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Thoughts on chess improvement, after gaining 600 points in 6 months

mbuffett.com

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Re: Thoughts on chess improvement, after gaining 600 points in 6 months

#21

Post by Moodles »

I think by far the biggest improvement newbies can make is just not hanging pieces and blundering, honestly. Literally the majority of games at I used to be quite good as a kid, winning championships and whatnot, and I'm actually glad my grandfather didn't teach me opening theory so much, so I could be trained to think more than memorize. Sadly at the highest level, you do just have to memorize the best opening lines which makes it a lot less fun so I'm not too bothered about not being the best I could be. I think games like Fischer random go some way to addressing this and it's a shame they're not more popular.

Some really entertaining Chess youtube channels I like are:

GothamChess: https://www.youtube.com/c/gothamchess/about I think the number 1 on YouTube these days. He explains games in a high level, really entertaining way. He also has other playlists like guess the elo, etc. He's a really entertaining guy.

https://www.youtube.com/c/agadmator I think he number 2 and used to be number 1 most subscribed until very recently. He explains lines in more detail than Gotham, and has quite a few funny meme-able phrases like "captures, captures, captures", "hello everyone!", "bishop pair fully operational", etc. I enjoy his playlists about e.g. the Morphy Saga, AlphaZero, very much.

ChessBrah: Kind of broey funny with house music, challenges and whatnot, and actually very high quality chess from GMs too https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvXxdkt1d8Uu08NAQP2IUTw

There's some others I don't watch so much but which are also liked by many too, like the Botez sisters, GM Hikaru, Eric Rosen, etc. It's quite a nice community (barring the usual drama all such communities have).

Re: Thoughts on chess improvement, after gaining 600 points in 6 months

#24

Post by FPGAhacker »

Moodles wrote: post #21

I think by far the biggest improvement newbies can make is just not hanging pieces and blundering, honestly. Literally the majority of games at I used to be quite good as a kid, winning championships and whatnot, and I'm actually glad my grandfather didn't teach me opening theory so much, so I could be trained to think more than memorize. Sadly at the highest level, you do just have to memorize the best opening lines…

So I don’t mean this is to be snarky , but aren’t all chess games decided by mistakes?

Re: Thoughts on chess improvement, after gaining 600 points in 6 months

#25

Post by edgyquant »

iKlsR wrote: post #5

Some great tips in there. Will definitely try some of these, I find I'm the best the moment I wake up, I will solve several puzzles quickly and grind a win streak but as the day goes along I get gradually worse, I actually started plotting it to find the best time to play. Any time after 9PM is out tho that doesn't deter me sometimes. I try to focus on classical then go lower and end my sessions with some blitz. What…

I have found the ratings on lichess to be easier than on chess.com. For instance I sit around 12-1300 on lichess but have yet to crack 1000 on chess.com for the same game type (5 and 10 minute games)

Re: Thoughts on chess improvement, after gaining 600 points in 6 months

#26

Post by nefitty »

someguy101010 wrote: post #2

I gained 200 point when I started practicing blindfolded, also great visualization training! A good way to start this is have someone call out squares on the board and you respond with the color. Next start naming the diagonals. Then start moving around a knight, bishop, and then slowly build up your ability to hold a game in your head. Highly recommend! Thanks for this article. The woodpecker method seems like a nic…

I wonder if this would work for programming. Closing your eyes, then recording yourself describing an architecture or module.

Re: Thoughts on chess improvement, after gaining 600 points in 6 months

#27

Post by anandoza »

kthejoker2 wrote: post #15

Pedantry alert: As ELO ratings follow a logarithmic curve, "gaining 600 points" is a dimensionless metric. These are good tips for beginner to intermediate growth. The things that definitely help the most are: * Pattern recognition - the best courses for this level are things like "Common traps in ", applied with Woodpecker method. Once you've memorized all the mistakes in the Scandi or London system, you can really…

Doesn't gaining 600 points mean that you are able to beat the "old you" (or more precisely, people who you used to be even with) with 99% probability? (Or perhaps more meaningfully, you can now beat someone who could beat someone who could beat someone who could beat someone who can beat the old you, all with 80% probability?)

(I made up the exact numbers, but the idea is there.)

That seems like a meaningful interpretation of "600 points" that applies to anyone -- though the difficulty of actually making this improvement definitely varies with your starting rating.

Re: Thoughts on chess improvement, after gaining 600 points in 6 months

#28

Post by Moodles »

FPGAhacker wrote: post #24
Moodles wrote: post #21

I think by far the biggest improvement newbies can make is just not hanging pieces and blundering, honestly. Literally the majority of games at I used to be quite good as a kid, winning championships and whatnot, and I'm actually glad my grandfather didn't teach me opening theory so much, so I could be trained to think more than memorize. Sadly at the highest level, you do just have to memorize the best opening lines…

So I don’t mean this is to be snarky , but aren’t all chess games decided by mistakes?

It is thought that if chess was played perfectly then it is probably a draw, but nobody knows. So if by "mistake" you mean "not exactly the best move to force a draw from move 1 to the final move", then yes. But in chess "mistake" usually means "large inaccuracy" rather than "not the best move". I just mean games at a higher elo are usually decided by pressing a smaller advantage, rather than someone hanging a queen by mistake, so basically just avoiding massive blunders gets the most elo benefit, rather than worrying too much about tactics or opening theory.

Re: Thoughts on chess improvement, after gaining 600 points in 6 months

#30

Post by marcusbuffett »

kthejoker2 wrote: post #15

Pedantry alert: As ELO ratings follow a logarithmic curve, "gaining 600 points" is a dimensionless metric. These are good tips for beginner to intermediate growth. The things that definitely help the most are: * Pattern recognition - the best courses for this level are things like "Common traps in ", applied with Woodpecker method. Once you've memorized all the mistakes in the Scandi or London system, you can really…

Extra pedantry: you’re of course right that 600 points is somewhat meaningless, given that it’s harder to improve in the higher ratings, but there’s nothing logarithmic about elo. A 1500 playing a 500 has the same odds as winning as a 2500 playing a 1500, mathematically. You earn the same # of points at higher elo too.
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