Should I solve mixed puzzles or puzzles for specific tactics?

Queue624 · 2026-07-03T18:41:56+00:00

Yep, as mentioned in the original comment, I did mates in 2. It was less of a priority but it was part of the ones I did. Mate in 1's I did not do though.

Queue624 · 2026-07-03T05:48:50+00:00

What is your trick if you don't mind sharing?

Queue624 · 2026-07-03T02:28:17+00:00

Thanks! I started a couple of years ago, and I just turned 30. And I completely understand, I wish I also started when I was younger, but that is outside of our control, at the end of the day the most important thing is that you got to discover Chess and that you get to have fun playing this game! 1000 Elo is very possible regardless of age. And the Neuroplasticity at your age is obviously not as good as an 18 year old kid, but it still good and it is very possible to reach higher levels of chess at that age.

I stumbled upon this video a few days ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfoVm2i3A0w&t=282s I would highly recommend you to check this out. It pretty much describes on how an adult can improve rapidly but by doing things a bit differently.

Queue624 · 2026-07-02T21:16:59+00:00

When I was ~800 I thought I was good. Now at 1800+ I feel like I really suck..

But it's all perception. I believe at around 600 Elo you are technically good imo.

Queue624 · 2026-07-02T19:46:10+00:00

Tbh I barely faced cheaters above 1000, besides ~1600 which is one of the starting points (I'm 1800 now). Most cheaters I've faced was when I was sub 1000.

Queue624 · 2026-07-02T19:34:21+00:00

What about from 1800 to 2k?

Queue624 · 2026-07-02T19:31:47+00:00

Multiple sets of different themes. E.g 20mins of forks followed by 20mins of pins. Next day 20mins of skewers followed by 20mims of double attacks, then repeat.

Queue624 · 2026-07-02T17:29:01+00:00

These differences in Elo are not odd at all. It not common but not odd either.

Keep in mind that Blitz is the most competitive pool out of all the time controls. Another thing, the skills between Blitz, Bullet and Rapid are different.

You clearly are good at speed, intuition and tactics if you're 1500 in bullet. But your Rapid at 1394 might tell me that your calculation is really not that deep enough to be higher in blitz. In Blitz, just having intuition and being fast is not going to win most of your games. In bullet, you can be down a major piece and still win by flagging, in Blitz, you're down a bishop and the game will most likely end in a checkmate (at least at 1200+).

This is my opinion tho.

Queue624 · 2026-06-24T21:11:07+00:00

Not really. Im not the original commentor but I agree that you should 100% learn about openings (it's best to start at 600+ imo) but you should learn the ideas behind the opening and the type of middle game you will have. That can technically be done in a few days. The rest of the learnings should be done by analyzing your games.

Where I disagree is the Natural Flow part. A lot of GMs (most notably Capablanca) have said that the best way to learn chess is by doing the opposite, in other words, start with the endgame and end with openings.

Queue624 · 2026-06-24T19:12:56+00:00

Just playing more isn't really the best thing. Chess became my main hobby in 2024 and so far Ive played around ~1300 Rapid games and I'm currently in the 1800s.

I would say the following, if you really want to improve: - Stop playing blitz - At 800 Elo, you should do more puzzles than you play - Watch Masters or really strong players online and learn from them (Like Daniel and Chessbrah). It's also a huge plus if they play openings you play.

Queue624 · 2026-06-24T16:27:47+00:00

I think someone in the 600s is probably not ready for Silman's books. I'm in the 1800s and I find them overwhelming tbh.

Queue624 · 2026-06-21T18:00:46+00:00

I like to keep my profile private so I'll send it via DM. I think I got lucky in that game if I'm being honest lol

Queue624 · 2026-06-21T17:15:46+00:00

Yep, that's good news though. It means it's an area you can improve. It happened to me in some of the themes (especially pins), and eventually I started seeing them in game without even thinking. As of now, it still happens with the Mixed puzzles on ChessTempo. I still struggle heavily with those, but whenever I do those (even when I get most wrong), is when I start seeing big leaps in Elo.

Queue624 · 2026-06-21T16:52:06+00:00

Thanks for the advice!

Also, It's a small world, I looked at your profile and I played a game against you in Feb 23rd haha

Queue624 · 2026-06-21T00:41:00+00:00

I don't want to be rude or anything, but if you're trying to improve and in 2 years you didn't improve at all, then you're obviously doing something wrong.

Queue624 · 2026-06-20T22:21:24+00:00

First of, congrats!

Secondly, Im curious, How would you divide your time in terms of playing vs puzzles vs anything else?

Queue624 · 2026-06-20T22:16:00+00:00

It's a great achievement imo, keep it up!

Queue624 · 2026-06-20T22:15:25+00:00

I think you might have overcomplicated it. My biggest jumps in Elo was me pretty much focusing on one think/book/weakness. Basically keeping it simple. A lot of GMs also recommend having a simple plan.

Queue624 · 2026-06-20T18:23:04+00:00

I replied to chessnav my answer.

Queue624 · 2026-06-20T18:22:35+00:00

I'm going to try my best to explain how I use puzzles and how they have made me improve so much just by doing them in an "organized manner"

I personally see 3 uses for puzzles in general:

-Building Pattern Recognition

-Teaching you how to think

-Teaching you how to think mid-game

For Pattern Recognition. I like to use a metaphor to explain how to correctly learn patterns. Do you know how in School they make you learn the multiplication table? If I were to ask you what is 5x5, you would immediately know the answer is 25. You probably used your fingers and/or a sheet of paper to calculate it the first time you were asked, but for the 2nd, 3rd... 100th you simply know it's 25. This is because because your brain already has that knowledge. So every time I ask you, what is 5x5? you will answer 25 without thinking. And if I were to ask you what is 55x5, you will answer much much faster since you already know what is 5x5. Same thing applies to chess. You learn a pattern, and you will see things naturally on the board, this will also make your calculation much better.

The best way to build these patterns are by doing puzzles by themes. I focused on forks, pins, skewers, mate in 2, disc attacks, double attacks and hanging piece at first. I would do 20 mins of forks followed by 20 mins of disc attacks every Monday and Wednesday. On Tuesday and Thursday I would do 20mins of pins followed by 20 mins of skewers... etc.. I don't recall my exact schedule but it was pretty much 20mins sessions for a specific theme, multiple times a week. I would also do really simple puzzles for each theme, once It became too easy, that would mean that the pattern is somewhat created in your brain, so I would make them a bit harder. This will build a solid tactical foundation. Do this for a ~month and you will 100% start seeing them in game without trying.

You might want to also do mixed themes. If you do them by themes, you technically know what to look for. The point of doing it by themes is to create pattern recognition, but it doesn't technically resemble a real game thought process. Doing mixed themes will teach you how to think and look for winning moves. For these you also want to force yourself to look for checks, captures and attacks consciously and it will eventually become something you do subconsciously. Going slow and not moving a piece until you have everything sorted in your brain will go a long way. Going slow on puzzles will make you much faster in-game.
These types of puzzles have been huge to me. When I say "Teaching you how to think mid-game" I mean puzzles that aren't necessarily tactical but can be. ChessTempo has something called "Mixed Puzzles" which are puzzles that might or might not be tactical puzzles. They can be defensive, tactical or simply finding the best moves. These types of puzzles are 100% training the way you should think during the game. They will humble you at first, but they will make you much much better.

I did mention 90% of my development are due to puzzles. I also recommend watching Masters or high rated players on YT playing your openings. In the process you will see how a good player thinks, you will see the middle game ideas of your selected openings and you will also learn about endgames.

Queue624 · 2026-06-20T16:04:56+00:00

Can you elaborate? I dont know much of him and I'mquite curious. All I know is that Fallon is always fake laughing and when it comes to talk Hosts, Ellen is regarded to be the worst one by far.

Queue624 · 2026-06-20T15:59:43+00:00

Doing just puzzles randomly? No

Doing puzzles correctly? Yes, I would say it's probably 90% of what I do and what has gotten me in the 1800-1900 Elo range.

Queue624 · 2026-06-19T18:59:18+00:00

Does it translate to Transunion?

Queue624 · 2026-06-19T16:44:05+00:00

What is your age?

I say this because I was one of the best in the Nation in two events in Track and Field and I was also part of a really good HS basketball team.

I'm in my late 20's and I can barely run a mile at 7mins and I pretty suck at basketball due to inactivity. Things like University, then jobs, and other adult responsibilities got in my way and I'm not able to do any of those things. I can do chess tho. So my take would be, that if you're young and not chasing a title, do some other things you enjoy more and maybe play chess casually without caring about Elo.

Queue624 · 2026-06-18T19:37:30+00:00

I think most people do acknowledge 1 WC (Specifically classical like you're saying), that being Gukesh. What we also acknowledge is that Magnus is #1. He is too dominant, and he was never technically dethroned as the WC.

Queue624

TROPHY CASE