instances once every 10-25-50 games depending on the theory, and your capacity to recognize it. In other words, ideas that you take time to learn about in January, might only reoccur in March. That's just enough time to forget what you learned a few months ago. So this continuous process will take some time, but as you continue on the path, you'll begin to see separate lessons merge into a more basic, umbrella, fundamental, and absolute kind of a paradigm. Likewise, when playing games and faced with x/y/z, you'll be much better equipped to measure the 3 against each other, and to more efficiently assign a priority that simultaneously encompasses all three variations. Eventually, you'll start finding tandem variations that simultaneously justify and satiate all three variations, and you'll then begin arguing between a/b/c instead. A metaphor might help what I'm trying to get across: I liken it to children learning to read. Initially, they're aware of every single letter. Then they become aware of letter combinations. Then they begin to use those combinations to 'sound-out' entire words. In this process, they make note of all of the wEIrd and strange PHenomena, where the language appears to break it's own rules, and where there are counter-intuitive nuances; however, these instances are eventually fully understood and seamlessly committed to the sub-conscious. The end result is seeing all words as their whole, and, moreover the ideas that they were intended to communicate. - Now, this is a TERRIBLE way to describe chess to someone asking "how best to improve", because it seems like an inordinate amount of work, and is probably just as discouraging as it is productive. So let's make sure that we qualify what we've spoken about here with some iron-clad mandates that shall not be trespassed upon... * ** *** Only so far as chess remains completely enjoyable, exciting, and worthwhile, should rigorous study be invested!! *** ** * Right now, new players and lower-rated players have a certain excitement and energy about the game. At the end of the day, this is the only thing that will keep anyone at the chess board. So by all means, study as much as you please...but make sure it's "as you please" and never "as you detest". Chess growth occurs when you're in the middle of a game, lecture, live coverage, book, etc., and you think, "Hmmm....I never thought of that before...but I can see how that's probably an important idea..." and then having that same idea, about that same position, reoccur again and again and again, until it's second nature and habit. To where that idea is easily recognized, understood, considered, and included. Ultimately, by simply playing lots and unintentionally picking up tidbits here and there as you explore the chess world, you will grow, learn, and improve. It's inevitable. If you want to hyper-accelerate that learning, simply pay attention to the questions you asked yourself during the game, and then take time to find those answers when it's done. Self-study is the most underrated form of improvement. It's so simple, obvious, and "do-it-yourself" that novices will often overlook this as being their most principle, most accessible, and most efficient form of development. Very simple. Very straightforward. - So. The most important rule to studying is... * ** *** 1. Always make sure that you are having fun and enjoyment at the chess board. *** ** * - Bonus Section: Try to find the core of chess (fundamentals) which has very little to do with "You move here, then I move there, then you do this, and I do that." While this process takes place in every single move, it's not chess itself, and it's senseless to have this kind of a 'bug-brain' approach. It will only get you so far. At some point, we have to elevate our game to start paying attention to how the strengths and weaknesses of our/our opponents' light/dark coloured bishops are affected by changes in the pawn-structures (an aspect of colour complex). For example (one out of *MANY*): We might consider what happens if every single pawn moves / doesn't move / captures, and what the resulting influence that the newly opened lines/diagonal/colours mean to the scope of the pieces on the board. In this kind of a situation, we'd be using the "you do this and I do that" tactical calculation in order to justify the prognosis of certain pieces being more or less viable, for us and for our opponents, in the later stages. - Very very very subtle. - Has nothing to do with "winning a piece outright". - Has everything to do with a frustrated opponent that can't find a plan 10 moves down the road because everything that they want to do is ineffective and "magically" on the wrong squares. In other words, "the fundamentals". So for bonus marks, try to pay careful attention to focusing your questions on matters of chess fundamentals, and not so much chess tactics. Focus your reasons for moving a piece, to address the improvement of the fundamentals within the position. It goes without saying, that overlooking a mate in 2, just so that you'll have a better endgame, is folly. So again, it's not like we wouldn't pay careful attention to the tactics at all times...it's just to say that there is a whole bigger, better, badder side to chess that deals with chess itself. These are the chess fundamentals. CAUTION: On this note, while it's interesting to sometimes study engine lines regarding tactical justifications, it's important to realize that some/many of these variations are literally not something that you're capable of. I bought Fritz 9 mid-2000s, and I took a long break from chess a few months later. And this is why. So make sure that when you're asking questions and consulting engines, that you're mainly doing it to absorb fundamental truths about chess that you will be able to recognize and navigate the next time that those instances occur in your game. Getting wrapped up with attempting to calculate like an engine, is a great way to go insane and zap any and all enjoyment out of chess. Just ask Kasparov. Any lesser man, and Deep Blue would have absolutely retired 'said' chess player. - So. Study in order to learn to ask questions like a chess master? YES! Study in order to learn to calculate like an engine? NO! - Good luck and keep us all posted. We're all interested to see your progress. Most of all, HAVE FUN and ENJOY CHESS.