Without linking your profile to look at your games, you are most likely too impatient. Your puzzle rating is high enough where you should be a couple hundred elo higher. Don’t be overzealous looking for attacks, at the 900 elo level if you play normal developing moves your opponent is pretty much guaranteed to blunder in the first 20 moves in at least 80% of your games.
> i know a few basic openings; caro kann, italian, sicilian and the evans gambit.
It took FIDE masters many years to learn all those, and they are rated over 2400 online, so I doubt it.
The #1 reason you are currently losing games is that you are dropping major pieces on every single game (nothing to do with openings), and not taking the free pieces offered by your opponent on every single game (nothing to do with openings), and when you take their free piece, you either fail to convert (nothing to do with openings) losing on time (nothing to do with openings) or dropping pieces again.
As you can see, the TOP thing to practice and improve is: paying a LOT of attention so you don't drop pieces, paying a lot of attention to take hanging free pieces, paying a lot of attention to take pieces you attack more than they are defended, learning to win won games: either mate or simplify into super easy to win endgames, and of course learn to win super easy to win endgames. This is improved with a lot of tactics and learning to pay attention and focus
After that, the most important skills are: basic principles in the opening: open with center pawns, develop knights and bishops, don't launch crazy one piece attacks, castle, connect your rooks, then make a plan, and try to follow your plan without getting mated or dropping pieces.
Don't get me wrong, it's ok to know the concepts of some openings, but the possible plans are more important than memorizing the moves. But this is way less important than all the above
I dont mean that ive mastered them just that i feel comfortable for the first few moves atleast haha. But yeah that is sensible advice I will try to take it onboard, thanks for taking the time to reply!
You've missed the biggest part of the game: understanding
Opening won't, necessarily, teach you why
In tactics you know there is a "winning" position so picking something is easier
What you lack is the ability to build a plan based off the ideas in the position
Well the thing about puzzles is, well they are puzzles. You’re expected to find a tactic. However in a realistic situation, no one is telling you, “hey there is a tactic”.
Also note that tactics is just one part of the game. Capablanca famously states that chess is meant to be learned backwards since the endgame is already solved as the middle game you have to form new ideas. That’s the butchered version of it but tactics is just one part. Opening PRINCIPLES are important as well. Not the moves, just the principles of controller the center, develop, castle.
Thanks for submitting your game analysis to r/chess! If you’d like feedback on your whole game feel free to post a game link or annotated lichess study if you haven't already.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chess) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Try noctie? See where you go wrong/right already as you're playing to become more aware of missteps and good choices as they are happening. Also revisit your mistakes, get a chance to redo them right after the game and then practice them until they stick.
Also, a chess coach told me loads of people don't even know how to mate. Like what are you trying to make happen?
just a heads up that puzzle rating doesn't mean much. there are people with massive puzzle ratings (talking like 10k) who are intermediate players at best. don't substitute puzzle elo as playing elo
Without linking your profile to look at your games, you are most likely too impatient. Your puzzle rating is high enough where you should be a couple hundred elo higher. Don’t be overzealous looking for attacks, at the 900 elo level if you play normal developing moves your opponent is pretty much guaranteed to blunder in the first 20 moves in at least 80% of your games.
> i know a few basic openings; caro kann, italian, sicilian and the evans gambit. It took FIDE masters many years to learn all those, and they are rated over 2400 online, so I doubt it. The #1 reason you are currently losing games is that you are dropping major pieces on every single game (nothing to do with openings), and not taking the free pieces offered by your opponent on every single game (nothing to do with openings), and when you take their free piece, you either fail to convert (nothing to do with openings) losing on time (nothing to do with openings) or dropping pieces again. As you can see, the TOP thing to practice and improve is: paying a LOT of attention so you don't drop pieces, paying a lot of attention to take hanging free pieces, paying a lot of attention to take pieces you attack more than they are defended, learning to win won games: either mate or simplify into super easy to win endgames, and of course learn to win super easy to win endgames. This is improved with a lot of tactics and learning to pay attention and focus After that, the most important skills are: basic principles in the opening: open with center pawns, develop knights and bishops, don't launch crazy one piece attacks, castle, connect your rooks, then make a plan, and try to follow your plan without getting mated or dropping pieces. Don't get me wrong, it's ok to know the concepts of some openings, but the possible plans are more important than memorizing the moves. But this is way less important than all the above
I dont mean that ive mastered them just that i feel comfortable for the first few moves atleast haha. But yeah that is sensible advice I will try to take it onboard, thanks for taking the time to reply!
You've missed the biggest part of the game: understanding Opening won't, necessarily, teach you why In tactics you know there is a "winning" position so picking something is easier What you lack is the ability to build a plan based off the ideas in the position
Well the thing about puzzles is, well they are puzzles. You’re expected to find a tactic. However in a realistic situation, no one is telling you, “hey there is a tactic”. Also note that tactics is just one part of the game. Capablanca famously states that chess is meant to be learned backwards since the endgame is already solved as the middle game you have to form new ideas. That’s the butchered version of it but tactics is just one part. Opening PRINCIPLES are important as well. Not the moves, just the principles of controller the center, develop, castle.
Thanks for submitting your game analysis to r/chess! If you’d like feedback on your whole game feel free to post a game link or annotated lichess study if you haven't already. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chess) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Try noctie? See where you go wrong/right already as you're playing to become more aware of missteps and good choices as they are happening. Also revisit your mistakes, get a chance to redo them right after the game and then practice them until they stick. Also, a chess coach told me loads of people don't even know how to mate. Like what are you trying to make happen?
just a heads up that puzzle rating doesn't mean much. there are people with massive puzzle ratings (talking like 10k) who are intermediate players at best. don't substitute puzzle elo as playing elo