What is your story of success and chess improvement? • page 3/3 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

i have not rlly succeeded much yet so cant say stuff

When I started playing the chess hustlers in Washington Sq. Park back in the late 1990's, I was likely a 1100 strength player.
I ended up playing the weakest hustler there and worked my way up to higher strength hustlers over time.
When I started playing in tournaments I realized that my park skills would not cut it with the booked up 'real players'.
What I had developed into was a blitz player. I played mostly in the 5 min tourneys on Fri nights at the famed Manhattan and Marshall CC's.
I never got to 1600 in a USCF rating, but succeeded in beating a few masters and experts. I did make a few GM's sweat and made them work for the point, but failed to take an IM or GM scalp.
What got my skills up was reading tactical puzzle books and opening theory. My endgame knowledge was minimal and helped me gain more chess knowledge later on when I finally studied some endgame theory.
Middle game will help gain points faster as this is the most complex area of chess, followed by endgames and then openings. IMHO

When I started playing the chess hustlers in Washington Sq. Park back in the late 1990's, I was likely a 1100 strength player. I ended up playing the weakest hustler there and worked my way up to higher strength hustlers over time. When I started playing in tournaments I realized that my park skills would not cut it with the booked up 'real players'. What I had developed into was a blitz player. I played mostly in the 5 min tourneys on Fri nights at the famed Manhattan and Marshall CC's. I never got to 1600 in a USCF rating, but succeeded in beating a few masters and experts. I did make a few GM's sweat and made them work for the point, but failed to take an IM or GM scalp. What got my skills up was reading tactical puzzle books and opening theory. My endgame knowledge was minimal and helped me gain more chess knowledge later on when I finally studied some endgame theory. Middle game will help gain points faster as this is the most complex area of chess, followed by endgames and then openings. IMHO