from 1000 to 1400 / sight \ please

I plan to go from my 400 to 800 from 800 to 1000 from 1000 to , you guessed it , 1400.

Outside of tactics what should I be lookin into ?

I know also above that I need to go back to the beginning and refine those foundational principles.

Best is to have someone look at your games and for you to focus on your weak areas. Read books, play games, etc.

Not knowing you I'm going to ramble for a bit with general improvement advice and ideas:

 

After a game, go to the positions where you thought you played very well or very poorly (or where you were confused) and look at them again. Do you still like your move? Can you find something better? Then use an engine to check for any big mistakes.

With each game look at the opening to see who left book first. If you knew the first 5 or so moves form memory that's fine. Don't waste time memorizing to move 10 and beyond in every line... but you do need to know the basics of each opening you play.

For openings where the opponent does something wildly out of book, revisit the positions, do you still like your moves? Does the engine point out any big mistakes or missed opportunities? Remember punishing very odd openings usually comes down to following the opening principals better than your opponent during the first 10 moves. Attack only after you have better development and a safe king.

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IMO that's the basics of the practice side. For theory watch videos, read books, etc. All that usual stuff.

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A big part of tactics in games is consistency. You may spot a simple fork in a puzzle 100 times out of 100, but will you see it in your games just as often? For probably all of us (even GMs!) the answer is no. There's a lot of other stuff going on in games to distract us. And of course no one tells us to look for a tactic. But you'd like to catch the easy ones 99 out of 100 if possible ;)

Try to change the reasons you make moves to be more objective. Do you play a move because you've spent the last few minutes talking yourself into it? Maybe you hope your opponent doesn't see a threat? Maybe you're feeling unsure and confused and just want to make a comfortable move (like a capture or check) to put off the decision until later.

These are all bad reasons to slowly work out of your game. Try to make each decision a comparison. If you like a move, and think it's brilliant, great! But pick at least one other move. It doesn't have to be a super good move, just any other reasonable move to compare your first idea to.

Let's be honest about playing for traps... your opponents will sometimes reward you for it by instantly losing, so it's hard to stop this quickly. My goal for you would be to simply raise your awareness of when you're playing for a trap. Admit to yourself it's a move that relies on an oversight from your opponent. Then find the defense for your opponent! You can still play the move if you really want, but I think this is a good start. At the very least if the defense is easy you might talk yourself out of it.

Which is related to the last bit of advice. When you really like a move, before you play it, find your opponent's most annoying reply. Focus on forcing moves like captures and checks. Ask yourself what if they totally ignore my move and play the biggest threat on the board (like a capture or check or threatening your queen). Essentially this is "find one other move" for your opponent. We have to calculate a capture -> recapture sequence to like a move, but we also have to ask "what if they don't recapture?"

This is a lot of work at first of course. It may quadruple your work at times (you have to find two moves for yourself AND two moves for your opponent in each of those instances) but as you practice it becomes easier. Over years it becomes automatic and you do it without thinking.

Well I'm no chess coach but judging from your ratings, tactics should be your main focus for now imo. 918 in tactics is not good. Improving your tactical vision alone is probably worth at least a couple hundred ratings points from where you're at now.

Plz let's do that. Today when I'm sober.

Thanks it helps

0110001101101000 wrote: Best is to have someone look at your games and for you to focus on your weak areas. Read books, play games, etc.Not knowing you I'm going to ramble for a bit with general improvement advice and ideas: After a game, go to the positions where you thought you played very well or very poorly (or where you were confused) and look at them again. Do you still like your move? Can you find something better? Then use an engine to check for any big mistakes.With each game look at the opening to see who left book first. If you knew the first 5 or so moves form memory that's fine. Don't waste time memorizing to move 10 and beyond in every line... but you do need to know the basics of each opening you play.For openings where the opponent does something wildly out of book, revisit the positions, do you still like your moves? Does the engine point out any big mistakes or missed opportunities? Remember punishing very odd openings usually comes down to following the opening principals better than your opponent during the first 10 moves. Attack only after you have better development and a safe king.--------------------IMO that's the basics of the practice side. For theory watch videos, read books, etc. All that usual stuff.-------------------A big part of tactics in games is consistency. You may spot a simple fork in a puzzle 100 times out of 100, but will you see it in your games just as often? For probably all of us (even GMs!) the answer is no. There's a lot of other stuff going on in games to distract us. And of course no one tells us to look for a tactic. But you'd like to catch the easy ones 99 out of 100 if possible ;)Try to change the reasons you make moves to be more objective. Do you play a move because you've spent the last few minutes talking yourself into it? Maybe you hope your opponent doesn't see a threat? Maybe you're feeling unsure and confused and just want to make a comfortable move (like a capture or check) to put off the decision until later.These are all bad reasons to slowly work out of your game. Try to make each decision a comparison. If you like a move, and think it's brilliant, great! But pick at least one other move. It doesn't have to be a super good move, just any other reasonable move to compare your first idea to.Let's be honest about playing for traps... your opponents will sometimes reward you for it by instantly losing, so it's hard to stop this quickly. My goal for you would be to simply raise your awareness of when you're playing for a trap. Admit to yourself it's a move that relies on an oversight from your opponent. Then find the defense for your opponent! You can still play the move if you really want, but I think this is a good start. At the very least if the defense is easy you might talk yourself out of it.Which is related to the last bit of advice. When you really like a move, before you play it, find your opponent's most annoying reply. Focus on forcing moves like captures and checks. Ask yourself what if they totally ignore my move and play the biggest threat on the board (like a capture or check or threatening your queen). Essentially this is "find one other move" for your opponent. We have to calculate a capture -> recapture sequence to like a move, but we also have to ask "what if they don't recapture?"This is a lot of work at first of course. It may quadruple your work at times (you have to find two moves for yourself AND two moves for your opponent in each of those instances) but as you practice it becomes easier. Over years it becomes automatic and you do it without thinking. Wow Thank you for the insight. it's appreciated. You rule