Tips for improving

Thanks all. I seem to have stopped the rot today. I'll go back to endgame study I do seem to get a lot of endgames.

@Byrni said ^

I just had the worst 4 days. I played 16 games here on lichess without a single win. My rating tanked from 1863 to 1778. It has me questioning what on earth has happened to my brain this week.

28 Feb 2026
Played 6 Blitz games 177835
6 losses

27 Feb 2026
Played 4 Blitz games 181316
1 draw
3 losses

26 Feb 2026
Played 4 Blitz games 182922
4 losses

25 Feb 2026
Played 3 Blitz games 185112
1 draw
2 losses

23 Feb 2026
Played 1 Blitz game 18636
1 win

What tips do you have for getting better / bouncing back from a run like this. Should I:

• Do more tactics
• Study more openings
• Study more middlegame ideas
• Study endgames
• Read
• YouTube videos
• Watch streamers play
• Get a paid coach
• Play slower games
• All of the above

?

1. Take a break
2. If you're using some new openings, etc. Go and do more studying.
3. Brush up on your tactics. Play simpler openings and do puzzles.
   4a. Analyze your losses. Did you lose because of YOU? Meaning, did you blunder it away --- like I do?
   4b. Or were you taken by surprise with an opening or gambit by your opponent? Then go study that situation.
4. You're a good person and this is a game. You'll bounce back.

@Matejst said in #9:

... I believe a beginner is not capable of analyzing their own games, not even with the help of a chess engine. They will notice they made an oversight, but what then? How to correct it? Perhaps only a first-category player, say 1800 FIDE Elo, is capable of analyzing their own games with the help of a computer. And even then, the help of an experienced coach would be invaluable. ...

Two recent examples:
https://lichess.org/forum/general-chess-discussion/thoughts-about-improving-as-a-new-player
1 e4 e5 2 Bc4 d6 3 Nf3 Be7 4 d3 Nf6 5 h3 O-O 6 Nc3 d5
After the game, Black was able to take a second look at the position after 6 Nc3, and see that, BEFORE 6...d5, it was apparent that the move was going to put a pawn under attack from White's pawn, bishop, and knight, while the d-pawn was only going to be defended by Black's knight and queen - a valuable lesson. (It was also possible to see that only ~8 seconds were used by Black to make the choice in a 10+5 game.)

https://lichess.org/forum/general-chess-discussion/any-tips-to-improve-in-chess-?page=2
1 e4 b6 2 Nf3 Bb7 3 Bc4 Bxe4
One might learn about a danger like 4 Bxf7+ Kxf7 5 Ng5+ Ke8 6 Nxe4 and nevertheless repeatedly make the same sort of mistake. However, if one keeps making sure to have at least post-game awareness of a potential Bxf7+-tactic, one might eventually start to spot such possibilities during the game. (~2 seconds were used to choose 3...Bxe4 in the 10+0 game.)

@tpr said in #8:

"Doing puzzles is always good. Alternatively, playing long games where you calculate and visualize a lot leads to similar effects."

• In a game nobody tells you there is a tactic, or for whom. ...

Nevertheless, puzzles can heighten a player's awareness of things like a Bxf7+-tactic.

@tpr said in #10:

... "the help of an experienced coach would be invaluable"

• The help of an engine even more. ...

Depends (I would think) on the coach, the engine, and the individual to be helped.

@Matejst said in #9:

... Books ... Yes, they are useful, and I enjoyed reading them, but there are few good books and good authors. The comments are, as a rule, not adapted for beginners. Many things remain unclear. The given variations often don't make sense. ...

A lot depends on finding the right books for the reader. Online samples can help the potential reader to determine whether or not the explanations will be adequate. Online advice can be helpful.

@Matejst said in #9:

... In the fifty years I've been reading chess books, there are only a few valuable authors for players below the master level ...

Maybe, some helpful authors can be identified at https://lichess.org/forum/general-chess-discussion/i-need-advice?page=2.

Hey @Byrni.
I think it's totally normal to have variance up or down 50-100 rating points, just like we do in all aspects of life. The worst thing to do would be to spiral mentally and think you've gotten worse! Growth is not linear. In your case, I see you really enjoy blitz, but I wonder if you could improve by giving yourself space to hone your calculation skills in longer time controls? That kind of training could improve your blitz play. Also, practicing puzzles from your own games with sites like blunderbook can be really helpful.

Just turn off ratings on the site. You can do this in your settings. Check your rating at the end of the week to start with, then end of 2 weeks, then 1 month, and so on. This method gained me 400 chess.com points in 4 months.

@tpr said ^

"coach -- if one has money, it is usually useful. A good coach brings a lot to the table."

• The essence is to analyze your lost games yourself. 'Chess cannot be taught, chess can only be learned.' - Botvinnik Nowadays we have > 3000 rated engines available 24/7. Ask a coach: What is the evaluation of this position? What is the best move? Coach: difficult position, > white is slightly better. Maybe Nd4, or maybe Bd3. Engine: +1.2, Rg1. The engine answers more precisely and does not err.

I do not agree with this. Engines can be used in very specific circumstances, but only with an experienced human next to it. Otherwise you just start playing moves that do not make any sense to a human but you have seen the engine recommend it. You are left with no plan at all an you have no clue how to make progress.

@Jisu101 said in #16:

... Engines can be used in very specific circumstances, but only with an experienced human next to it. Otherwise you just start playing moves that do not make any sense to a human but you have seen the engine recommend it. You are left with no plan at all an you have no clue how to make progress.

At https://lichess.org/forum/general-chess-discussion/thoughts-about-improving-as-a-new-player , we talked a little about this game: https[colon]//lichess[period]org/3duJoMjF
1 e4 e5 2 Bc4 d6 3 Nf3 Be7 4 d3 Nf6 5 h3 O-O 6 Nc3 d5 ...
One can see the position evaluation change from ~0.0 to ~1.7 after Black played 6...d5. That, right there, is a pretty loud signal that it would be a good idea to take a closer look at that part of the game. The machine helpfully provides the sequence 7 Nxd5 Nxd5 8 Bxd5 etc. SOMETIMES such sequences are not readily understandable, but, in this case, the machine was clearly pointing out that 6...d5 allowed White to win a pawn.

@tpr said in #8:

... Ask a coach: What is the evaluation of this position? What is the best move? Coach: difficult position, white is slightly better. Maybe Nd4, or maybe Bd3. Engine: +1.2, Rg1. The engine answers more precisely and does not err. ...

At https://lichess.org/forum/game-analysis/i-lost-this-game-help-me-understand-why , we talked a little about this game: https[colon]//lichess[period]org/Jt0FD93H
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 d3 a6 5 c3 e6 6 O-O Be7 7 Nbd2 b5 8 Bb3 Bb7 9 Bc2 Nc6 10 Re1 O-O 11 Nf1 Re8 12 Ng3 Qc7 13 d4 cxd4 14 cxd4 Nb4 15 Bb1 Rac8 16 a3 Nc2 17 Bxc2 Qxc2 18 e5
"... perhaps 18 Qe2 or 18 Qd2 could have held for [White]?" - kindaspongey (#5)
"... I do not think so, ..." - tpr (#6)
Does the machine tell us with certainty, or does it make sense to consult carbon-based life-forms?

@Matejst said ^
<snip>

Game analysis... I believe a beginner is not capable of analyzing their own games, not even with the help of a chess engine. They will notice they made an oversight, but what then? How to correct it? Perhaps only a first-category player, say 1800 FIDE Elo, is capable of analyzing their own games with the help of a computer. And even then, the help of an experienced coach would be invaluable.

<snip>

Yes, I am with you on this point..

At https://lichess.org/forum/general-chess-discussion/any-tips-to-improve-in-chess-?page=2 , we talked a little about this game: https[colon]//lichess[period]org/2SM480vG
1 e4 b6 2 Nf3 Bb7 3 Bc4 Bxe4 ...
One can see the position evaluation change from ~0.2 to ~1.0 after Black played 3...Bxe5. That, right there, is a pretty loud signal that it would be a good idea to take a closer look at that part of the game. The machine helpfully provides the sequence 4 Bxf7+ Kxf7 5 Ng5+ Ke8 6 Nxe4 etc. I would guess that some less-than-"1800 FIDE" players could understand that without "the help of an experienced coach".

We need to clarify some things here, to avoid misunderstandings. I'm talking about beginners. When I say there are few writers for beginners, I mean it – for beginners. To give a few examples: Silman writes for beginners; the books of John Nunn or Shereshevsky, however, are already for a higher level. One of the best books I have, How to Play Equal Positions by Vassilios Kotronias, even with his excellent explanations and the help of a chess engine, is very difficult even for masters.

Some specific, simple questions: Why does White play c3 in the Italian Game, and then not play d4? How is a beginner supposed to understand that without knowing the entire context, the history of the Italian Game, and the state of theory in the lines with d4? Or in the Queen's Gambit: why does Black play 3...Be7, to provoke 4.Nf3? If you don't know the famous game between Botvinnik and Keres and Botvinnik's plan, you won't understand. One of the first games I tried to analyze, in a book about the Spassky-Korchnoi match from 1977, started like this: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Nf3 Bd7 8.dxc5... If you are a beginner, a good coach will make sure you don't encounter such a game; and if you do, he will explain why Spassky played dxc5, what the idea behind it is. In one example I read on these pages, in the Bishop's Opening, someone should explain to Black that the knight is not ideally placed on c6 (ideally it might be on g6) and that after 2.Bc4, it's good to play c6-d5. A player will learn to count the pieces covering a specific square (after the blunder ...d5), but not how to play those positions. I agree that engines help to spot tactical blunders, but the essence of the position, the plan, is explained much better by a coach.

Someone in this thread mentioned position evaluation. But what does +0.5 really mean? +1? There are many positions evaluated as =0.00 that I would prefer to play over certain positions that are, for example, +2.5, but where two pawns have been sacrificed and there is only one path to a winning position. There are many positions I like to play despite being equal or a bit worse -- and I do not really care about the objective evaluation. A simple example is when you attack with a pawn storm -- it is much easier to attack than to defend.

Chess engines are super useful – I use them both for playing and for analysis – but they leave a lot unclear. Recently I analyzed a position where black was = with the bishop pair as compensation for a pawn and a damaged pawn structure. I had to analyze for at least half an hour to understand the finesses of the position and how to maintain equality -- so many lines lead to losing positions. What is easy, equal or winning for an engine can be very difficult for a player.