The never improving wonder

Dave82

Chieftain
Joined
Sep 17, 2005
Messages
44
I have known how to play chess since the age of about 18 (I am 23 now) and over the space of this time I have not really learnt the game very well at all. I have several chess books on openings tactics strategy and endgames etc. But how much help these books are Im not sure. I am one of those players who knows how to play but never improves.

I am not a good player and never will be. I will never get a higher rating than 1400 ever no matter what I do. What does it actually require to be able to play well? If it is down to the intellect of the individual player then that kinda would suggest Im pretty stupid. Much like anyone I try to improve but for some reason I simply cannot. I don't have a great memory to remember much opening theory so that doesn't help. What is a normal rate of improvement of a chess player? My rating has remained the same since when I first started 5 years ago between 1200 and 1400
 
I'm no expert, but I would think chess would be a difficult game to pick up late in life like that. I don't know what a typical rate of improvement would be. Better than books, anyway, IMO, would be finding a good tutor and finding people who are a little bit better than you to play against. Books can still be useful, however. Ultimately, though, I really wouldn't worry about getting better. PLay for fun and skill will follow.
 
This is a good book on rapid improvement. The author went from 1300's to over 2000 rated in two years and won $10,000 in the U2000 section of the US Open.

I have not followed all his advice or his somewhat intense study plan but I was impressed by the author and purchased the tactical software (CT-ART) he recommended.

Here's the book :

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...102-2255626-6472147?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
 
I'm no expert either but what I've learned through the time that chess is no intellegent it's about mistakes and taking advantages .play and play and play make mistakes and learn from them try to record ur games and look for turning points u will surely be better
 
A famous quote: "At one point, after having already become a Grandmaster and champion of the USSR,I suddenly realized that I am heading for a dead end... I had to start everything over. But how hard and agonizing it is when you're no longer 16, but twice that age!" Viktor Korchnoi.

Another one: "Chess first of all teaches you to be objective." Alexander Alekhine.
 
What does it actually require to be able to play well?

It depends on what you mean by playing well I guess... reaching GM-level is very different from reaching a decent club-player level.

For the first one you likely need some talent as well as lots and lots of hard work studying chess and, importantly, a very good memory.

I have neither of those but have managed to become a decent club-player at least. I am the captain of my chessclub's second team in the Swedish division 3 (our first team is in div. 2). I have no reliable rating since I started playing rated games rather late and have yet to reach my real level. I am now at 1600ish and gain about 100 per rating period. If I'd venture to take a guess I'd say I'm around 1900-1950 ELO since I beat those ratings slightly more often than I lose to them.

Here are a few things I believe are generally useful to improving your level of play.

Make sure you think playing is FUN. If you don't, improving is hard indeed.

If you are not a member of a "real" chessclub, find one and join. If possible, find one where you have one or more strong player/s willing to watch your games and give you concrete tips on your games. Some clubs are very competitive and result-oriented, others are more casual and fun-oriented. I'd pick the second type if possible.

Play games with long timecontrols. In division games the timecontrols are 2 hours for 40 moves and 1 hour for the rest of the moves per player. If you think this is to long try to at least play some G60 (60 minutes per game and player). Playing more longer games will even help you more in 5 minute games than just playing 5 minute games alone.

In my case, I am simply not good at 5 minutes or less. My online rating dropped over 300 points when I practiced 5 minute games before a 5-min tournament. (I normally played mostly 15 minute games). Maybe you are the same way and will play better with more time.

Write down your moves and go over them afterwards. Where did I go wrong? Try to find a better move next time. The computer can be a valuable tool for this but much better is a good players input to explain WHY the moves were good or bad. Again - to do this you probably need longer time controls.

Learn important general concepts. Do you know what to aim for in an opposite castle position? Do you know when to trade pieces and when not to trade pieces? All these generalizations are relatively easy to learn and are true in most cases, even if there are exceptions of course.

Play many games. The more you play the better you will be.

Try to not focus too much on your rating. Your rating is a function of your level of play NOT the other way around.

If it is down to the intellect of the individual player then that kinda would suggest Im pretty stupid.

Chess is not an intelligence test. It combine many different abilities, for example pattern recognition, memorization and general knowledge of chess. Many of these abilities have little to do with intelligence, time management for example.

Lastly, at your rating I guarantee that you CAN improve if you really WANT to and have at least some time to invest. It's difficult to say anything specific without knowing more about you. If you want, we could play a few games someplace and I could give you more tips on your game. Let me know.
 
Panzar's tips are good, especially the analysis of your own games is very important.

If you just want to be a little better always read simple tactics books wherever you are.
 
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