Studying in Chess.

@Autofill said in #8:

You dont need chess books to get to 2000

So what do you recommend?

@SafeClient said in #11:

So what do you recommend?
Puzzles and tactic training

Tactics and endgames are the 2 things I'd focus on but prodominately tactics. Almost all games below 2k rating online are decided by a tactical blunder so if you don't make those, you will naturally improve.

Your CURRENT GOAL is 2000 but yes your current goal should be reading something on the endgame like Endgame Strategy by mikhail Sherevesky ... If you have the time first you should read Capablanca's 60 Best Chess Endings in 60 Complete Games . All in all you should have a healthy mix of You Tube Chess videos & Chess Books while still Playing Chess @SafeClient BTW 1e4 2Nc3 aren't the only opening moves ,,, followed by Bc4 u do but as you get better you will have to deal with nxe5 tricks . There is 3 g3 variations which you seem to like with a later f4 after Castling @SafeClient

@ThunderClap Yea - I like playing the Vienna and a lot of people on my level (i play mostly on chess.com as 1580 rated) and it generally gives me more likable open-space-type positions where I try to go for the f4 breakthrough. I've had nxe5 a few times before but I'm not too familiar with it. Can you elaborate more on the g3 variations (are we trying to fianchetto the bishop? Isn't this the Catalan?)
Also, any opening suggestions for dominating with space? I find it hard to play with less space (like pirc type positions)

Try also answering some of the questions you ask ... for instance are y Studying at all say yesterday or today ? Chess Videos on You Tube Chess Books ? or looking up a new variation to play ... Yes 3 g3 is after 1e4 e5 2Nc3 Nf6 possible ,,, looks alot like u play vs the Sicilian a Closed but maybe you will like more main moves ? You DECIDE & Do the work that's the ONLY way @SafeClient

@ThunderClap Aight, thanks - I'll explore my options

Speaking from the standpoint of the successful tactics of my opponents I would say the best thing to study is lag switching.

@Skittle-Head At some point you need to study if you want to make further progress, the problem is that 99,9% of the dvds, books, monographies, lectures, streams only deal with technical aspects of the game, how to play the openings, how to play endgames, strategy, tactics, etc. but there is nothing to show you how to study chess, how to tackle with the subject and that is the first and most important thing before you read any technical book.

Some books claim to show you the way, titles like "Think like a GM" or promise to show you the hidden tricks to calculate or the "Successful path to ..." or the like ... more a curiosity than anything practical and good, later the coaches say that every person is different and so different approach ... well yes but they still lack of the most important ... a sucessful method! ( and I am talking about top courses and coaches, streamers, etc.) If these books and coaches had a sucessful method there as they claim there would be more GMs than anything else in this world.

What do you really need to have or which skills are necessary for chess? Well, memory (most say this is not important they are wrong), ability to calculate, imagination, self confidence, a sense of objectivity, sprinkle all that with some madness, sense of humour, originality, ability to focus and maintain attention for long periods, and whatever you may consider important and that is missing here ( I have not yet mentioned IQ ), some people may say well ... be born again ... and they may be right. You may have been gifted with abundance in some of the above mentioned skills and less in others but in itself that does not make a method.

Thing is great players all have a method, Carlsen himself alledgely knows 10.0000 games that is just memory? plus all his other skills ok, Anand is on top of the elite at his age, this is also not by chance. Most people read a book and after a couple weeks they remember 30% of what they have read, months later do not even remember the name of the author, without a method you go nowhere and 99,999long 999% skip this first important step or at least make they do not themselves these questions.

To make a comparison you can think of typing with two fingers, that is what most people do, slow speed, full of error and must keep an eye on the keyboard, learning to type with all fingers and blindfolded requires method, allows to type at high speed, with virtually no errors and making the whole experience relaxing and enjoyable.

This method is the Holy Graill in chess? could be, but many have found this Holy Grail already while the rest who do not even look for it repeat the same mistake time after time and type with 2 fingers.

Also for @SafeClient

@Artem-Kozirev That's a lot you've said, it's going to take me some time to digest but it seems that maybe memory is crucial to succeed.