how do u actually get better at chess ?

i had made another forum on what book to read , but , i hv always had this doubt of how do i actually improve over time . I dont have a coach and its irritating since like people tell u analyze your games , find your mistakes and start improving . i have found my weakness and that is calculation .

i had done a mistake , now that was in calculation . I had done 2 mistakes , first one was the knight on d5 , my opponent could have taken it , second was knight h5 however , i didnt know what the mistake was with nh5 , ididnt even think of be3+ .
but how do i think deeper , what is the method of thinking deeper . How do i train it .

Guys pls help me . i really want to improve but i dont know how .

Your decisive mistake was 20 Nh5? It is not a matter of calculation. What is the knight doing on h5? Driving the black queen to a better square h6 where it attacks your king? A knight on the rim is dim. You had to play 20 Bd3 to later capture Bxe4 if his central knight outpost Ne4 causes too much trouble.

15 Ne1? is passive. You had to play 15 Nd3, so as to reply to 15...g4 with 16 Nfe5 and maintain your knight outpost.

11 Bxb8? is a mistake. a bishop is worth more than a knight. Do not waste 2 moves Bf4, Bxb8 to trade with a mere knight that has not yet moved. You had to play 11 cxd5 so as after 11...cxd5 to seize the c-file with 12 Rc1.

6 Be2 was rather passive: the bishop is more active on d3: 6 Bd3.

5 c3 and 10 c4 loses a tempo. Either play c3 and keep it there, or prepare c4 right away.

I do not think calculation was wrong here, it is logical thinking.
Anyway, I recommend 'Think Like a Grandmaster' by Kotov if you want to improve your calculation.

@tpr , thanks for the insight . and yeah i was thinking of buying think like a grandmaster but people say that his way of thinking of calculating is too long is not worth . and do u know any way of how i can improve or learn logical thinking .? and book or video or anything

@tpr move 11 bxb8 , my plan was to get rid of that knight so that i can get an outpost of e5

Procedure for self-studying, with the use of computer software, all the Chess Theory as to its every aspect (Strategy-Tactics and every other Theoretical Aspect).
1.Identification and explanation (by AI or with the help of books) of what all those strategy/tactics Keys that are included in this old chessbase reader (the one that came with the Daniel King Greek Gift bundle DVD).
2.Auto shorting, of large Lichess database according to chess base’s Reader (Daniel King) Keys (instantly implemented when we open a database with – inside chessbase reader)
3.Database generation, from large Lichess database (download from Lichess), using the export as file (PGN option) in the chessbase reader (select all and right click = generates a drop down menu).
4.Quick evaluation of game/s inside chessbase 26 (or chess assistant) using the graph or whatever other tool those platforms offer.
5.Identification where the first strategical misstep occurred in the game, separation and deletion of game continuation/s, if there exist other irrelevant blunders/mistakes thematical missteps.
6.Analysis of the game (at least 33 deep) just before and after the critical position, using Stockfish engine for perfect evaluation and/or Deep Hiarcs engine for suggestions that can more easily implemented by humans.
7.Retrieving additional explanations from AI (Chat GTP) by feeding it with analyzed games-positions.
8.Incorporation of text – variation analysis inside games (PGN format) with the use of whatever platform we have (Fritz, Chessbase, Hiarcs, Assistant aquarium to name a few)
9.Study of similar thematic games from the same sub-database which was created with chessbase’s Strategy/Tactical Keys (from step 3).
10.Playing those positions in Hiarcs Chess Explorer Pro against Hiarcs engine to gain a deeper life experience for the strategy theme/s in question and for the proposed solutions.
11.Realization that I could have accomplished all this study without spending $$$ for all that aforementioned software but by just using my old chessbase reader and Fritz10 !!!! [80,00 € approximately as to nearly 600,00 € that I have spent].

"i was thinking of buying think like a grandmaster"

• It is a good book, do not listen to people who say otherwise.

"my plan was to get rid of that knight so that i can get an outpost of e5"

• Do not overthink. You spent a move on Bf4, do not trade that bishop for an undeveloped knight.

@tpr said ^

It is a good book, do not listen to people who say otherwise.

Well, I say otherwise about TLAGM. You don't need to listen to me, however. But I will offer some additional thoughts and a link for your own research.

I've never met an OTB player that thinks and talks like Kotov in TLAGM regarding analyzing and coming up with candidate moves, and other modern authors will tell you the same. IN THEORY, it sounds good. IN PRACTICE it is completely wonky. It sounds good in theory, but in practice it is too much of a mental load.

That book was scientific research on trying to put his finger on how too analyze his thought processes and come up with candidate moves during position analysis, the tree of analysi, etc.

Using your intuition (aka Aagaard, etc., and dozens of other modern players agree) is far more reasonable to parse out possible moves and get down to the candidate few. In this case, the FIRST book is not the BEST book. it is research, essentially.

https://share.google/aimode/6hmBc7AJqev2y53yq

@ChessPriyome , i am getting 'how to recess your chess' . ihv seen people suggest its good and i am getting it . what is your opinion

IM Silman is one of the worst authors.
GM Kotov was better, both as a player and as an author.
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1084375

The moment you stop searching for your weaknesses is the moment you begin to plateau. You'll only realize you've stalled once you're already stuck, and bad habits are hard to break once they take hold. To avoid this, always challenge yourself. Try something new. You can't identify a gap in your knowledge if you never test for it. Use this link to find your blind spots; everything in blue is something you need to practice.

https://lichess.org/training/openings

https://lichess.org/training/dashboard/120/improvementAreas?u=DECOY-CHOPPER