How to Improve at Chess

Recently I posted an article here called Improve Your Chess Game in which I gave some tips to players rated Elo 1400 (ECF 100) on how to improve to about Elo 1720 (ECF 140). Since writing that article I’ve thought of some more things to say about improving one’s play - hence this article. Sorry if there is some repetition, but I’m really "brain dumping" my ideas as I think of them. I think what I’ll do is keep writing these articles, and one day I’ll go through them and come up with my "top twenty" ways to improve at chess.

• Don’t waste your time learning lots of opening theory. There are many books out there full of grandmaster moves and a great many players are tempted to try and learn some of the variations, hoping this will give them an edge. It won’t. Your opponents will not be good enough to play the correct moves in reply, and if all you’ve done is learn variations, then you won’t know how to profit form their weaker moves. Learn the ideas; there will be time to learn theory if/when you’ve improved to a level where it’s relevant
• Spend time studying simple tactics. Simple two and three move combinations leading to checkmate or to material gain. You will be surprised how quickly your results improve and how many satisfying wins you’ll notch up simply by opportunism!
• Spend some time studying how to construct and attack against the enemy king’s castled position. Years ago I read Iakov Neishtadt’s Attacking the King and noticed an improvement in my results, not to mention increased enjoyment of the game! One of the traits of weaker players is they have a poorly developed sense of danger when compared with the stronger ones
• Don’t neglect the endgame. Sadly this is where I do not practice what I preach - although it is something that I need to put right in my own improvement attempts. In my tournament and match games I have paid the price for neglecting this part of the game time and time again! Obviously how much you need to know will depend on where you’re at with your playing strength. However, it’s always worth having some basic knowledge
• Learn to use your time wisely. Have you ever watched the strong players thinking over their moves and noticed how they make use of their time? Basically, that’s it: they do make use of their time. It is a failing I have observed in weaker players (including me) that they move in hast when they have plenty of time to think things through. I have certainly observed an improvement in my results when I have disciplined myself to use my time and thought things through more carefully

There they are, five ideas on how to improve your chess. By the way, I’m entering this article into Pure Blogging’s "How To" Group Writing Project.