Hi, I took up chess a couple weeks back and want to improve as quickly as I can possibly. I'm currently working through 1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners and Logical Chess: Move By Move, but some human input on how I could improve my game would be appreciated. Thanks!
Ask yourself these questions: What does chess mean to me? Do I need to win? Why do I need to win? Search yourself deeply for the truth of these matters. I believe that a great chess player is born out of love and with love comes the courage, wisdom, and imagination you need to become great. Just my opinion... take it for what it is worth. Best of luck to you. P.S. An after thought: Learn to love and respect your opponent every bit as you love yourself and the royal game... this is crucial if you want to go far.
1) If you want to improve, then analyze games you lost, not games you won.
2) The first aim is to get your play free of blunders. 6 Bc3? blunders a piece and 6...Bg4? does not take it. How is that possible? You spent 31 seconds on the move, that should be more than enough to see you can take his piece and instantly win the game.
7...Bxf3? is wrong again as you let him save the piece with 8 Bxc6+, which he does not play.
10...exd4? just loses the exchange and gets him back in the game
3) I recommend that you switch on move confirmation in your profile. Think about your move, make it, then check it is no blunder, then confirm it.
2) The first aim is to get your play free of blunders. 6 Bc3? blunders a piece and 6...Bg4? does not take it. How is that possible? You spent 31 seconds on the move, that should be more than enough to see you can take his piece and instantly win the game.
7...Bxf3? is wrong again as you let him save the piece with 8 Bxc6+, which he does not play.
10...exd4? just loses the exchange and gets him back in the game
3) I recommend that you switch on move confirmation in your profile. Think about your move, make it, then check it is no blunder, then confirm it.
@Lohhar what @Celestial_Object said is 100% facts. Find out if chess means enough to you to commit the energy it takes to really improve. Winning is what you need to do to improve your elo if that is how you measure improvement. But always respect yourself and your opponent in the process.
I definitely recommend about 2 hours a day studying tactics and then maybe 2-3 full casual timed games. If its early in the day try to play those games against human players, if its getting late play against the machine on various levels.
After all your games, vs human or computer, run a computer analysis of your game and then click "learn from your mistakes" and it will run you through your opportunities.
I realized earlier on that If i could survive the opening and early middle game I had great chances. This was an individual weakness that I had, but you may not have the same weaknesses I do. To tighten up on openings and early middle game I studied 4 e4 openings and 4 d4 openings roughly. I then committed to learning some of the ins and outs of these lines and tried to play them often. By studying 4 of each I also learned how to defend against both openings early on and was able to kill 2 birds with one stone.
I am not really a book kind of person, but a lot of players swear by them. I would ask for a couple recommendations from the local readers to see what they suggest. Personally I am very hands on and every time I have an idea I usually bust out my over the board set and then confirm with computer analysis.
I really love to click through other player's games, famous player or not. When I am tired, I watch or listen to a couple different youtube channels and let the experts school me. I really like the channels of (listed in no order of preference)
GM Ben Finegold (this guy has a sense of humor and reviews games for people in all ranges)
Agadmator (does a ton of videos and is very thorough if you prefer this, but still has a sense of humor and the guys dog shows up in almost every video!)
Between my two hours of tactical training a day *(I really do, or try to do this daily. I took this advice seriously from another player and it is really paying off) and watching some videos, playing the games and doing analysis on those games I have a lot to learn from.
TL;DR Practice and repetition make perfect. If you want to get better put time in the game and cover all areas of learning... listen, watch, do, review ... rinse and repeat and be ready to grind friend.
I definitely recommend about 2 hours a day studying tactics and then maybe 2-3 full casual timed games. If its early in the day try to play those games against human players, if its getting late play against the machine on various levels.
After all your games, vs human or computer, run a computer analysis of your game and then click "learn from your mistakes" and it will run you through your opportunities.
I realized earlier on that If i could survive the opening and early middle game I had great chances. This was an individual weakness that I had, but you may not have the same weaknesses I do. To tighten up on openings and early middle game I studied 4 e4 openings and 4 d4 openings roughly. I then committed to learning some of the ins and outs of these lines and tried to play them often. By studying 4 of each I also learned how to defend against both openings early on and was able to kill 2 birds with one stone.
I am not really a book kind of person, but a lot of players swear by them. I would ask for a couple recommendations from the local readers to see what they suggest. Personally I am very hands on and every time I have an idea I usually bust out my over the board set and then confirm with computer analysis.
I really love to click through other player's games, famous player or not. When I am tired, I watch or listen to a couple different youtube channels and let the experts school me. I really like the channels of (listed in no order of preference)
GM Ben Finegold (this guy has a sense of humor and reviews games for people in all ranges)
Agadmator (does a ton of videos and is very thorough if you prefer this, but still has a sense of humor and the guys dog shows up in almost every video!)
Between my two hours of tactical training a day *(I really do, or try to do this daily. I took this advice seriously from another player and it is really paying off) and watching some videos, playing the games and doing analysis on those games I have a lot to learn from.
TL;DR Practice and repetition make perfect. If you want to get better put time in the game and cover all areas of learning... listen, watch, do, review ... rinse and repeat and be ready to grind friend.
What @tpr said is very very true. Take your time to analyze your moves. Try to calculate more than 2-3 moves ahead and beyond when ever possible. You will get faster at this with your tactical training but you need to be patient and look at all your options when possible.
As far as the training goes, there are tons of resources here from puzzles to studies. There is also a learning center that runs you through the different checkmate sequences with various combinations of pieces etc etc. Lichess on its own is an abundance of free resources for chess.
As far as the training goes, there are tons of resources here from puzzles to studies. There is also a learning center that runs you through the different checkmate sequences with various combinations of pieces etc etc. Lichess on its own is an abundance of free resources for chess.
@tpr Thanks for the feedback & taking the time to reply. I should have included this in the initial post, I posted this game simply because I feel that I only won through my opp blundering / not seeing mate and a better player would have exploited my weak moves. As you pointed out there are many points of improvement for me throughout the game still.
@Episcopul Cheers, I'll set aside time to work on tactics everyday, as well as play a couple games. I also find that the opening is what makes or breaks my game, I'm trying to focus on fully understanding the basic principles e.g: Develop, fight for center control, develop with purpose, try not to move pieces twice in the opening, not developing the queen too early, castle & connect rooks. I'll study some openings too.
Definitely on the Finegold train, I watch him nearly every day! Suspicious...
Improvement to me means better understanding and knowledge of the game, I enjoy playing chess and want to be able to play better. With those come victory.
Definitely on the Finegold train, I watch him nearly every day! Suspicious...
Improvement to me means better understanding and knowledge of the game, I enjoy playing chess and want to be able to play better. With those come victory.
1] What are your goals? Really think about that and write your goals on paper.
2] Your time matters, If you want to watch chess entertainment videos or study openings, that is ok, but understand that if you want to improve, this is not the best investment of your time.
3] Endgames.
king and pawns video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnrMMktlpJo
studies video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qujS-6E_YYU
Chessable: www.chessable.com/basic-endgames/course/6371/
4] Tactics.
article: www.ichess.net/blog/chess-tactics-explained/
training: lichess.org/practice
more training: lichess.org/training/
5] Fundamentals.
videos: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl9uuRYQ-6MBwqkmwT42l1fI7Z0bYuwwO
Enjoy!
2] Your time matters, If you want to watch chess entertainment videos or study openings, that is ok, but understand that if you want to improve, this is not the best investment of your time.
3] Endgames.
king and pawns video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnrMMktlpJo
studies video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qujS-6E_YYU
Chessable: www.chessable.com/basic-endgames/course/6371/
4] Tactics.
article: www.ichess.net/blog/chess-tactics-explained/
training: lichess.org/practice
more training: lichess.org/training/
5] Fundamentals.
videos: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl9uuRYQ-6MBwqkmwT42l1fI7Z0bYuwwO
Enjoy!
@WildTiger Thanks so much for the advice, I found this extremely helpful :) Funny, I was halfway through the first Fundamentals video when I saw your comment! It's really eye opening.
At the moment for Tactics training I'm working through 1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners, which has a different chapter for each Tactic, with an explanation and scaling puzzles.
I'll add the other videos & links to my to do list :)
Cheers!
At the moment for Tactics training I'm working through 1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners, which has a different chapter for each Tactic, with an explanation and scaling puzzles.
I'll add the other videos & links to my to do list :)
Cheers!
When you've started out as a chess player, there is nothing you must focus on. Just try to have fun and don't neglect your tactical training, then you'll make progress soon.
A few more abstract notes on your game:
I like that you already have a pretty active playing style. However, always pay attention to your opponent's threats. exd4 is such a case. Remember that the strongest moves in chess simultaneously promote your own plan and prevent your opponent's plan.
A few more abstract notes on your game:
I like that you already have a pretty active playing style. However, always pay attention to your opponent's threats. exd4 is such a case. Remember that the strongest moves in chess simultaneously promote your own plan and prevent your opponent's plan.
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