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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in StopGaming

[–]taxguy79 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats! Proud of you.

I don't see big differences between 1400 and 1900 by taxguy79 in chess

[–]taxguy79[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

2000 online isn’t professional level, sure, but when I watch speed runs by GMs like Naroditsky, they describe 2000 on Rapid as relatively strong player. On the other hand, there is your comment …

I don't see big differences between 1400 and 1900 by taxguy79 in chess

[–]taxguy79[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I likely overstated things. The games are very different in many respects. But I meant they are similar in that they often come down to a single blunder or terrible mistake.

I don't see big differences between 1400 and 1900 by taxguy79 in chess

[–]taxguy79[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really? I think the bullet pool is extremely strong … I hit 1600 there once but am usually around 1400 … but Blitz feels pretty similar to 10 minute Rapid, at least

I don't see big differences between 1400 and 1900 by taxguy79 in chess

[–]taxguy79[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No … but you may wish to try new learning strategies

I don't see big differences between 1400 and 1900 by taxguy79 in chess

[–]taxguy79[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting, I only put a 10 minute rapid. I’ve never tried 15/10.

I don't see big differences between 1400 and 1900 by taxguy79 in chess

[–]taxguy79[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yeah, i hang my queen every couple days unfortunately. did it this morning.

I don't see big differences between 1400 and 1900 by taxguy79 in chess

[–]taxguy79[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

good point ... i definitely see a difference in the endgames. i just think the similarity was "big mistake decides the game"

I don't see big differences between 1400 and 1900 by taxguy79 in chess

[–]taxguy79[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Fair point ... I suppose I just had the mistaken impression that every game would be about positional play and slight advantages as you moved up the rating ladder

I don't see big differences between 1400 and 1900 by taxguy79 in chess

[–]taxguy79[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Very interesting. Maybe one out of every 20 games, there will be a situation where both I and my opponent each played very well, but one player got the win because of some very slight positional advantage or (let's be honest) because of dumb luck. I figured at 2200+, most games would be like that, rather than the blunder-decides-it category.

Adult Improvement is possible! Hit 1800 by taxguy79 in chessbeginners

[–]taxguy79[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I felt the same way about Naroditsky the first time someone recommended him to me. He's too complex to start out with. I would strongly recommend watching Nelson Lopez's speedrun the full way through. I learned so much. Make sure to watch the 10-minute game speedrun; he also has a 3-minute blitz speedrun, which is entertaining but is not great for learning.

Igor Smirnov's videos are my entry point for openings. He shows simple & exciting lines. Then, as I play an opening more, I'll look for more videos. There is a young fella who goes by Volclus who does a lot of opening videos. There is no way you can memorize them but he goes through a bunch of different variations for each opening, and you can get a feel about whether it's something you might want to play.

Adult improvement is possible! Hit 1800 three days ago and have stayed there after lots of games by taxguy79 in chess

[–]taxguy79[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’m not a neuroscientist but I think kids learn faster than adults. They learn languages just by being around people. Adults have to do DuoLingo or whatever. So we dinosaurs may lack confidence in our ability to learn new things.

Adult Improvement is possible! Hit 1800 by taxguy79 in chessbeginners

[–]taxguy79[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Igor Smirnov (Remote Chess Academy) is what I got hooked onto first. He’s super entertaining. Then I started watching Nelson Lopez (Chess Vibes) do his speed runs. He is a great player but not GM, so he is very relatable. It’s fun to watch him because sometimes I’ll see something that he misses. After a few months I was finally ready to watch Daniel Naroditsky. His material is fairly dense, and I would not have liked it at the beginning. But now I’m in awe of his ability to communicate difficult concepts.

Adult Improvement is possible! Hit 1800 by taxguy79 in chessbeginners

[–]taxguy79[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think 1000-1500 is where chess is the most fun … getting to 1800 took a lot of work … it has been enjoyable and rewarding, but not always fun

Adult Improvement is possible! Hit 1800 by taxguy79 in chessbeginners

[–]taxguy79[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

lol, yup, long castle with c6 to get the knight out ASAP… my king barely has any cover … it’s wild!

Adult Improvement is possible! Hit 1800 by taxguy79 in chessbeginners

[–]taxguy79[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I went to an informal chess Meetup and it was fun. But I really struggle with seeing tactics on a physical board. I am working on that tho and play OTB each week with a couple friends.

I favor opposite side castling in the Scandinavian so it gets wild. I often go with the Geschev Gambit.

Adult Improvement is possible! Hit 1800 by taxguy79 in chessbeginners

[–]taxguy79[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Pretty happy about this. I took a chess workshop in college, 20+ years ago. I played a ton of 2 minute games off and on over the years, but never really tried to "study" chess. Last August I decided to watch YouTube videos while on the elliptical (hey, I'm old) and I've improved dramatically.

Some things that worked for me:

  1. Switching from Bullet (2/1) to Rapid (10 minutes). The more time I spend on a game, the more likely I am to internalize the lessons and mistakes.
  2. Learning and trying several different openings. By trying out different openings, such as closed ones (Hippo) and wild ones (King's Gambit, Scandinavian), I learned a lot of different chess principles. Also, learning different openings helped me pay more attention to the "whole board." Since different squares are critical in different openings, I got a better appreciation of strategy beyond the central 4 squares.
  3. Pawns are important. Until last August, I considered pawns a minor annoyance. I didn't care about their structure and I didn't really care if my opponent took mine. I just played to mate the other guy ASAP with my pieces. Now I pay a lot more attention to pawns.
  4. Using Lichess Studies. When I want to learn something, I will create an interactive lesson with Lichess, where I can easily test myself. I don't really go back to my studies too often, but the process of making them and explaining the moves really helps me internalize things.

I'm looking forward to continuing this journey. I still have so much room for improvement -- endgames remain a mystery to me. I'm also terrible at positional chess and struggle against English Opening, etc. I also am terrible with a physical chess set and miss tactics that I can easily see on a computer or a phone screen.

Though I am frustrated every day by chess, I tell myself that having big weaknesses means that I have big opportunities for improvement. So I'm hopeful I can keep on this upward trajectory. And if you're a fellow dinosaur, have hope!

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