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My Chess Training and Resources Used: 2020-2023
In this post I’ll summarize the training I’ve done over the last four years as well as the specific resources I’ve used.2020
- I played a couple hundred rapid games on chess.com and analyzed each game afterward for probably 10-20 minutes.
- I completed one book, Winning Chess Strategies for Kids by Jeff Coakley.
2021
- I played and analyzed probably another 50-100 rapid games on chess.com, as well as around 25 classical games on Lichess.
- I completed the first 40% of Winning Chess Exercises for Kids by Jeff Coakley. I wrote all answers/variations down in a notebook before checking the solution key. I then decided to pause this book and work through more basic tactical sets to improve my pattern recognition.
- I completed Chess Tactics for Students by Bain several times through.
2022
Playing Games
- I played around 120 classical games, mostly on Lichess.
- I analyzed all games afterward, first reviewing without an engine and doing my own light annotations as well as reviewing the “opening explorer,” then turning on the engine afterward to check my analysis.
- I imported all my “unsafe” moves and missed tactics into a custom Chessable course, where I review them regularly using spaced repetition.
- I played in my first OTB chess tournament, a 9-round rapid swiss tournament.
- I also played 5|5 blitz games online, probably somewhere in the range of 200-300. Most were just for fun and I didn’t review them, but in some cases I tried to review at least the openings.
Tactics/Puzzles
My focus was on the “Dvoretsky set” using the resources referenced by my coach Dan Heisman on his Recommended Book Lists page. I chose to do quite a few of the books seven times through. Dan recommends the repetitions for your first one or two basic tactics books, though I don’t think he necessarily recommends the repetitions for as many books as I did.
- Chess Tactics for Students by Bain x7
- Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess x1
- Everyone’s First Chess Workbook by Giannatos x7*
- Chess Tactics Workbook by Woolum x7
- Back to Basics: Tactics by Hiesman x7*
- Common Chess Patterns by Benedictine x7 (Chessable only)**
- Power Chess for Kids Volumes 1 & 2 by Hertan x1
*1st pass with hard copy book; subsequent repetitions on Chessable
**This was not a Dan Heisman recommendation but something I decided to add in, and I’m glad I did! It’s a bit more advanced though as compared to the previously listed tactics books.
What I discovered mid-year is that my preferred way of going through a basic tactics book was to do the first pass by writing the answers and all variations in a notebook, then doing subsequent repetitions on Chessable if available. I like the discipline of writing out answers for all possible variations in a puzzle, but also like the convenience and speed of cycling through basic tactical puzzles on Chessable utilizing the spaced repetition feature.
Overall I really enjoyed all of these tactics resources! Going through these books was a fantastic way to get a grounding in basic tactical patterns. The only book from the list above that I wouldn’t necessarily include for someone trying to master basic tactics is “Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess,” as I think there are simply better resources out there these days.
Annotated Game Books
- Logical Chess Move by Move by Chernev
- World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book by Heisman
- Chess: The Art of Logical Thinking by McDonald
- A First Book of Morphy by del Rosario
- Simple Attacking Plans by Wilson
- Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Chernev
I went through the games in these books by setting up a physical chess board and playing through the games while reading the annotations. I spent around 20-40 minutes per game on average.
Other
- Did a lesson every 2-4 weeks with Dan Heisman
- Everyone’s Second Chess Book by Heisman
- Various Novice Nook articles and other Dan Heisman videos as assigned by Dan
2023
Playing Games
- I played around 35 classical games on Lichess, continuing to analyze games and import blunders into my custom Chessable course as described above.
- I played in my first OTB tournament with classical time controls.
Tactics/Puzzles
- Winning Chess Puzzles for Kids Volume 1 by Coakley
- Winning Chess Puzzles for Kids Volume 2 by Coakley
- Spaced repetitions of the 3-4 tactics books/courses I have on Chessable (first completed in 2022)
Annotated Games Books
- The Art of Planning in Chess by McDonald
Other
- Completed Parts 1-4 of Silman’s Complete Endgame Course
- Perpetual Chess Improvement by Ben Johnson
- Did a lesson about every month on average with Dan Heisman
- Various Novice Nook articles and other Dan Heisman videos as assigned by Dan
Over the last couple months I have been working to tweak and better define my training plan. That will be the subject of my next post!
