LinearSharing Tips on How to Improve (General)
by tapestry 
, Hampshire, Wednesday, July 18, 2007, 12:39 (6485 days ago)
I just wanted to start a thread to exchange tips on methods or ideas that people have found useful to improve.
I find it helpful to talk with other players about what they are thinking in certain positions. Last year, our chess club arranged a correspondance consultation game against a strong player elsewhere in the country. We discussed the position on club night and made a move each week with the reply coming prior to the following club night. The experience of talking about a position with others was very educational (especially when the stronger players contributed as you could get some insight of their thought processes).
Working through a HGIYC article in a group seems to work well. It is a good experience to hear other people's thoughts and ideas.
Anybody have anything else to add?
Sharing Tips on How to Improve
I have found the following very helpful:
(1) Solving lots of problems, hard or easy, tactical or positional. There are lots of books with positions to solve. Pick ones that are right for your level, and keep at it on a steady pace, such as 30 minutes a day. The key is that they engage your mind actively.
(2) Going over game collections in an interactive way, such as Dan King's HGIYC feature. Excellent!
(3) Playing seriously slow tournament games, i.e., 40/2 + SD/1. Always an education for me.
(4) I have worked with several coaches in the past. Some have been excellent; a couple were an utter waste of time. Good coaches (and good students) know that it all depends on the student doing a lot of hard work, and the coach gets to know your game and points the right way. The bad ones just regurgitate canned lessons.
(5) Analyze your own games WITHOUT computer assistance. Swear to the Supreme Being that you will figure out the truth of your game, including the mistakes that you would like never to repeat.
The following were not so helpful:
(1) Going over game collections casually is enjoyable, but not so helpful. Listening to Sinatra has not improved my singing - same principle operating here.
(2) Too much speed chess on ICC really hurt my long game. I started to put too much confidence in my (poorly developed) intuition, and picked up horrendous habits. I quit cold turkey, and things are back on the upswing. Hate to say it, but even G/60 is too fast - I always find that my thinking is rushed, and often there is a blunderfest in the final minutes. You should play, but don't expect it to help all that much.
(3) Reading books (other than problems or whole games to solve). Like playing over master games, very little sticks unless you get your hands dirty and move some pieces around for yourself.
(4) Playing against a computer. The "undo move" feature will kill your thought process, if you use it too often. Also, humans at most levels do not play anything like computers -- we play flawed but purposeful moves that can still be dangerous even if not mathematically sound. Computer opponents do not train this factor very well.
Sharing Tips on How to Improve
Hi !
I do not want to compliment Tony too much but just using the material available on this site AND playing regularly in chess tournaments is a very good way of improving your undertanding of chess.
He would probably add " have an experienced player review your games " that is reasonable even if sligthly more expensive.What is more painful to admit is that a large amount of hard work is required for the ones who are looking to get to the Master level (2200).In such a case the occasional tournament will not do it more regular exposure to on the board chess is required.
Last but not least understanding chess better not always translate in winning more.Being a competitive game the will to win,keeping calm and objective,physical stamina etc are all important factors in improving your grading.I have been more or less between 1830 -1920 for many years,I do understand chess better but my grading has not changed.
I was forgetting the most important factor TIME.
Tony what do you think ?
Sharing Tips on How to Improve
by Tony Kosten 
, France, Sunday, July 22, 2007, 12:18 (6481 days ago) @ giorgio
? I have been more or less between 1830 -1920 for many years, I do
? understand chess better but my grading has not changed.
It is quite normal for chessplayers to have rating 'plateaus', it happened to me when I was young: your knowledge increases but your results stagnate, then for no apparent reason they dramatically improve! I've no idea why this happens, but you can be sure that if you keep learning more your rating will eventually increase.
Sharing Tips on How to Improve
Hi Tony, I read a book about this; the answer is "Mielina"!! It is a substance that surrounds the neurons; the more you exercise Chess the more you have mielina around your neurons. The author makes an analogy with network circuit bandwidth; the more mielina you have, the more bandwidth you get hence the signals goes much faster in the brain. He also said that it takes aprox 10 years to become a master in something (Chess, Basket ball etc...) but only with the good approach in practicing of course!!
That is why many Youngstar GMs get their GM title at arround 15, this is because they probably start at 5.
Cheers
Sharing Tips on How to Improve
by Tony Kosten , France, Monday, December 21, 2009, 16:33 (5597 days ago) @ cisco
Thanks, that's really interesting - it's a pity we can't simply buy some of it! 
Sharing Tips on How to Improve
by Tony Kosten , France, Sunday, July 22, 2007, 12:33 (6481 days ago) @ mindcramp
Regarding:
(1) Yes, you just can't do enough tactics! there are quite a lot on the site now (over 6000!) but if you've done them all please feel free to use a book as well.
(2) Yes, and if you need more of these the early ones are available on the shop.
(3) Yes again, this what all the learning is for, after all!
(4) Having a 'real' full time coach is incredibly expensive, but it can be useful to have someone look at your games from time to time to tell you where you can improve.
(5) I think it is important to do this with your opponent after the game (assuming he has a reasonable level), just to compare your analysis with his, see where you understood, where you would have blundered. Incidentally, the post mortem is not just an occasion to try to prove you were winning the whole time!
? The following were not so helpful:
? (2) Too much speed chess on ICC really hurt my long game.
Yes, it is well known that too much speed chess makes for superficial judgements and sloppy analysing! 
? (4) Playing against a computer. The "undo move" feature will kill your
? thought process, if you use it too often.
Agreed!
Sharing Tips on How to Improve
With respect to openings, many writers and coaches recommend adopting a narrow repertoire and sticking with it ("...one reply against 1.e4, and one against 1.d4"). I think that this approach is good for short term results, and of course it is better than jumping around the book haphazardly. But in the long term, I think this can limit one's progress as a chess player. Could get boring, too.
If that belief resonates with you, here are some ideas for making progress.
(A) If you are a 1.e4 player, then add 1.d4, and vice-versa. This is initially a lot of work, but highly beneficial. Also very liberating.
(B) Do the narrow repertoire approach for a year or two, but add something new every year, while keeping the old.
(C) The things you add can be relatively low-theory, such as the King's Indian Attack or London System (I said "relatively"!).
(D) Open a new anonymous account on ICC, and use it as an alter-ego to play openings you would never touch in real life.
The purpose is to become acquainted with a greater range of structures and plans.
Sharing Tips on How to Improve
by Tony Kosten , France, Tuesday, September 18, 2007, 11:51 (6423 days ago) @ mindcramp
? With respect to openings, many writers and coaches recommend adopting a
? narrow repertoire and sticking with it ("...one reply against 1.e4, and
? one against 1.d4"). I think that this approach is good for short term
? results, and of course it is better than jumping around the book
? haphazardly. But in the long term, I think this can limit one's progress
? as a chess player. Could get boring, too.
I didn't know that a lot of coaches recommend sticking with one opening, this sounds very lazy to me, and what do you do if the opening doesn't suit your style and stops your progression?
? (B) Do the narrow repertoire approach for a year or two, but add something
? new every year, while keeping the old.
This sounds like a fairly sound approach to me. This is the basically the method I have used to play almost every opening over the years - if I feel happy with the positions I get, and score well, I tend to keep the opening in my repertoire, and if it doesn't work for me then I never look at it again! I once studied the Sveshnikov for many months, played it in a club match, got a horrible position that I only just drew, and then never touched it again!
? The purpose is to become acquainted with a greater range of structures and
? plans.
Yes, this is very important if you want to improve.
