My Chess Improvement Report
Overview
Over the past week, I’ve been working on improving my chess skills. My usual openings include the Italian Opening or Spanish Gambit as White, occasionally incorporating the Queen’s Gambit. As Black, I typically play the Caro-Kann.
This week has been particularly challenging—I lost several games that I shouldn’t have, mainly due to obvious blunders and poor time management. While I gained 65 points in bullet, I lost 11 points in rapid, having played significantly more bullet games than rapid. The most concerning part is that my accuracy has occasionally dropped below 50%, which is something I need to address.
Strategy for the Week Ahead
To improve, I’ve set the following goals for the coming week:
✅ Play more rapid games to allow more time for critical thinking and application of new concepts.
✅ Complete one Chess.com lesson.
✅ Start another free course on Chessable.
Performance Stats (Last 7 Days)
- Total Games Played: 101
- Daily Rating: 1139
- Blitz Rating: 936
- Bullet Rating: 614
- Rapid Rating: 1163
What I’ve Been Learning
- Beginner Starter Kit – CM Can Kabadayi (Chessable)
This course provided valuable insights into tactics and endgames, including strategies for queen-and-pawn endgames, as well as rook and knight endgames. I found it highly resourceful.
- YouTube Chess Content
I spent time watching instructional content, focusing on improving my opening repertoire. My key takeaways:
- Caro-Kann & London System: I studied different variations using insights from Hikaru, Danny, and Levi.
- Danny’s Strategy vs. the London: His approach to countering the London as Black was particularly useful.
- Levi’s London System Guide: Helped reinforce key ideas for White.
- Hikaru’s "Learn to Attack" Video: Provided strong attacking principles that I’m working on implementing.
Looking forward for another week
While this week had its ups and downs, I’m staying focused on long-term improvement. With a better balance between bullet and rapid games, plus structured study, I hope to see more consistent progress.
