I get stuck in same rating(800). what should I do to improve myself?

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Ashvapathi
burakdemiroz wrote:
Ashvapathi wrote:

On second thoughts, I really doubt if people understand how one progresses from one rating to the next. Because if they did, no one would be stuck at any rating. But, most people get stuck at some rating or the other and they don't know what to do to go the next level.

 

As a beginner, it is hard to find a way to get improved. That's why I asked you for help when I get stuck around 800. Now my rating is 1152 in daily games. But still I feel like I am not 1152, maybe I am around 1000. (1000 is also looks like good improvement for me) because I just played 35-40 games and I need to play more games with different opponents in my level to see that I deserve this rating. Maybe I played against weak opponents, maybe they couldn't focus on game and I won. I will play more daily games, puzzles and tactics. No bullet, no blitz. 


But if I get stuck around 1200 for a long time and couldn't find to way to improve, I am sure that your advices will be a bit different. We'll see

Daily games is not real chess. It's rating is irrelevant to chess skills. 

MGleason
captaintugwash wrote:

Study openings, particularly the more common ones. Once you're opening the first ten moves or so like a book, you'll find yourself in much better positions and will crush fellow 800s. As you find yourself in better postions, you'll get better at finding winning tactics. Good tactics flow from good positions.

Having a decent position out of the opening is irrelevant if you drop a rook as soon as you leave book.  At an 800 level, it's pointless to know your favourite lines ten moves deep, as your opponents aren't going to know those lines and follow them that deep.  At an 800 level, you don't need a +0.3 advantage out of the opening.

 

At that level, all you need from your opening is to avoid some traps and reach a playable middlegame.  General opening principles will get you 99% of that without learning much in the way of specific moves.  So learn some opening principles (develop your pieces, control the center, etc.), and then work on tactics.

 

Once you reach 1400 or so, you can start to dabble in openings a bit more, but even so your main focus should be tactics.

Ashvapathi

At that level, you should try to lay opening traps for your opponents and watch out for their traps.

MGleason

Relying on traps will get you some cheap easy wins against low-rated players, but it won't work against stronger players who will see through the threat.  If your strategy relies on those traps, you'll beat up on the weak players, but you'll struggle to improve beyond that level.

Ashvapathi

Well, this thread is about how to score against low-rated players... 

captaintugwash
MGleason wrote:
captaintugwash wrote:

Study openings, particularly the more common ones. Once you're opening the first ten moves or so like a book, you'll find yourself in much better positions and will crush fellow 800s. As you find yourself in better postions, you'll get better at finding winning tactics. Good tactics flow from good positions.

Having a decent position out of the opening is irrelevant if you drop a rook as soon as you leave book.  At an 800 level, it's pointless to know your favourite lines ten moves deep, as your opponents aren't going to know those lines and follow them that deep.  At an 800 level, you don't need a +0.3 advantage out of the opening.

 

At that level, all you need from your opening is to avoid some traps and reach a playable middlegame.  General opening principles will get you 99% of that without learning much in the way of specific moves.  So learn some opening principles (develop your pieces, control the center, etc.), and then work on tactics.

 

Once you reach 1400 or so, you can start to dabble in openings a bit more, but even so your main focus should be tactics.

You make some fine points here, particularly in regard to applying general opening principles rather than specific lines of study, but to be fair one naturally develops into the other.

And while you're right that opening won't help you if you drop a rook on move 11 or whatever, the advice there is simple... make sure the square you're planning on moving to is not attacked by the enemy. You can only tell people this, you can't teach them how to do it because it's obvious... look at the board, look at his pieces.

 

If you're low rated because you drop rooks, then all you need to do to improve is look at where the enemy pieces are attacking.

 

Personally, my rating improved a great deal when I started to cross reference my planned opening moves with a database. From the superior positions I found myself in, I was able to find much better attacking lines, and was able to maintain my defence better. Admittedly I was rated around 1400 when I started to study my openings, but I was up to 1800 rather quickly and have since crept past 1900.

 

I've never been rated as low as 800, apart from maybe when I was a kid playing against adults, so I don't really know what you can do to improve from there, other than to remember to look at what your enemy is doing. That's how I lost so much as a kid... by only concerning myself with my plans.

MGleason

You started studying openings at 1400ish - that's probably a good level to do so.  But when you're 800, you're not losing games because you don't have a superior position coming out of the opening.  When you're 800, you're losing games because you blunder material every third move, and miss much of the free material that your opponents are blundering.

 

Simply stopping blundering material quite as often and taking more of the free material your opponents give you is by far the easiest way for an 800-rated player to improve.

IMKeto
burakdemiroz wrote:

Hello everyone,

I am very very amateur chess player(28). I've learned chess in primary school but just basics. This summer, I really wanted to be a good chess player. Everyday I am trying to play at least 10 games. For example, with this account I played 570 games (280W / 12 D / 278L) I have more than one account on chess.com also I am playing on other chess sites. My current rating is around 800. I am solving puzzles everyday but I think it doesn't help me anymore. I've completed chess.com courses but still I cant improve myself. Am I dummy? No I don't think so. I am software engineer and writing complex algorithms is kinda mind exercise for me. Also I am watching a lot of chess streams and I think it is a good because I understand see how GM is thinking. Anyway, maybe it is a common problem you've faced before, so I think you can help me and give some suggestions. Thanks in advance.
BTW, sorry for my bad english if I made mistakes. It is not my native.

Youre only allowed 1 account.

BlitzIsLife

git gud happy.png

have fun doing tactics and look out for free pieces u nub.

Statute

Quit

Powerboat

This will have been said but - learn from each game.  

 

And every move.

 

...and watch the other guys eyes 

jambyvedar

@op You might find this usefull.

 

The Principles of the Opening -- for Beginners!

 

https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-principles-of-the-opening

The_Phenominal

try to be a strong player in your league(800) then you will improve and will step into 900 club then try strong there. I was under 900 in bullet regularly but now I am over 1000 minimum and if i reached under 1000 i quickly get points in 900 league and enter the 1000 league ...it was a dream months ago. You can be good too

TVLAVIN
Drink redbull everytime you play online and will see moves tactic that you focus was not able to visualize before
MGleason
lavin_arrt wrote:
Drink redbull everytime you play online and will see moves tactic that you focus was not able to visualize before

Yeah, but half of them will involve illegal moves.

RussBell

 Most of Jacob Aagaard's books are much too advanced for a beginner.

RussBell
JnBartholomew wrote:

I've only read rave reviews from  chess players about Aagard's books. They help me improve my chess ability.

I am not suggesting that the book is not good.  However, the book is certainly appropriate for those rated at your level, not for beginners...

Heather_Stephens

Hello. I was in Antalya last summer and it is beautiful.

Play "960 chess" - your opponents won't have memorised any openings so you do not worry about opening traps. "Mindy's 960 Chess Club" is good.

burakdemiroz
Heather_Stephens wrote:

Hello. I was in Antalya last summer and it is beautiful.

Play "960 chess" - your opponents won't have memorised any openings so you do not worry about opening traps. "Mindy's 960 Chess Club" is good.

Well, actually it is a very good idea. I am gonna try that. BTW I am living in Istanbul, if you come to Turkey again, let me know! happy.png

zoovegroover

This is an interesting thread. As a total newbie to chess, I played a little with friends and got a little better then played some blitz games on here and got destroyed by other players. My rating is super low right now. I agree that slowing down and thinking it through is definitely great advice. It's similar to learning guitar...speed comes from accuracy. 

I love the tactics trainer on here but find given how heavily into account it takes time to solve, it's almost like you have to be prepared to stay on a low rating if you want to take the time to think each position through. You can either guess and maybe get +12, or think it through and get +1. What's more important for patzers? Learning the actual tactic, I guess. The rating comes later when you speed up.

 

Something I find REALLY helpful is playing the computer on Coach Mode. At first, it's good to give you hints on best moves, and after a while those moves and thought processes start to become second nature.