Stuck on 700
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Thanks. Will give it a go.
You need to stop hanging pieces. You should solve that problem with more practice.
Just play more and practice, avoid stupid opening traps, and you'll soon get the hang of it.
openings will not Help, no.
not blundering pieces is Huge- but I might add a few other ideas
*don't attack (and espacially sacrifice pieces) unless you Are SURE the variations works
*Know you tactics! and look for them after every possible move; Checking tactics, forks and pins seem to be the most common ones. but you need to work on seeing them ALL
*take the time (even in blitz) when the position is critical. in the beginning of the game and when you have a solid plan is when you can be shorter and save time
* also, when in blitz- be Very careful about time- work on being close to what the opponent has- but don't give away the game.
* play often but not after you lose game after game. in a losing streak- you often become desperate, tired, and impatient and thats not good for your game
ok. advice dispensed. BTW Recently I've gone from 900 to 1370 in blitz.
can't stress the "Is your move safe?" Enough! me and all my opponents have issues with it. sometimes you can win in the Most desperate positions.
*Don't Quit! until you checkmated or you run out of time.
i would recommend john bartholomew's video series' "climbing the ratings ladder," & "chess fundamentals"
also, i would recommend tactics puzzles- as many as you can handle
you can get a membership on chess.com to unlock at least 25 tactics a day (vs. default 5)
there is also a really solid tactics site called chess"rhymes with kempo"
i would recommend a tactics book as well like bain's "tactics for students" as well
also, i would recommend tactics puzzles- as many as you can handle
you can get a membership on chess.com to unlock at least 25 tactics a day (vs. default 5)
there is also a really solid tactics site called chess"rhymes with kempo"
i would recommend a tactics book as well like bain's "tactics for students" as well
In last 3 years, my ratings rose from 700 to 1700 blitz. So, I would like to give some guidance to lower rated players based on my experience because I was hoping for a similar guidance when I was at that rating. I had to figure out these things on my own. So, I'll help others. I'll give specific advise based on ratings because general advise like 'study, review, play...etc' is really useless. So, I'll try to be specific with my advise. Ratings mentioned below are blitz ratings. Generally, longer time control ratings tend to be atleast 200 points more than blitz rating. Ok, so lets start:
Below 600 rating: These players have to learn how the pieces move. I would recommend some drills to learn how the pieces move(particularly the knights). But, I would add one caveat that my rating never went below 600, so I don't have first hand knowledge.
600 -1000 rating: Drills for piece movement would still be useful( particularly knights). The main opening that you get to see at this level is scholars mate. So, learn the scholar's mate and its refutation. I would recommend Susan Polgar's video on the subject which you can find on youtube. As for tactics, practice one move checkmate. Learn basic checkmate patterns using queens. Basic backrank mate. Learn to checkmate with 2 rooks vs king. And also queen +rook vs king. They will be useful for finishing off games where you have clear advantage. As for strategy, you will see that at this level your opponents will bring out their queens very early. You can use that to develop all your pieces with a tempo by attacking his queen. Keep opponent's queen under constant attack. And the most important point at this level is - don't trust your opponent's judgement. Whenever your opponent moves a piece, check if your opponent blundered a piece. Of course, the same applies to your moves.
1000- 1400: You get to see blackburne shilling gambit upto 1200. Beyond that you get to see players using Italian game as white. They mainly try Fried Liver Attack. You can learn a few simple ways to avoid going into fried liver or you can learn some refutation. Another opening that you see lot of white players using is King's gambit. As black, players mainly use philidor defense. Learn legal trap to use against philidor. You will get atleast a few wins just through that trap. Another popular opening for black at this level in Giuoco Piano. As for tactics, practice 2 move mates(particularly those involving some sacrifices). Concentrate on escape squares of the king or any trapped piece. Whenever, you are under attack, see if you can counter attack the opponent's king or queen. Attack loose pieces. Concentrate on basic tactics like pins, fork and discovered attacks. As for endgame, learn basic endgame checkmates like king+queen vs king and king+rook vs king. Also learn king+soldier vs king. At this stage, you will have to learn to play with your minor pieces.
1400-1800 rating: At this rating level, you start seeing lots of openings particularly by black players. The most common are French and Sicilian. In sicilian, you see dragon and accelerated dragon from 1300 to 1500. Beyond 1500, you see other sicilians. You will also see Giuoco piano. But Giuoco piano is quite popular from 1200 onwards. As white, players will also use Ruy Lopez. As for tactics, learn all the basic checkmate patterns like anastassia, greco, anderssen, Arabian, smother,...etc. Attack loose pieces & loose pawns. As for endgame, learn endgame basics like lucena and philidor. Queen+king vs king+soldier. King opposition. The main tactical idea that you will encounter from here onwards is zwischenzug I.e. Intermediate move of opponent. Generally, tactical blunders or bad sacrifices happen at this stage as players miss a defensive move of their opponents like a desperado or blocking using a piece. One tactic quite common at this stage is removing the guard and overloading( generally queen).
One general recommendation to all players below 1800 is to avoid d4 and Ruy Lopez.
general recommendations:
a) solve tactics. 10-15 per day. Solve them in a reasonable time(2-3 min per puzzle). Solve it in your head before moving the piece. Don't guess.
b) play games.... as many as you can. Play lots of blitz and bullet. Play very few rapid games(1-2 30|0 per week). But one thing is that people can fall in losing streaks and lose lots of points in a single day. So, to avoid that when you lose about 25 points(I.e. 3 games in a row), then take a break. Its very difficult to take a break when you are losing( or winning) in a streak. So, I suggest shift the format(like from blitz to bullet).
c) Don't review your games too much. Just find the turning point of the game by going over the game once and then move on. There is no point in second guessing every move. .
d) Don't study too much. Only study what is needed( you will find out what to study when you play lot of games). Study for 1-2 hr on weekends. And then try to implement what you studied in your games. Dont study the games of any GMs...etc. Those games are irrelevant to <2000 games. If you want to study the games of masters, then study the games of Morphy(and perhaps Lasker).
e) don't resign after blunder(like dropping a piece). Play on for as long as you can(try to get a draw or a stalemate if not a lucky win). By the same token, don't assume the game is won as soon as your opponent blundered a piece. You still have to checkmate him in time(unless opponent resigns).
OK, these are my views. Any constructive criticism or feedback is welcome. Hope you will benefit from advise and succeed in getting better at chess. All the best.
Thanks everyone. Much appreciated.
I was initially sub 1000 for quite some time on here but the two things that have helped the most have been to start playing really long time controls like 3days per move in daily chess and doing tactic puzzles on my phone. Give yourself time to think and things will click eventually. I've never read a chess book and I could definitely improve more if I gave it some time and focus. You will certainly improve if you work at it enough. Good luck!
Jul 20, 2017
0
#11
Before you move, try to figure out what your opponent is threatening. And when you are thinking about a move, try to figure out if he can play a tactic or take a free piece from you, were you to play that move.
Ashvapathi wrote:
In last 3 years, my ratings rose from 700 to 1700 blitz. So, I would like to give some guidance to lower rated players based on my experience because I was hoping for a similar guidance when I was at that rating. I had to figure out these things on my own. So, I'll help others. I'll give specific advise based on ratings because general advise like 'study, review, play...etc' is really useless. So, I'll try to be specific with my advise. Ratings mentioned below are blitz ratings. Generally, longer time control ratings tend to be atleast 200 points more than blitz rating. Ok, so lets start:
Below 600 rating: These players have to learn how the pieces move. I would recommend some drills to learn how the pieces move(particularly the knights). But, I would add one caveat that my rating never went below 600, so I don't have first hand knowledge.
600 -1000 rating: Drills for piece movement would still be useful( particularly knights). The main opening that you get to see at this level is scholars mate. So, learn the scholar's mate and its refutation. I would recommend Susan Polgar's video on the subject which you can find on youtube. As for tactics, practice one move checkmate. Learn basic checkmate patterns using queens. Basic backrank mate. Learn to checkmate with 2 rooks vs king. And also queen +rook vs king. They will be useful for finishing off games where you have clear advantage. As for strategy, you will see that at this level your opponents will bring out their queens very early. You can use that to develop all your pieces with a tempo by attacking his queen. Keep opponent's queen under constant attack. And the most important point at this level is - don't trust your opponent's judgement. Whenever your opponent moves a piece, check if your opponent blundered a piece. Of course, the same applies to your moves.
1000- 1400: You get to see blackburne shilling gambit upto 1200. Beyond that you get to see players using Italian game as white. They mainly try Fried Liver Attack. You can learn a few simple ways to avoid going into fried liver or you can learn some refutation. Another opening that you see lot of white players using is King's gambit. As black, players mainly use philidor defense. Learn legal trap to use against philidor. You will get atleast a few wins just through that trap. Another popular opening for black at this level in Giuoco Piano. As for tactics, practice 2 move mates(particularly those involving some sacrifices). Concentrate on escape squares of the king or any trapped piece. Whenever, you are under attack, see if you can counter attack the opponent's king or queen. Attack loose pieces. Concentrate on basic tactics like pins, fork and discovered attacks. As for endgame, learn basic endgame checkmates like king+queen vs king and king+rook vs king. Also learn king+soldier vs king. At this stage, you will have to learn to play with your minor pieces.
1400-1800 rating: At this rating level, you start seeing lots of openings particularly by black players. The most common are French and Sicilian. In sicilian, you see dragon and accelerated dragon from 1300 to 1500. Beyond 1500, you see other sicilians. You will also see Giuoco piano. But Giuoco piano is quite popular from 1200 onwards. As white, players will also use Ruy Lopez. As for tactics, learn all the basic checkmate patterns like anastassia, greco, anderssen, Arabian, smother,...etc. Attack loose pieces & loose pawns. As for endgame, learn endgame basics like lucena and philidor. Queen+king vs king+soldier. King opposition. The main tactical idea that you will encounter from here onwards is zwischenzug I.e. Intermediate move of opponent. Generally, tactical blunders or bad sacrifices happen at this stage as players miss a defensive move of their opponents like a desperado or blocking using a piece. One tactic quite common at this stage is removing the guard and overloading( generally queen).
One general recommendation to all players below 1800 is to avoid d4 and Ruy Lopez.
general recommendations:
a) solve tactics. 10-15 per day. Solve them in a reasonable time(2-3 min per puzzle). Solve it in your head before moving the piece. Don't guess.
b) play games.... as many as you can. Play lots of blitz and bullet. Play very few rapid games(1-2 30|0 per week). But one thing is that people can fall in losing streaks and lose lots of points in a single day. So, to avoid that when you lose about 25 points(I.e. 3 games in a row), then take a break. Its very difficult to take a break when you are losing( or winning) in a streak. So, I suggest shift the format(like from blitz to bullet).
c) Don't review your games too much. Just find the turning point of the game by going over the game once and then move on. There is no point in second guessing every move. .
d) Don't study too much. Only study what is needed( you will find out what to study when you play lot of games). Study for 1-2 hr on weekends. And then try to implement what you studied in your games. Dont study the games of any GMs...etc. Those games are irrelevant to <2000 games. If you want to study the games of masters, then study the games of Morphy(and perhaps Lasker).
e) don't resign after blunder(like dropping a piece). Play on for as long as you can(try to get a draw or a stalemate if not a lucky win). By the same token, don't assume the game is won as soon as your opponent blundered a piece. You still have to checkmate him in time(unless opponent resigns).
OK, these are my views. Any constructive criticism or feedback is welcome. Hope you will benefit from advise and succeed in getting better at chess. All the best.
In last 3 years, my ratings rose from 700 to 1700 blitz. So, I would like to give some guidance to lower rated players based on my experience because I was hoping for a similar guidance when I was at that rating. I had to figure out these things on my own. So, I'll help others. I'll give specific advise based on ratings because general advise like 'study, review, play...etc' is really useless. So, I'll try to be specific with my advise. Ratings mentioned below are blitz ratings. Generally, longer time control ratings tend to be atleast 200 points more than blitz rating. Ok, so lets start:
Below 600 rating: These players have to learn how the pieces move. I would recommend some drills to learn how the pieces move(particularly the knights). But, I would add one caveat that my rating never went below 600, so I don't have first hand knowledge.
600 -1000 rating: Drills for piece movement would still be useful( particularly knights). The main opening that you get to see at this level is scholars mate. So, learn the scholar's mate and its refutation. I would recommend Susan Polgar's video on the subject which you can find on youtube. As for tactics, practice one move checkmate. Learn basic checkmate patterns using queens. Basic backrank mate. Learn to checkmate with 2 rooks vs king. And also queen +rook vs king. They will be useful for finishing off games where you have clear advantage. As for strategy, you will see that at this level your opponents will bring out their queens very early. You can use that to develop all your pieces with a tempo by attacking his queen. Keep opponent's queen under constant attack. And the most important point at this level is - don't trust your opponent's judgement. Whenever your opponent moves a piece, check if your opponent blundered a piece. Of course, the same applies to your moves.
1000- 1400: You get to see blackburne shilling gambit upto 1200. Beyond that you get to see players using Italian game as white. They mainly try Fried Liver Attack. You can learn a few simple ways to avoid going into fried liver or you can learn some refutation. Another opening that you see lot of white players using is King's gambit. As black, players mainly use philidor defense. Learn legal trap to use against philidor. You will get atleast a few wins just through that trap. Another popular opening for black at this level in Giuoco Piano. As for tactics, practice 2 move mates(particularly those involving some sacrifices). Concentrate on escape squares of the king or any trapped piece. Whenever, you are under attack, see if you can counter attack the opponent's king or queen. Attack loose pieces. Concentrate on basic tactics like pins, fork and discovered attacks. As for endgame, learn basic endgame checkmates like king+queen vs king and king+rook vs king. Also learn king+soldier vs king. At this stage, you will have to learn to play with your minor pieces.
1400-1800 rating: At this rating level, you start seeing lots of openings particularly by black players. The most common are French and Sicilian. In sicilian, you see dragon and accelerated dragon from 1300 to 1500. Beyond 1500, you see other sicilians. You will also see Giuoco piano. But Giuoco piano is quite popular from 1200 onwards. As white, players will also use Ruy Lopez. As for tactics, learn all the basic checkmate patterns like anastassia, greco, anderssen, Arabian, smother,...etc. Attack loose pieces & loose pawns. As for endgame, learn endgame basics like lucena and philidor. Queen+king vs king+soldier. King opposition. The main tactical idea that you will encounter from here onwards is zwischenzug I.e. Intermediate move of opponent. Generally, tactical blunders or bad sacrifices happen at this stage as players miss a defensive move of their opponents like a desperado or blocking using a piece. One tactic quite common at this stage is removing the guard and overloading( generally queen).
One general recommendation to all players below 1800 is to avoid d4 and Ruy Lopez.
general recommendations:
a) solve tactics. 10-15 per day. Solve them in a reasonable time(2-3 min per puzzle). Solve it in your head before moving the piece. Don't guess.
b) play games.... as many as you can. Play lots of blitz and bullet. Play very few rapid games(1-2 30|0 per week). But one thing is that people can fall in losing streaks and lose lots of points in a single day. So, to avoid that when you lose about 25 points(I.e. 3 games in a row), then take a break. Its very difficult to take a break when you are losing( or winning) in a streak. So, I suggest shift the format(like from blitz to bullet).
c) Don't review your games too much. Just find the turning point of the game by going over the game once and then move on. There is no point in second guessing every move. .
d) Don't study too much. Only study what is needed( you will find out what to study when you play lot of games). Study for 1-2 hr on weekends. And then try to implement what you studied in your games. Dont study the games of any GMs...etc. Those games are irrelevant to <2000 games. If you want to study the games of masters, then study the games of Morphy(and perhaps Lasker).
e) don't resign after blunder(like dropping a piece). Play on for as long as you can(try to get a draw or a stalemate if not a lucky win). By the same token, don't assume the game is won as soon as your opponent blundered a piece. You still have to checkmate him in time(unless opponent resigns).
OK, these are my views. Any constructive criticism or feedback is welcome. Hope you will benefit from advise and succeed in getting better at chess. All the best.
Hey Ashvapathi,
Thanks for sharing your chess progress. We started about the same time a I also went from below 700ish to about 1700ish at the peak in that same time span. I didn't do anything that much drastic to get better or anything. The biggest thing is to work on making less blunders. I think the best way to do that is to forget about memorizing lines and openings and just play something that is solid and safe. Then focus all your attention to learning tactical motifs and recognizing tactics. I did a lot of tactical puzzles mainly because I like it and as a brain exercise.
I put together a guide here check it out: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-players/from-a-500-elo-beginner-to-a-2000-elo-expert
Guys you are the best. Thanks to all of you.
Play bullet. It skyrocketed my bullet rating on 700 points for the last 6 years.
I am 650-700 and I can't get over 720. I don't know what to do
Apr 5, 2024
0
#16
Reviewing your games, especially your losses, can provide valuable insights into areas where you need improvement.
justplaypls1234 wrote:
I am 650-700 and I can't get over 720. I don't know what to do
You had only 4 games, all daily, and you lost all on time without ever making a move.
Thank you for response
RiaanNel30 wrote:
Hi,
I have been stuck in the 650 - 750 range for ages.....best advice to progress. Hear a lot about opening vs end game to improve. Any books or videos to assist?
I have been stuck in the 650 - 750 range for ages.....best advice to progress. Hear a lot about opening vs end game to improve. Any books or videos to assist?
How did you improve from there?
My first suggestion is to stop playing rapid and blitz. You are making beginner mistakes in the first few moves. You won’t learn from playing blitz against other beginners.
second, watch videos or read books in which the moves played by masters are explained. It may not be as much fun as playing your own games, but I guarantee that you will learn much faster than through trial and error against beginners.
third, try to be able to articulate the reason for every move you and your opponent make. If you are playing a slow game against a robot, you could even write down the reason. This gets you into the habit of thinking about your moves. If you do this, you may begin to see how frequently you violate basic opening principles. It may not be fun, but you will improve much faster than by making the same beginner mistakes over and over.
I have been stuck in the 650 - 750 range for ages.....best advice to progress. Hear a lot about opening vs end game to improve. Any books or videos to assist?