What chess study or principles have you already learned? Maybe there are some other things you haven't been taught before or some principles you've misinterpreted if you've been around 400 rating for a while.
If you like, we could also play one or two unrated live games for learning purposes and I could offer whatever observations might be of use to you after the game(s).
Hi! My name is Lauren Goodkind and I’m a respected chess coach and chess YouTuber who helps beginners out :
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP5SPSG_sWSYPjqJYMNwL_Q
Send me one of your games and I'll be happy to analyze the game for free on my YouTube channel on Sunday livestream from 1-2PM PST. Ask me questions in real time!
This is a great way to improve!
Here’s more ideas to help you get better.
-I recommend two books for you: “50 Poison Pieces” and “Queen For A Day: The Girl’s Guide To Chess Mastery.” Both books are available on Amazon.com. Both books are endorsed by chess masters!
- Check out the 500 puzzles for beginners. These puzzles are unique and cannot be found anywhere else: . These puzzles are endorsed by chess masters!
-If you are serious about chess, I highly recommend you hiring a chess coach to help you.
-Also consider all checks and captures on your side and also your opponent’s side. Always as, “If I move here, where is my opponent going to move?”. Do this for every single move!
-Play with a slow time control, such as G/30 so you have plenty of time to think before every move.
Improving Your Chess - Resources for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/improving-your-chess-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell
I'm floundering around 690 almost at 700 myself so I'm no grandmaster or anything. I did notice however that you mainly play Blitz and Bullet. You'll improve a lot giving yourself more time to actually think your moves ahead by playing longer time controls. Part of what helped me get from 400 to where I'm at now was actually utilizing that time I gave myself too. You want to improve, it helps to actually see and think through the positions you're in before making the moves.
Example number 1 :
https://www.chess.com/game/live/58349955523?username=sashisashi
Your opponent threatens you with an obvious mate-in-1 threat, you have 3 minutes on the clock, and you make a random legal move after 3 seconds of "thinking".
Example number 2 :
https://www.chess.com/game/live/58295357717?username=sashisashi
Move 5, all your time is still left, and you just hang your knight after 5 seconds of "thinking".
I think it is obvious what I'm pointing at, but I spell it out still:
Don't just make random moves. Think about your moves, and avoid beginner-level 1 move blunders. This is the only thing that matters.
If you need more time to think, play longer games. 5 minutes is way too few at the 400 level, and playing bullet is a joke.
I'm incredibly frustrated.
Seems like no matter how hard I try to study Chess or learn principles, nothing either sticks with me or works. I've been playing for maybe about a year or two now, and any help would be greatly appreciated. I feel like I know a pretty good amount, but I still don't get anything out of my games.
I'm looking to hit 800-1000 eventually, but it seems like that's a much further gap than I thought it would be; these 400 players are surprisingly good.
Hi, I just read this and recognise a lot of what you are saying. I've been hovering around 600 for a while now, but am slowly climbing. I've done 3 things + 1 other.
1. Learn one basic opening for White and for Black. This has given some confidence in my openings, defends my pieces and - importantly - makes my opponent think I have a plan!
2. Do lots and lots of puzzles, every day.
3. Don't play 10 - 15 games every day. Play only 2 or 3, and then analyse them. Look for blunders and hanging pieces!
The 1 other is DON'T PANIC!! You have more time than you realise so take your time to analyse your situation, esp if your opponent lands their Q in the middle of your pieces as my last opponent just did. Stay calm and plot your escape. At our level, your opponent will make silly mistakes, stay calm and wait for them.
Hope that helps
Study PAWN STRUCTURES & simple ENDGAMES along with tactics every day..
And play slow chess to test urself as ur learning.
These tips should help you.
A quick look at your profile https://www.chess.com/member/sashisashi shows that you are playing too much blitz and bullet. Play slower time controls, you need time to think.
Skill issue
These tips should help you.
A quick look at your profile https://www.chess.com/member/sashisashi shows that you are playing too much blitz and bullet. Play slower time controls, you need time to think.
He is talking about 600 lichess players which is the lowest possible rating on the website.
If you’re stuck at 400 then there’s something going seriously wrong every time you play - I haven’t looked at your games but it means you must be making huge blunders many times per game.
You say you know a good amount but knowledge won’t do anything if you’re making huge oversights. I would forget about worrying about any sort of ‘principles’ or general study - and try to improve your board vision a little bit, seeing basic threats, captures, things like that. When you overlook something basic, go back and work out why you didn’t see it.
Just do rapid games and tactics
Blitz and bullet games don't give you enough time to think.
Studying of strategy/openings are no use if you hang pieces.
If you keep playing short time controls or dont do tactics you obviously don't really want to improve.
Skill issue
Be quiet, you're no grandmaster yourself.
What chess study or principles have you already learned? Maybe there are some other things you haven't been taught before or some principles you've misinterpreted if you've been around 400 rating for a while.
If you like, we could also play one or two unrated live games for learning purposes and I could offer whatever observations might be of use to you after the game(s).
Hello, sorry. I haven't been on the website for a while, but I've mostly been watching Daniel Naroditsky's "Oh My Lands" series along with GothamChess' "Guess the Elo". It feels like when watching others play, I can spot ideas and moves that I otherwise don't see in game. Other times, I kinda just lose my mind and play some random move that hangs something for no reason; I get so sucked into my path of thinking that I completely miss a checkmate pattern for the opponent.
I've tried to play the London, Italian, fried liver, etc. For black, I don't really play any openings, but more-so just try and make connecting moves towards the center. I would love to play a few unrateds to see how it'd go though!
Hi! My name is Lauren Goodkind and I’m a respected chess coach and chess YouTuber who helps beginners out :
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP5SPSG_sWSYPjqJYMNwL_Q
Send me one of your games and I'll be happy to analyze the game for free on my YouTube channel on Sunday livestream from 1-2PM PST. Ask me questions in real time!
This is a great way to improve!
Here’s more ideas to help you get better.
-I recommend two books for you: “50 Poison Pieces” and “Queen For A Day: The Girl’s Guide To Chess Mastery.” Both books are available on Amazon.com. Both books are endorsed by chess masters!
- Check out the 500 puzzles for beginners. These puzzles are unique and cannot be found anywhere else: . These puzzles are endorsed by chess masters!
-If you are serious about chess, I highly recommend you hiring a chess coach to help you.
-Also consider all checks and captures on your side and also your opponent’s side. Always as, “If I move here, where is my opponent going to move?”. Do this for every single move!
-Play with a slow time control, such as G/30 so you have plenty of time to think before every move.
Hello, Lauren. I would love to have a game analyzed if possible! Do you have a preferred way of contact?
Example number 1 :
https://www.chess.com/game/live/58349955523?username=sashisashi
Your opponent threatens you with an obvious mate-in-1 threat, you have 3 minutes on the clock, and you make a random legal move after 3 seconds of "thinking".
Example number 2 :
https://www.chess.com/game/live/58295357717?username=sashisashi
Move 5, all your time is still left, and you just hang your knight after 5 seconds of "thinking".
I think it is obvious what I'm pointing at, but I spell it out still:
Don't just make random moves. Think about your moves, and avoid beginner-level 1 move blunders. This is the only thing that matters.
If you need more time to think, play longer games. 5 minutes is way too few at the 400 level, and playing bullet is a joke.
Something I've struggled with when it comes to higher time controls is not being able to complete the games. A lot of my games are done at school, honestly, so I try to make them fast so I'm not playing a game in-between classes if that makes sense. Those games are completely wiped out of my memory, but from watching them back, I can say that I have hung that knight + queen checkmate combo numerous times before, and I still just gloss over it somehow.
If you’re stuck at 400 then there’s something going seriously wrong every time you play - I haven’t looked at your games but it means you must be making huge blunders many times per game.
You say you know a good amount but knowledge won’t do anything if you’re making huge oversights. I would forget about worrying about any sort of ‘principles’ or general study - and try to improve your board vision a little bit, seeing basic threats, captures, things like that. When you overlook something basic, go back and work out why you didn’t see it.
I have noticed that majority of my games do end in a lack of vision from me. I'll miss a free pawn, only seeing it by the time my opponent moves to protect it; I'll miss a checkmate threat sometimes too. I definitely struggle with seeing things across the board, such as a fianchettoed bishop that my opponent probably didn't even know they had until twenty moves later. The long diagonals really suck for me, and when watching people on YouTube I definitely do have to rewind a few times to see what they're talking about. It seems like people above 1300 can just say any square and know all the tactics from memory (this is a little bit of an exaggeration of course), whereas I mix up my "f" and "g" files. Do you have any tips on board vision?
I'm incredibly frustrated.
Seems like no matter how hard I try to study Chess or learn principles, nothing either sticks with me or works. I've been playing for maybe about a year or two now, and any help would be greatly appreciated. I feel like I know a pretty good amount, but I still don't get anything out of my games.
I'm looking to hit 800-1000 eventually, but it seems like that's a much further gap than I thought it would be; these 400 players are surprisingly good.