Tactics are the only thing you need to reach a 2000+ rating on Lichess!

@Toadofsky

That's the catch. The worst part is that I know my calculation ability is tied to how much sleep I'm getting and I barely get enough to function some weeks.

@Ocean56

I tend to do this on days when I'm not in good enough health to play. I'm not sure if it's helping me, but I enjoy playing through the games of better players, and reading some of the wacky stories from their lives.

@Savage47

"...you can never be too good at tactics..."

Amen to that.

@lurarose

I've noticed the same even at my level. I've seen overwhelming wins turn into losses often enough that I suspect most games are lost to blunders.

@Kusokosla

"Notice there are NO strong chess players who are weak at tactics. But there are strong players who are good at tactics and bad at everything else."

Interesting points. I've practiced tactics since I've come back to the game as an adult, but haven't tried repeating puzzles I've already solved.

Improving chess is fundamentally improving your problem solving skills. Tactical puzzles certainly help with that. But to me, looking at a whole game means examining all sorts of problems. Some have tactical solutions. Some moves cannot be played because they have tactical refutations. Sometimes there are no tactics in the position. But in a real game situation, or when you are playing over your game or another's, no one is telling you "tactical shot ahead!" or "this looks good, but watch out..." How many times do you have the initiative, and you are wondering , "do I bring in more forces, or do I take the plunge right now?" Often you cannot get to the answer without knowing tactics, but more importantly you will not get the right answer unless you understand the potential endgames that might arise out of your attack, if you do not mate.

Good positional play is founded on small tactical details (Jussupow). That‘s something you don’t learn with those tactic trainers.

Sarg0n just said in one sentence what I was trying to say in a whole paragraph. Kudos, Sarg0n!

Thx! I'm a bit longer in the chess monkey business and probabaly, I have seen "everything". :)

A quick research revealed that I once in a month I cited Jussupow and Dvoretzky... random example:

lichess.org/forum/general-chess-discussion/ideal-trainer-versus-standard-puzzles?page=2#11