To start this post off, I wanted to let people know that I am offering free coaching sessions to beginners who are interested. If you are under 1000 ELO and want to climb I would be happy to help you out. Just respond to this post or msg me and we can set up a time. I have a lichess rapid rating above 2100, so even if you are an intermediate player I could probably teach you a few things. That being said, I hope this post helps you. Here are some things that helped me when I was trying to climb ELO in those beginning stages.
1. ANALYSIS. Learning chess takes a lot more than just playing games, what makes a great chess player is the training they do outside of games. Imagine a boxer who only ever boxed during their big matches, without proper training outside of the game, they would never improve. Learning from your mistakes is the best way to get better. When you've finished a game, take some time to go over it with a friend or coach, or better yet, use the free analysis engine that comes with this site and others like it. It will tell which of your moves were weak, and how your opponent could've best exploited them. Use this info to not make those same mistakes again.
2. TACTICS. Analysis will take you far as to avoiding mistakes, but in order to give your game some real power you've got to sharpen it with tactics. Again, this site and others like it offer free tactics. I don't want to get my post removed for recommending other sites but just know that there are sites that give you unlimited tactics without any kind of membership. Tactics work because they train your brain to think actively instead of passively. A good chess player is always proactive with their moves and chooses to set the tempo rather than respond to opponents' moves. It takes a lot of tactics training to grow in chess. Id recommend anywhere from ONE THIRD TO ONE HALF OF ALL YOUR CHESS TRAINING be tactics. Which leads into the third point.
3. PRACTICE, DEDICATION. If you want to excell at chess, or anything for that matter, you have to be DEVOTED to it. I believe that you could go from a complete beginner to over 1000 in a month or even much less, but it all depends on your dedication. Professionals practice 7-8 hours a day just to keep themselves sharp, and this number is going up. The chess world is becoming increasingly competitive with so many new players, so to be one of the ones who makes it above 1200, you need to have something the others don't. When you start off, practice 2-3 hours daily. If you can stay with this and do the right kind of practice, you will reach 1200 in no time. However if you take even a few days off, you may find that you've already gotten worse. Your only barrier is your own mind. However when you practice, you need to practice right, and playing games over and over again can do more harm than good.
4. BALANCE. Ever found yourself with a great win streak? You likely were excited and wanted to play a whole bunch of games. After a few, you probably began to lose more and more of them. This is what happens to everyone, it's called a bad day. When you find yourself in a position where you're having a bad day there are two things that you can do. Number one is stop. If you're tired and your game is suffering because of it, just stop. Have a snack, take a nap, maybe exercise. Do something to help your brain relax. Number two is of you're bummed about losing, take some time to switch your practice to online lessons, tactics, or best of all game analysis. I find that when I analyze my games on a bad day it calms my nerves, but it also shows me how I play when I'm at my worst. This is so helpful because it exposes your greatest weaknesses in ways that don't come out in your best games This is why I always tell people to analyze their losses, not their wins. Wins can be helpful to look at on occasion, but focusing on them may make you lose sight of your weaknesses.
5. DISCUSSION. When learning anything, it is important to have people you can share your goals/accomplishments with. This segues into a quick little thing I wanted to say about much of the culture surrounding chess for those who are unaware. People often become very obsessed with this game, and take a loss as the end of the world, and rub wins in your face. Much of this, from my observations at least, stems from parental pressure. Lots of kids are pressured to "be the best" at chess from a very young age, much like some kids are pressured to be the best quarterback or basketball star, it's just a different demographic. All that to say, the chess community can be VERY toxic. Yes, I'm talking about these very forums. If you're a new player and are innocent to this toxicity, do yourself a favor and avoid these forms for the most part. Instead, find a few friends you can talk to about chess and learn from. Having community is the only way to truly grow, but I would still avoid large scale chess communication platforms for the most part.
I hope this helps some struggling folks, and again, hmu of you'd like a lesson. I'm happy to help out.
1. ANALYSIS. Learning chess takes a lot more than just playing games, what makes a great chess player is the training they do outside of games. Imagine a boxer who only ever boxed during their big matches, without proper training outside of the game, they would never improve. Learning from your mistakes is the best way to get better. When you've finished a game, take some time to go over it with a friend or coach, or better yet, use the free analysis engine that comes with this site and others like it. It will tell which of your moves were weak, and how your opponent could've best exploited them. Use this info to not make those same mistakes again.
2. TACTICS. Analysis will take you far as to avoiding mistakes, but in order to give your game some real power you've got to sharpen it with tactics. Again, this site and others like it offer free tactics. I don't want to get my post removed for recommending other sites but just know that there are sites that give you unlimited tactics without any kind of membership. Tactics work because they train your brain to think actively instead of passively. A good chess player is always proactive with their moves and chooses to set the tempo rather than respond to opponents' moves. It takes a lot of tactics training to grow in chess. Id recommend anywhere from ONE THIRD TO ONE HALF OF ALL YOUR CHESS TRAINING be tactics. Which leads into the third point.
3. PRACTICE, DEDICATION. If you want to excell at chess, or anything for that matter, you have to be DEVOTED to it. I believe that you could go from a complete beginner to over 1000 in a month or even much less, but it all depends on your dedication. Professionals practice 7-8 hours a day just to keep themselves sharp, and this number is going up. The chess world is becoming increasingly competitive with so many new players, so to be one of the ones who makes it above 1200, you need to have something the others don't. When you start off, practice 2-3 hours daily. If you can stay with this and do the right kind of practice, you will reach 1200 in no time. However if you take even a few days off, you may find that you've already gotten worse. Your only barrier is your own mind. However when you practice, you need to practice right, and playing games over and over again can do more harm than good.
4. BALANCE. Ever found yourself with a great win streak? You likely were excited and wanted to play a whole bunch of games. After a few, you probably began to lose more and more of them. This is what happens to everyone, it's called a bad day. When you find yourself in a position where you're having a bad day there are two things that you can do. Number one is stop. If you're tired and your game is suffering because of it, just stop. Have a snack, take a nap, maybe exercise. Do something to help your brain relax. Number two is of you're bummed about losing, take some time to switch your practice to online lessons, tactics, or best of all game analysis. I find that when I analyze my games on a bad day it calms my nerves, but it also shows me how I play when I'm at my worst. This is so helpful because it exposes your greatest weaknesses in ways that don't come out in your best games This is why I always tell people to analyze their losses, not their wins. Wins can be helpful to look at on occasion, but focusing on them may make you lose sight of your weaknesses.
5. DISCUSSION. When learning anything, it is important to have people you can share your goals/accomplishments with. This segues into a quick little thing I wanted to say about much of the culture surrounding chess for those who are unaware. People often become very obsessed with this game, and take a loss as the end of the world, and rub wins in your face. Much of this, from my observations at least, stems from parental pressure. Lots of kids are pressured to "be the best" at chess from a very young age, much like some kids are pressured to be the best quarterback or basketball star, it's just a different demographic. All that to say, the chess community can be VERY toxic. Yes, I'm talking about these very forums. If you're a new player and are innocent to this toxicity, do yourself a favor and avoid these forms for the most part. Instead, find a few friends you can talk to about chess and learn from. Having community is the only way to truly grow, but I would still avoid large scale chess communication platforms for the most part.
I hope this helps some struggling folks, and again, hmu of you'd like a lesson. I'm happy to help out.