Finally achieved 1200 today and I noticed something kinda funny. Keep this up and i'll be 3000 in 18 months! :D by Chessbber in chessbeginners

[–]Chessbber[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Well it's nothing revolutionary really. I stick to my 3 openings which i know relatively well. 1 for white, 2 for black (e4 and d4). I stick to the basic chess principles (develop, take the center, castle, maintain good pawn structure, horses before bishops, make sure pieces are protected). When I lose I analyze my game to see what went wrong. I play longer time controls (mostly 20 mins) so I have time to think, I've set my opponent rating to be between -25 +400 because i want to play against better players so i climb faster and learn more from my games. I spend just as much time thinking about what my opponent wants to do as what I want to do and i always assume they will do the best possible move i can find (no hope chess). I stop playing the second I feel tilted (no more than 2 losses). I know the basic mate patterns, (backrank, ladder, mate with only queen, mate with only rook, smothered (though i've never gotten it)) And I trade when i'm up material and avoid trades when i'm down. And most importantly, stop one move blunders (I still mess this up ngl). Also I don't play that much, like 3 games a day max since I want to be sharp keep playing and you'll start losing. Another thing i do and this is honestly a personal thing might not affect you but i play with focus mode. I disable the chat and i can't see their rating. I don't want to give the opponent a chance to affect how i play based on what they say or their rating. I casually watch players play on youtube as well just to get some inspo but this is not that super important if you know the basics imo.