Chess Skills Development

Hi! Sometimes we come across questions on how to increase our rating, how to get out of a rating plateau, how to avoid a losing streak, how to prepare for an OTB tournament...an so on. 

In my opinion, you should strive to be a better chess player and reach your next level. Then the results will come sooner or later. To achieve this, you can´t rely on a few tips borrowed from here and there; instead, you need to work on developing your chess skills. How can you do this? Through training, study, practice and analysis of your play - among other activities.

So after all, what is the best way to develop your chess skills? Beginners will greatly benefit from taking customized lessons while intermediate players and beyond will get the most out of setting and following a comprehensive activity program, both with the help of a teacher/coach/expert player.

 I will explain here why I think it is best to have the help of a teacher or coach to improve your play (disclaimer: I'm a Chess.com coach).

At the beginning, it is very important to have lessons from chess teachers so as to build a solid base for future improvement. The opening, middle game and endgame laws are best learned that way. If you enjoy the game, with enough effort you can advance relatively quickly up to lower intermediate levels. However, from upper intermediate and beyond, the effort and time you need to put in is much higher.

But you have to work in the right direction to progress, so that your efforts are well spent. For instance, the type of training and the contents to study depend on the player's level and their own strengths and weaknesses. The same happens with practice, as not every opportunity to play is always advisable. 

If you improve your general understanding of the game, your rating will follow. You you don't need to spend tons of time to do so. A few hours a week of focused practice will make a huge difference in your skill level.

Normally, a development program should include openings and typical middle games, positional judgment, planning (attack and defense), tactics, endgames,  time management, tournament play, psychological factors, self analysis, and other topics. 

Game analysis and setting up a customized and effective development program are other key activities that are better accomplished with the help of a teacher /coach. Their expert eyes will point to your weaker areas of your play and will set the training you specifically need to overcome them.  When you have a limited time to devote to chess, you don´t have the luxury of going alone in your journey for improvement.

If you would like to improve your play, I would be happy to help! Please check my profile, and if you’re interested in lessons or training, please send me a message, and I will reply with details.

Good luck!