@Rembrandt16 Look at this! That's how blunderful 1700s games are! I am sure you can easily beat them all!
en.lichess.org/WQ8wkqTB/black#134 One way is to win and then stop playing.
Another is to continually focus on improvement and don't worry about the number itself.
Svidler said something related to this in one of his banter blitzes. He says it's actually quite normal for your level to vary a lot if you play the game casually, and he claims that this is reduced the more serious the game becomes for you.
This doesn't mean that people whose level fluctuates don't care about chess. It's great to treat chess as a hobby or fun game which you love. If Svidler is right, though, professionals tend to be more consistent not because they are more talented or their style is more solid, but because the game is a more important part of their lives (meaning that they dedicate themselves to studying the game and exercising their skill regularly and value every move).
This doesn't mean you can't improve taking chess as a hobby; you can actually still become extremely strong, and even as your rating fluctuates back and forth, you might still be learning quite a bit which will one day translate to a big improvement. There are also smaller steps one can take than dropping everything in his/her life to study the game; for example, I've noticed in my games that if I just tell myself "yeah...I'm 99% sure that works" and just play natural moves which seem nice, my strength is much lower than if I force myself to calculate all the critical lines.
Thanks for the suggestions! :D
@sunflower93 #5
Did you write all that just for this post?
That's the Lichess community spirit! Good advice.
These were just a few quick notes that came to my mind spontaneously. All from personal experience in otb chess. I sometimes teach beginners or hobby players the very basics of the game and so I know what some of the common problems are.
To be really helpful I should have written a good deal more on kingsafety, how to evaluate a given position on the board, finding a plan, how to calculate moves etc. But that would require to write a book really. So I chose to stick with the usual generic advice.
@wonquestioniqtest, yes, it's nice to see some people who really want to help.
@sunflower93 , incredible video by the way.
@Rembrandt16 , don't forget to read books, watch commented GMI games, do tactic training.
And ho, important : Have fun.
Have a nice day.
Study books. No pain no gain.
Oh and something many players don't know about, when you read your chess book, don't just play the moves.. that's called reading and nodding.. instead hide the next move and try to figure it out. Even if it takes 10 min.
So now instead of 'reading and nodding', you're actually making your brain work in the same way it would during an actual game. Which is the key to improvement.
Jonathan Rowson's Chess For Zebras explains all this in much better detail.
@ Rembrandt16
I looked into 3 of your recent games. You like to play unclear, open and somewhat messy positions. It seems to be a style thing, you enjoy a crazy game and your games definatey are exciting.
This tendency of yours is a strength, but you need to balance it with solidity. Right now it's too dominant and because of that, your weakness.
In my opinion you need to slow down, and learn to play solid moves. Remember, simple is beautiful, try to keep it simple, try to keep the position simple. Avoid risks and complicated positions. Complicated, unclear open positions (which you tend to get in) are full of tactics and give your opponents alot of opportunities.
A simple position with a small edge to your favour is what you want.
I think simply by trying to keep the positions solid and simple you will never go under 1500 again. Infact, I think you are pretty good, if you manage to add solid and simple positional game to your understanding of chess, you will become a very strong player one day.
Stay true to your style, but take positional solid chess as it's wife, or husband :D
