I want to learn a bit more about planning as well as pattern/position recognition
Lulz. You can't even see the board and you're interested in strategic planning. Another one who think's he's a Roman General or something. Meanwhile, he can hardly send an email.
Would you please stop stalking and harassing AnhVanT? You are intentionally insulting a member of chess.com.
I want to learn a bit more about planning as well as pattern/position recognition
Lulz. You can't even see the board and you're interested in strategic planning. Another one who think's he's a Roman General or something. Meanwhile, he can hardly send an email.
Would you please stop stalking and harassing AnhVanT? You are intentionally insulting a member of chess.com.
I am fine with it Sir. It is his time so let him waste it. Also, in an online forum, he can do whatever he likes to me I don't expect the moral stand to hold true anyway. Just ignore him Sir and please focus on my ideas instead 
You method my friend is wrong.
This is opening theory, it has nothing to do with planning and it has nothing to do with pattern recognition.
It's more likely parrot memorisation meaning it's highly doubtful you will ever be able to use any of these creatively.
It is not opening theory Sir. It is actually planning and gameplay.
When I create those training methods, the very first thing I consider is the benefits I gain from them. I don't memorize 10-15 moves of an opening variation. I don't have a coach (too early) so I need guidance/advises/ideas to improve my game. Like, I need someone to explain to me what I should do in a position. For example, in the picture above, I would normally exchange Rooks because after that I can jump my Knight to d4. The reason is simple, it is not a blunder and my knight is not hanging. If I don't read this magazine, I will never have a better solution like Nh4.
This is not how you must study chess.
You try to learn without studying. That's not possible.
Take a book of a good author and analyse a game. Focus for one or even 2 hours in what the author tries to explain.
Chess is not knowledge , it's skills. All the knowledge in the world can't make you a good player. You have to develop your ability to evaluate the critical factors of the position.Memorise a thousand positions and you will still be a bad player. Learn to think, fix the mistakes in your thinking process and you will be a good or even a great player.
Thank you so much for your advises! I am reading books too! John Nunn's books and some other beginner-friendly books. However, beside 2 hours of reading book, I want to practice reasoning in chess. The reason I make up this method is because it has practical advises on gameplay. Instead of posting questions like "should I move my Rook or jump my Knight in this game" in the Analysis forum, I practice with this series of questions. It is a tournament game and it is in the guess-the-move training section so it is very instructive. It is exactly the same as doing tactics over and over and over again. It is just another theme/topic in chess
That is the sad thing Sir. I don't have the luxury of having a good player to play with in my place. If I do, why would I waste time doing things like this
Where do you get all of the puzzles?
From ChessVibe training magazine
i recommend how to reassess your chess by Jeremy Silman, teaches a lot about imbalances, planning, strategy, etc.
At your rating you should focus on not hanging pieces and basic tactics ( ultra basic ). what you do is a waste of time
Like I said, I just spend 30min to gain extra knowledge in chess. I train tactics 2 hours a day already.
At your rating you should focus on not hanging pieces and basic tactics ( ultra basic ). what you do is a waste of time
Like I said, I just spend 30min to gain extra knowledge in chess. I train tactics 2 hours a day already.
From books or on chess.com? do you note down with pen and paper ALL the branches of the calculation tree?
From Chess King app. The puzzles are from master games so I can hardly find another solution. Even if I have my own and want to refute the solution, the engine just proves my wrong
At your rating you should focus on not hanging pieces and basic tactics ( ultra basic ). what you do is a waste of time
Like I said, I just spend 30min to gain extra knowledge in chess. I train tactics 2 hours a day already.
You would be better off spending 30 minutes a day on tactics.
You can do them online, but after 2-3 minutes, if you cant figure it out, Set up a real board, and pieces.
Dear all
I don't really want to go deep into this app but since this app is underestimated by a lots of chess.com users so I guess I should talk a bit about it. First of all, this app is a collection of CT-Art and different puzzle courses of Chess King by Russian GM. When it comes to chess training, I will think of Russians first. This app is wonderful because it has what we need for a chess training app
1. It has +/- evaluation in numbers, and material display.
2. Unless the puzzle is easy like fork or pin, it has more than 2 variations and sometimes 4 variations, depend on how complicated the situation is. Usually mate in 3-4 has three variations.
3. It has engine when we want to refute.
4. It has play from the current position.
5. It has "test for erroneous puzzle"
6. It has bookmark option.
7. It has theory section to study the basic ideas.
8. The puzzles can be done separately by theme on study mode or by mixed theme in test mode. I mainly use mixed theme. I only do it by theme when I fail it.
Here are my daily routine for tactics
Day 1: Three sets of puzzles
a) Fork - Pin/Skewer - Double check - Discover attack/check - Annihilation of king's defense - Annihilation of pieces' defense
This set is the foundation of my thinking process in a game. First I look for potential fork set up with my Knight, then pin with my bishop, then to checkmate, then to pieces. If none of these simple tactics I will look for position improvement. I zip through 50 puzzles of this set daily.
b) Mate in 1,2,3,4 - Sacrifice to mate - gain material
This set is an application of set A in a real game. This is more challenging, of course, so I do about 20-30 daily.
My main goal is pattern.
c) Opening blunders of a specific opening: 10 puzzles because it is very hard to me! And yes, I analyze the position to understand why it is a blunder
Day 2 Strategy: three sets
a) Development - Mobilization - Center - Pawn structure - After the opening: 20 puzzles
b) Attack the king in the center - Attack the king same side castle - Attack the king opposite side castle: 20 puzzles
c) Good & bad bishops - Bishop is stronger than knight - Knight is stronger than bishop - Bishops of opposite color in the middle game: 20 puzzles
Day 3: Endgame: five sets
a) Mate in 2
b) Mate in 3,4
c) Endgame for beginners
d) Draw
e) Defense set: Avoid checkmate - Interference - Support
Day 4: Masters' game (in the same app!)
a) Capablanca: I play through 20 of his games and notice the evaluation bar. Whenever one side has the advantage, I analyze the position first than read the annotations.
b) Lasker: same thing.
Puzzle sets from both masters: Attack on the king - Positional play - Skill exchange - Combinations and tactical blows - Playing an endgame - Converting an advantage in material/position into a win - Defense
Each puzzle is at least 6 moves long so I only do one puzzle of each set with careful analysis.
Day 5 - Start over from day 1
I want to learn a bit more about planning as well as pattern/position recognition so I came up with this idea. This is actually a method I used during my undergraduate year when I struggled with Biology class, which has never been my favorite class. Using Quizlet's spaced repetition, I create 3 sets of the same diagrams I collect from the training part of the chess magazine. This method is more about long-term benefit and results.
Level 1 - Choosing the Best Option
Level 2 - Explaining the Ideas and Choose the Best Option
Choices are provided but I must explain the ideas behind each choice and choose the best one.
Level 3 - I Am On My Own
Only diagram. I must find 3 candidate moves, explain why, and pick the best one.
Each set of problem like this take me about 5-10 minute to prepare. And, in the long-run, I will benefit a lot from this method.