Want to Play Impressive Chess? Do These 5 Things--The Real One

Hey Impressive Chessers!

You may have seen my last post: www.chess.com/blog/NMChesstoImpress/want-to-play-impressive-chess-do-these-5-things and thought this NM has no idea what he’s talking about…

To make up for it, here are five real tips to improve your chess in the long-term:

Tip #1: Be Honest With Yourself 

After a game, write down all your thoughts, key time-consuming moves, emotions, and questions before checking with a computer. Don’t edit your notes, Stockfish will make you think you “would have seen that.” This raw data is invaluable for your coach, who isn’t a mind reader. The clearer your self-assessment, the more effectively your coach can help you improve.

Puzzle #1

Boy, was I wrong about this game and I have the notes to prove it. In the puzzle below, find my preferred way to win the game. In the actual game, I played a strong move but not a winning one, got low on time and even eventually lost

Tip #2: Don’t Force Your Opponent to Play Good Moves

Always consider forcing moves (checks, captures, threats), because if the forcing move is good your opponent is forced down a bad line...but don’t play them blindly.  I once sacrificed my queen in an “interesting” way, only to have my lower-rated opponent find five only-moves in a row and beat me . Always ask yourself:

Am I just playing this forcing move so that I know what my opponent will play in retort, or is it an actually good move?

Puzzle #2 From the aforementioned April Fool's blog what should Black play in response to White's forcing move?

Tip #3: Be Willing to Blunder 

This is my most controversial piece of advice. Also it’s the one that is least likely to be followed, especially by adults. A lot of would be improving players get stuck in Phase 2 and I’m pretty sure the reason is that in order to get out of Phase 2 your rating might take a short term hit. And that’s because learning involves making mistakes.

As children, we failed repeatedly while learning to read, and then one day: voila! We could just do it. Channel your inner child: blunder, learn, and grow.

Tip #4: Consistency > "No Pain, No Gain" 

Studying for even 20 minutes daily beats cramming for hours on the weekend. One of my students, we’ll call him "Paul," initially studied 8–10 hours on weekends but took weekdays off. I encouraged them to try 20 minutes/day during the week, leading to more sustainable, enjoyable learning. The brain thrives on consistency, don’t just cram before tournaments. Because unless you get lucky and your opponent plays exactly what you studied while cramming for a tournament, you are not going to remember much outside your last “cramming session”. Study like you are going to use the knowledge for the rest of your chess career, because guess what, you will!

Tip #5: Productivity Goals > Rating Goals 

It’s easy to obsess over rating. We all put so much stock into those 3 or 4 digit numbers by our name that supposedly tell others how strong at chess we are. And I have a theory why: because ratings are very tangible things. To illustrate my theory, we will go back in time, over 100 years ago; much before chess computers (besides the Turk):

The key is to make productivity (studying, playing, etc.) more tangible so that our minds can accept it more easily--just as computers spit out a number that tells us that a dynamic position with doubled pawns is okay. Ratings fluctuate, but progress is inevitable if you track and meet study goals. A lot of times, as with Tip #3: embracing blunders, short-term rating drops precede long-term growth.

Conclusion

Chess improvement is not always tangible or linear, and that’s okay. Being positive, in the face of adversity, is one of the best traits of any improving chess player. Be honest with yourself, avoid pushing opponents into strength, embrace mistakes, prioritize steady study, and focus on productivity over rating. Make productivity tangible and embrace the fact that sometimes you can’t. Do this, and impressiveness is inevitable.

Stay impressive!
NM Craig C.
linktr.ee/ChessToImpress