Getting from 900 to 1200 ??

I am stuck in a rut and need help. I can't seem to make any major improvments in my game. I want to get my blitz rating from 900 to 1200. I have about 15 chessbooks which are all excellent and that is a problem in itself because I can't stay focused on one book. I watch the videos on chess.com and also feel that although they are amazing, there are too many to choose from without any structure as to which ones to watch and study.  I play a lot of games which is for the enjoyment of chess, but I know in my heart I am not really improving and it's starting to get me a bit discouraged.  It seems there are 3 main classes of players on this site. People like me in the 800-1000 range, people in the 1200-1500 range and then the masters and GMs in the 1900 to 2500 range.  I would be happy just to move up into the next range but don't know best way to do so.  I chatted with a few GMs but they charge a lot of money and I think there has to be a better way to spend my very limited resources before studying with a pro. Can any one who was once a 900 player tell me what you did to get to 1200 or even a higher rating.  Much appreciated. 

Blitz is fun, can help sharpen intuition and practice openings, but you need to play slow chess to really learn. Also, stick to study guide for a bit! Pick a book, devour it, then go on to another book. Do you practice tactics? How? Best improvement there is at your level. Message me, let's get your game going up.

Empathy1,

Here is a guide based on the 5 steps I took to improve from 900-1200 in just a few months.

"How to Get to 1200 from 900 in 5 Easy Steps"

Yes, you will make this transition from 900 to 1200 with some focused effort on just a few key areas of your game.

This plan here should be easy to follow and covers several areas of your game you can begin to improve quickly.

1.Eliminating Blunders

First, eliminating blunders is the goal. At 900 rating, blunders abound. At 1200, there are still a few, just not as many as at 900.

I remember hearing this answer at 900 and thinking, "Thanks, I know you're trying to help, but it really doesn't. How can I eliminate blunders if I don't know what mistakes I'm making in the first place?"

I get that. There is a big difference between making a strategic mistake and just an outright blunder of a hanging piece.

The first thing you can do is simply to perform a quick mental "blunder check" before finalizing each move. 

Coach and National Master Dan Heisman recommends a very similar approach so it's worth checking out his articles.

Before you make that move, on every move, (even the obvious ones) ask yourself,

1. "Am I leaving anything "hanging" (undefended) en prise (available to be captured by your opponent for free) where it can be captured?"

2. "Am I leaving myself open to be put in check on the next move or the move after that by making this move?"

3. "What else is my opponent threatening now or in a few moves?"

Then, repeat the same checklist for your opponent to see how you can capitalize on weaknesses and blunders they may have made.

2. Positional Strategy

(Rooks on Open Files, Creating Open Lines for Attack, X-rays and Strategic Exchanges)

This next step is positional strategy and can be very helpful:

Remember, every time you or your opponent captures with a pawn, you open a file where your pawn used to be.

Slide your rook onto that newly open or semi-open file so it can own it and exert its pressure on all those squares that are now open to it. 

Begin to look for ways to create these open files when needed and also to create open diagonals for your bishops to control in the same way.

You can create open "lines" sometimes by initiating certain exchanges.

For example, if you see you can exchange a knight of yours that is not really active in the game for the more active bishop of your opponent in order to create an open line of attack against your opponent's king when they recapture your knight with their pawn after the exchange, then that's another strategy that can pay off positionally.

Strategic X-Rays

When you can, place your queen or rook on the same file against your opponent's king and your opponent's queen.

An x-ray is when you attack your opponent's piece "through" other pieces and/or pawns.

So even if you can't directly put your opponent's king in check by placing your rook in front of it or even if you can't immediately capture your opponent's queen because there's a pawn or piece in the way, you can "x-ray" your opponent's king and queen.

For example, you place your rook on the same file as your opponent's queen and there's still a knight and pawn in between your rook and your opponent's queen.

Eventually, your opponent may decide to move that knight or pawn and forget your queen's there. Even if they don't forget, the mere presence of your queen there can pressure them to keep their knight or pawn there when they would otherwise move them to better squares.

So that is an indirect way you can use subtle positional strategy to your advantage.

3. "Tactics, Tactics, Tactics!"

One of the things you can do to improve from 900 to 1200 in just a couple of months is to simply do as many of the "tactics trainer" problems as you possibly can each day. This gives you noticeable improvement you can see pays off directly in rating increase results. Probably no other study contributed to faster and more noticeable rating increases for me than doing tons of tactics trainer problems each day. You'll feel like you have a new chess superpower.

Yes. Do tactics, tactics and more tactics daily. This helps BIG TIME.

I can't emphasize that enough, because it helped me gain hundreds of rating points just by itself. So spend most of your chess study time here doing tactics trainer. Learn the patterns and when you miss one, play through the moves in the solution so you learn the pattern well enough to get it right the next time that particualr problem appears.

Not only do you start to memorize patterns you can use for yourself, you also learn to identify these tactics so you can prevent your opponents from using them against you.

If you recognize a tactical threat and deny your opponent that opportunity by not allowing it, then games you would normally lose because of that tactic, you can win instead and watch your rating rise as the result.

4. Learn the Winning King and Pawn Endgame Position

This next one is important.

Learn the critical king and pawn winning end game position.

Get your king to the 6th rank ahead of your pawn on the 5th and have your king escort your pawn to queen promotion by walking it to the promotion square. When you finally get your king to the 7th rank, it will be guarding the promotion square at the end of the board on the 8th for your pawn so that the enemy can't prevent it from promoting or capture it once it becomes a queen.

5. Opening Principle of Quickest Development Possible and Other Tips

Many coaches and trainers advise against spending too much time on opening study because you'll get more bang for your buck so to speak in terms of results with doing those tactics trainer problems.

But just to make sure we don't neglect the opening phase of the game, let's cover what is most important in the opening...

Fast Development.

When you have a lead in development ahead of your opponent, you have a definite advantage you can press to win.

What is development and how can you develop faster than your opponent?

Development is simply getting all your pieces into the game first before moving one of them a second time.

This means if you are tempted to move your knight a second time but still haven't moved your bishop into the game yet, then develop your bishop.

If your opponent messes about moving his same knight three times while you get all your pieces into the game first, you'll have a massive lead in the development of your more mobile army and can begin to exchange pawns in the center to open lines of attack and files against your opponent's king while your opponent still hasn't developed their pieces into the game yet to adequately defend.

Stick with the opening principles of quicker development and you'll see your results improve from game to game.

It wouldn't hurt you to use the opening explorer to learn the first 10 moves for both sides with a given opening you'll use with the white pieces with 1.e4 and with the black pieces against 1.e4 and one with the black pieces against 1.d4 and everything else. So that's 3 in all. The one you'll use with the white pieces starting with 1.e4 and the two you'll use with the black pieces. One against white's 1.e4 and then one against white's 1.d4 and everything else.

After you believe you have learned the main lines 10 moves deep, you should go to the database of masters' games and review about 20 games.

I like to review 20 games where the side using the white pieces (if I'm studying the opening for white) won in 20 moves or less or the side using the black pieces (when I'm studying my opening for black) won in 20 moves or less as a good starting point to see how the masters can win quickly with the opening but also to study the games with more moves to get a feel for the "main ideas" for each opening.

Remember though, it's more important to train the tactics with your study time and you'll be fine in the opening provided you focus on the most important principle of quickest development.

 This should be enough to get you from 900 - 1200 in just a couple of months provided you do all the steps as prescribed. 

I hope this proves to not only be the simplest and most direct path for you to get where you want to be from where you are now, but also an enjoyable one. It's exactly what I noticed took me from 900-1200 and beyond and should do the same for you and whoever else may use it too.

You're a member, so my advice would be to bust ass in the Tactics Trainer and Chess Mentor areas of this site. You can learn a lot from the TT and CM. Also, play only slow games for quite a while. Playing "Online" chess is a good way to really take your time and work on your game. Don't get discouraged. You're going to lose a lot at first. Think of every loss as a learning experience. If you won every game you wouldn't learn much, right? So hit the Tactics Trainer and do a Chess Mentor course as often as you can and it won't be long before you start to improve. Good luck.

Thanks everyone for your advice. Chessmicky, you are so spot on about blunders.  I make them all the time. If I didn't, my rating would be so much higher.  Learningthemoves....thanks for all the good advice.  I will try what you and a few other people suggested about using the tactics and chess mentor.  I will also focus on one book that I own.  And I have been meaning to post about about how many opening lines do I need to memorize for white and black and my thoughts are  exactly what learningthenmoves said.  Just the 3 he mentioned.  This game is amazing but can really get discouraging when you make a blunder when you have a winning position to the point I want to quit playing which is stupid.  So the advice about looking over entire the board befoe moving is very solid because if I did that, I would have won many more games instead of making stupid blunders.   Thanks everyone.  See you at 1200 one of these years.

It will be before next year. Just hit it hard and you got this. Happy b-day by the way.

1200 before Jan 1st and 1300 before your next birthday.

Excellent advice from learningthemoves. Well thought out and presented. I do think Empathy1 that you should leave the blitz chess alone until you have played a huge amount of games which allow time for thoughtful play. As you improve you will begin to recognise the situations that lead to successful intuitive play.

Sigh........ OK, Ive answer this on another thread but the details are the same. Gain 300 rating points, that's how you go from 900 to 1200. Good luck.

Just going to echo what others have said: Play more, longer games, focus on tactics and don't give away material!

Hey just wondering, were you still planning to take lessons from an IM? I saw your last post but I can't find it anymore and just wanted to know how it went since you said you'd keep up us updated. If not, its cool. :)

Judging by your comments about not being able to stay focused, bouncing from book to book,  and not knowing how to structure your learning, Im not surpirsed you like playing blitz.  If you are a beginner and just playing blitz, dont expect much improvement. 

If you truley want to improve, then youre going to have to study, and play slower time controls. But that obviously is up to you.  Good Luck. 

what about people between 1000-1200? 1500-1900?

You'll get there one day Empathy1. But like some have said here cut the blitz out or try to limit yourself to equal blitz to standard games ratio.

Hello, this is an old thread but it comes up first when searching google for getting from 900 to 1200. The site has obviously changed. Is tactical training all the intermediate and advanced lessons in Learning? Assuming Chess Mentor is now Learning as well?

Someone give good advice to him. He have not reached 1200 after more than 6 years.

why is this so old

Why is this so old?

Improving at chess can be quite challenging, but there are various ways to enhance your skills.

For those looking to improve without coaching, here's some valuable advice:

1. Play Frequently: The more you play, the better you'll become at recognizing patterns and making strategic decisions.
2. Analyze Your Games: Review your past games to identify mistakes and areas where you can improve. This self-analysis is a powerful learning tool.
3. Focus on Tactics: Tactics play a crucial role in chess. Spend time solving tactical puzzles and exercises to sharpen your tactical skills.
4. Learn from Masters: Studying grandmaster games can provide insights into advanced strategies and tactics.

Feel free to check out this article for more in-depth advice: https://www.gautamnarula.com/how-to-get-good-at-chess-fast

Additionally, I have a YouTube series where I share chess insights and strategies, which you might find helpful: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUrgfsyInqNa1S4i8DsGJwzx1Uhn2AqlT

Best of luck with your chess journey! If you'd like more personalized guidance or coaching, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I offer one-on-one coaching sessions where we can dive deeper into your specific needs.

Some great comments by both ChessMasteryOfficial and leaningthemoves here! I completely agree with both their comments.

I am actually working on a course aiming the solve these challenges, and I got a survey that would be really beneficial if you guys could help me out with it. It will not take more than 2 minutes. Truly appreciate it!

Survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1tLW3oqKsRc0IHEIvPobrT3PfAqDVMbhzPJQudyJFAMQ/edit?pli=1