A Simple Method to Enjoy Chess (and Possibly Improve)

Recently I have been doing all the 'wrong' things. Too much blitz and bullet, not analysing my games, and rushing puzzles leaves me feeling frustrated with a lack of both improvement and focus. What's more, I just don't enjoy it.

Yeah, it is fun to crush an opponent with a nice mate you walked into every now and then. But the time and energy spent on these fleeting moments doesn't seem worth it, and I end up depleted and annoyed. Is there an answer? Well, first let's better understand the problem.

The issue is I haven't got any better at chess for the last 6 or 7 years. My first decade of playing seriously saw my game get stronger and stronger, following the kind of learning curve you can expect from starting at zero and putting in time and effort. But at some point that stopped. Several more years of effort doesn't seem to have helped. I know more about the game than ever, but the ability to put it all together is stagnant. A big aspect of this is not knowing what to focus on. Each part of the game seems important and there are tons of different types of content, like videos and books, all vying for attention. The time I have available doesn't allow everything to have equal measure. How to fix the problem?

Well, stop doing all the things listed above, to start with.

There is also a huge lack of actual understanding in my game. The more I play, the more I sense it. Knowing a little about a lots is one thing, but truly understanding how chess works seems a billion parsecs out of my warp drive capacity.

To combat all of this, I propose an incredibly obvious and simple approach, the focus of which is building good habits and enjoying the game for all it can offer on a deeper level. Hopefully, the improvement part will come naturally by staying consistent and following this path for a long period of time. No more quick wins or dopamine chasing. I want to feel like I worked hard to actually accomplish something. The method I propose is called SPAR.

This stands for: Solve, Play, Analyse, Repeat. Take the time you have available to focus (and I mean actually focus) on chess, and divide it in to three. Allocate a third to solving chess positions; a third to playing games; and a third to analysing those games - in that order. Then repeat. Then repeat. ETC.

Solving chess positions is at the heart of training. It builds evaluation, calculation, visualisation, and logical thinking. It also warms our brain up for the next part. Playing games is the point of chess, and were we can practice our trained abilities. Analysing games helps us fix errors and study all phases of the game at once. It can also informs the training we do in the solving part, showing us specifics to work on, such as particular endgame types, missed tactical motifs, and so on. The critical element here is time. Taking longer to solve fewer positions; having rapid or classical time controls; not rushing with engine analysis and taking the time to work things out for ourselves. This can, I believe, enrich our chess experience in general.

That is kind of it. It isn't glamorous or intricate. You may even say, well, duh! But I am going to give this a proper go, and report back on my progress. I also made a video going much more in depth on this HERE. If you try this out, let me know how you get on, and please also consider a like, or subscribe to the channel.

Happy sparring, everyone!

Cheers, Anthony (TattooKnight)