To improve in chess, it takes more than memorizing sharp opening lines in the Sicilian. It takes more than studying tactics day in and day out. It takes more than memorizing theoretical endgame positions.
To improve your chess, you MUST also get rid of the negatives while adding positives and learning new stuff at the same time. This is what many amateur chess players fail to recognize and that is something I'm still working at.
What are these negative habits of a chess player that I'm talking about? That's what we will take a closer look at in the first posts of this chess improvement blog.
And no, this is NOT just my blog. It's your blog too! So if you have some neat chess improvement tips under your sleeve, comment right below and participate in the discussion. :D
Anyway, without further adieu, let's take a look at one of the bad habits a typical chess player is often guilty of. Get rid of this and you are on your way to improve in chess and you are one step closer to playing the royal game at a higher level:
Spreading Oneself Too Thinly
How do you structure your chess study?
For most of us, this would be the answer:
- Spend a couple of hours studying chess tactics and solving 20 tactical exercises.
- Spend an hour learning the intricacies of the Ruy Lopez.
- Another hour in the afternoon studying how knight outposts affect the outcome of a chess game.
- And finally, before we go to sleep, we study endgames - Knight and pawn against a rook, king against king and pawn, and the list goes on.
It may be different from others BUT I'm pretty sure you get my drift. We spend a day studying different aspects of the game in our attempt to improve in chess. We think that we are trying to keep a good balance. Unfortunately, 'keeping the balance' is nothing BUT spreading yourself too thinly.
And that is NOT rewarded in chess...rather it's heavily punished!
How many times did we enter a chess opening line that we studied for a couple of hours only to be trashed by our opponent who knows a venomous trap in that line?
How many times did you go for a combination only to realize that there is a sting in the tail...that what seemed to win for us, actually loses?
How many times have you plunked that knight on d5 thinking that we have a strategically winning position...only to fall to a blistering attack against our King?
You see my point? We know a little bit about tactics, we know a little bit about an opening line (Benoni, Ruy Lopez, etc.), we know a little bit about endings, BUT it didn't help us improve in chess at all! Matter of fact, it proved to be detrimental.
Endgames, opening lines, learning how to calculate tactics, recognizing the RIGHT startegy - sad to disappoint you BUT these things cannot be learned by just reading about it for a couple of hours. It needs constant practice...constant and concentrated practice.
The Antidote
The antidote for this chess problem is pretty simple. Just do the opposite - tackle one chess topic at a time. Need to study tactics? Solve tactics consistently...and stick on it long enough. Now this is a special case, though, as we still need to study tactics keep our tactical ability sharp at all times.
Want to learn how to calculate properly and efficiently? Then work on it...not just for an hours and then move on to another chess topic later in the day. Instead, stick to what you need to study for weeks.
I'm sure you get the point. For a chess habit to rub on us (ex. stat to think efficiently, check the opponent's threats every move, recognize strategic elements and capitalize on them, etc.), we need to do it consistently for 23 days.
This is what many psychologists believe. Now the 23-day figure isn't accurate so don't come bashing me if that's far off. BUT I'm sure you get the point - pick a topic to study and stick to it for 23 days. Do that and you will improve in chess!
If you are struggling to focus your chess training, if you can't seem to pinpoint where to start your chess study, if you can't seem to improve in chess, GM Igor Smirnov has some ROCK solid advice for you.
Learn how to think properly in chess. Learn what are the most important factors you need to look at when deciding on a move. Learn what to look for after every move of your opponent. And learn how to train like strong players and PROs do.
It's all in the Grandmaster's Secrets By GM Igor Smirnov.
Check it out Grandmaster's Secrets Official Website RIGHT HERE!
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