Questions from a player stuck at 800-900 for over 4 years

@nizzledizzleshizzle said in #37:

I read that blog and now folluw 27 channels on youtube :) But only check it if it has "beginner" or something in the title.
Eh, following or subscribing doesn't matter. I mean I for one watch GothamChess literally daily for my daily dose of chess, but not for really learning (or atleast the motive of learning) but for knowing more about the events, since he is the best person who analyzes games of high level tournaments, provide entairtanment, while making you learn...something. Hopefully @Crew64 ain't seeing this anytime. Don't look for a "beginner" in the title, GothamChess ain't havin' any "beginner" but the content is for max 2000 elo according to chess.com. You can watch content from every channel, and if you think its too high level for ya, then stop watching it. If you have enough time that you can spend 3-4 hours at once or at different times to learn one opening completely, then watch ChessBase India's videos of GMs and IMs explaining their fav. openings completely in a big and long video.

@AyaanshGaur12 said in #36:

Don't watch GothamChess

TBH, he has a nice opening principles video, IIRC.

@AyaanshGaur12 said in #36:

only learn traps/gambits which allow a equal position if your opponent knows the correct defense,

Or better: learn all traps so you can avoid them (or gain some advantage). I won some games just knowing Englund Gambit (but never played it!).

@nizzledizzleshizzle said in #39:

For me, it would be a hobby. I already have a career. I think maybe 1 hour a day is what I can spend. Max.
In that case, you still can increase 300 rating points EZ. 100 point is a piece of cake for ya if you completely FOCUS ON CHESS in that 1 HOUR. Don't think about anything EXCEPT CHESS. If you do that 100%, 1000 points would be possible too. Just focus. Also, guessing there are very slim chances of this, but if you have a career, than I don't you play video games, but if you do, either limit it to weekends or leave them forever.

So much to learn!!!

@OctoPinky said in #42:

TBH, he has a nice opening principles video, IIRC.
Oh, you do remember correctly @OctoPinky , but let me correct you: He used to make videos on opening principles, traps, endgame techniques, etc.
Now all he got is 'The EGG', 'The COW', 'Alien Gambit', and 'The POTATO'.

Or better: learn all traps so you can avoid them (or gain some advantage). I won some games just knowing Englund Gambit (but never played it!).
That's something you would want to do when you play FIDE rated tournaments, since FIDE rated players like to trap unrated players in gambits and traps since many don't come with GOOD preparation.

@nizzledizzleshizzle said in #39:

I think maybe 1 hour a day is what I can spend.

In a year, this is like 360 hours, so imagine you could spend 3 hours a day for 4 months.

Definitely yes! Be focused and get some sensible planning, you can improve a lot!

42 posts. should I read them all, before giving some of my own here.... could chat GPT be honouring all the participants unique thoughts (might lump similar ones into a unique one, where would similarity ends though). Or would it expect an output summary size (were the programmers programming such output formatting notion). hmmm.

may lichess could have some digesting thread extracts. Or volunteers already interest in a thread to publish one for each N thread pages. ... ok. gonna read just the op.

Ok so 2 bulldozer rules of thumbs will make you hit a plateau. I do not think that is enough dimensions to chess exploration.

And the other rabbit hold of opening lines. Well, it seems you are also, like me, finding that the horse might be before the cart of chess complexity. That there is an initiation ritual to master before you can enjoy competitive chess in other phases.

or a potential (energy) barrier to your enjoyment of the chess rules of mobility, passed the opening theory knowledge mostly performed as move lines, and not position sequences to look at as positions one can use their brain on-board "logic" to figure out. it seems that time control AND expanding move line knowledge (that usually comes in a digested format of decision tree, like the lichess opening explorer), makes for an increasing move reflex line preparation or even learning advantage and barrier to the real enjoyment of chess by the individual.

I wished other chess knowledge could come to bear in the typical now opening bottleneck locked competition world of chess. you would need a lifetime, and increasingly so, to start being competitive socially (i.e. rating in some big pool) beyond that first phase desincarnate mastery. With infinite lifetime, you can do it. Do not despair.

I do not have that. I gave up on whole game competition. until I get to understand the final learning phase (of my internal chess model as player, which depends on my internal model of chess as 2 players, and any 2 players, and many 2 players, i.e. many games, not just the few i will ever play): i.e the game opening phase (should be learned last, as a mere psychological consequence of a working knowledge learned from board subsequent phases, no need to reflex move only learning, just relying on some inert knowledge). Magic door: play correspondance if you want to enjoy all the phases in the learning appropriate order. that is a retrograde direction (not the exact one, we are learning here, and we don't want to be exhaustive in either direction, it gets put under the carpet anyway).

@nizzledizzleshizzle said in #35:

Well, this year I really want to go add 100-200 to my rating. Is that realistic?

Absolutely.

That is, if you are willing to change your habits. At this stage, it is not about deep complex thinking or refined strategies. It is about not forgetting to check all moves. If you do this in a couple of slow games, you will get used to it. And when you see lots of those bad moves, with time you will spot them faster. Up to a point when your brain does it automatically, relying on many patterns it has seen over and over again.

As a side note, checking all moves is important all levels. Even in classical OTB at my level (about 1800-1900 FIDE), mistakes happen - and very frequently it is just at that one moment when you think "oh there is just this one move, I can play instantly". (Un)fortunately, there people don't blunder immediately back, so one severe mistake often is enough to decide the game.

Youtube is fun and entertaining, and there is lots of good content, but it won't change your thinking process. That exercise is left to the viewer. ;~)

@nadjarostowa said in #48:

Absolutely.

That is, if you are willing to change your habits. At this stage, it is not about deep complex thinking or refined strategies. It is about not forgetting to check all moves. If you do this in a couple of slow games, you will get used to it. And when you see lots of those bad moves, with time you will spot them faster. Up to a point when your brain does it automatically, relying on many patterns it has seen over and over again.

As a side note, checking all moves is important all levels. Even in classical OTB at my level (about 1800-1900 FIDE), mistakes happen - and very frequently it is just at that one moment when you think "oh there is just this one move, I can play instantly". (Un)fortunately, there people don't blunder immediately back, so one severe mistake often is enough to decide the game.

Youtube is fun and entertaining, and there is lots of good content, but it won't change your thinking process. That exercise is left to the viewer. ;~)

About not forgetting to check all moves: It seems that as soon as somebody moved, the whole board just has changed. So perhaps the right idea is to keep checking how the whole set up is now, now that a move has been made?

Yes. While it is possible that the last move changes lots of things and interrelated things, it often does not, and I wouldn't worry about too many things on a 1000 Elo level.

But every move changes some things. A piece has moved. It now attacks or guards other things. Are there direct threats? Look at the changes first.

Asking "why" the move has been played is also useful, although you will notice that on the 1000 Elo level there often is no conclusive answer, or the answer doesn't make sense. It will be most useful to detect pretty obvious threats, like capturing a piece or simple forks etc.