Study. Learn from your losses. Lots of tactics. Playing strong opponents in long time controls. Same things people always say. Most important is to learn from your losses. Go through each long time control loss and figure out why you lost. Did you blunder a queen? Tactics. Did you attack too fast and get refuted? Developing and strategy. Did you get to middlegame and then your position started to fall apart because you were playing wild pawn moves, positional play. Figure out what mistakes you made and why. You don't have to spend 6 hours analyzing each game. Even just take one thing away from each game.
Please help me with my ELO, I'm stuck.
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Sep 14, 2017
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#3
The most important thing for a player at your current level is do TACTICS.....do at least 10 tactics a day.
As for an opening, I would recommend the London System as it is solid, especially against Indian defenses. As black, I would recommend the scandinavian or french defenses. The sicilian is a mindfield...one mistake and you could be lost. I love the scandinavian. Study the Icelandic gambit...look it up, it is part of the scandinavian defense. It is a gambit of one pawn for considerable counterplay.
BUT ***** AGAIN, you must start with tactics and playing lots of LONG time control games.
"Waiting until you are 'good' to play in events is ... a common error; you won't improve as quickly without consistent live competition; locking yourself in a closet to just study is rarely the optimum path. Taking your lumps is a necessary part of the learning process and the younger you start, the better chance you have. Most really good players play hundreds of tournaments over a period of years during their improvement phase." - Dan Heisman (2012)
Possibly of interest:
Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
http://dev.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Simple-Attacking-Plans-77p3731.htm
Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1949)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
Back to Basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233537/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review585.pdf
Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Chess Endgames for Kids by Karsten Müller (2015)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf
A Guide to Chess Improvement by Dan Heisman (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105628/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review781.pdf
Seirawan stuff:
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092617/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review560.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm
hear you man. I was at the 1200 level for a while. 1200s from what I observed really don't play sound fundamental chess. Although they know the fundamentals they haven't really appreciated it I think.
This my sound counter intuitive but I would try playing non-gambits and switch it up, this way you get to hone in your fundamentals and get past this elo trap then you can go back and play gambits once your past this level.
I put together a detailed guide on kind of what to expect at each elo level check it out.
From a 500 ELO Beginner to a 2000 ELO Expert
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-players/from-a-500-elo-beginner-to-a-2000-elo-expert
I changed my game time from 3 to 5, then after a few years between 1600-1700, I changed the time to 10 min. I quickly raised to 1800 and stayed there or around that. I think longer time helps you learn more. And also it's a nerves war, I try to concentrate a lot not to blunder, or make mistakes, because usually who makes the first mistake loses. Also besides tactics and strategies I try to look what is my opponent intention after he moves.
Don't say your too bad to go to a chess club.
Go to one and lose every game you play for a few years if that's what it takes. I did that, and since doing so my rating has near doubled.
If it's for shame that you won't go, then your never going to improve in anything, really. Unless your willing to lose pride to gain pride.
Go to one and lose every game you play for a few years if that's what it takes. I did that, and since doing so my rating has near doubled.
If it's for shame that you won't go, then your never going to improve in anything, really. Unless your willing to lose pride to gain pride.
And I just noticed this is a year old thread. *sigh*
I'm stuck, while hovering between ELO 1000-1250. I'd like to know how you guys got better at chess (And by that I don't mean "play in a chess club". I will never play in a chess club, I'm too bad for that, anyway). And what methods did you use?
Thank you, Mark