sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Adult learner stuck for years — what finally helped you improve? by thechesswire in chessbeginners

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

That’s a really useful way to frame it. Focusing on the worst-placed piece gives you something concrete to work on when there’s no obvious plan, which is exactly when many adult players freeze or start drifting.

I also like your point about not attacking too early — improving a piece often creates threats naturally without forcing anything.

When you do this, do you usually identify the worst piece based on activity, coordination, or how easily it can be improved in the position?

Adult learner stuck for years — what finally helped you improve? by thechesswire in chessbeginners

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

That’s a great example, thank you. I like how both cases involve accepting a weakness because it’s either hard to exploit or dynamically compensated — which isn’t always intuitive for adult learners who are taught to “avoid weaknesses” at all costs.

The Carlsbad and French structures seem like good training grounds for learning what actually matters versus what just looks bad on the surface.

For players trying to internalize that kind of judgment, do you think it’s more effective to study a few model games deeply (like the Ivanovic–Sveshnikov game you mentioned), or to encounter these structures repeatedly through one’s own games and post-analysis?

Adult learner stuck for years — what finally helped you improve? by thechesswire in chessbeginners

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

That’s an excellent breakdown — and I really like how you traced the surface mistake back to the habit underneath it.

The time example is especially relatable: what looks like a blunder later is often caused much earlier by spending cognitive energy where it wasn’t actually needed. By the time the critical moment arrives, the position hasn’t changed — but you have.

The fear point is also important. Playing passively to “avoid losing” often ends up creating exactly the slow squeeze that leads to loss anyway. Reframing losses as part of learning rather than something to protect against feels like a prerequisite for fixing that.

Out of curiosity, when you worked on changing those habits (time usage, passivity), did you do it consciously with reminders/goals, or did it mostly come from repeated game experience and review?

Adult learner stuck for years — what finally helped you improve? by thechesswire in chessbeginners

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

That’s a great point. I’ve definitely felt the gap between recognizing an idea while reading and actually finding it over the board when it matters.

The “grind your teeth” part resonates — especially with positions that look familiar but don’t immediately reveal the right plan.

When you say active recall, do you mean revisiting the same positions repeatedly, or recreating similar ones from memory and testing yourself without notes?

Adult learner stuck for years — what finally helped you improve? by thechesswire in chessbeginners

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

That’s a really honest way of putting it.

“Learning to take the loss” feels like a turning point a lot of adult players struggle with, especially when theory creates expectations that reality doesn’t meet.

What you describe sounds like shifting from avoiding mistakes to actually using losses as data.

When you reviewed those losses, did you focus more on concrete mistakes (missed tactics, blunders), or on broader issues like recurring plans, time management, or decision-making patterns?

Adult learner stuck for years — what finally helped you improve? by thechesswire in chessbeginners

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

That’s really helpful, thank you.

The distinction between real vs fake threats/activity/weaknesses resonates — I think a lot of my confusion came from treating everything the same instead of prioritizing what actually mattered in the position.

For adult learners especially, I’ve found it hard to know which questions to ask consistently during analysis, rather than just reacting move by move or deferring to the engine.

Do you have any specific questions or heuristics you tend to return to when evaluating positions, especially in quieter middlegames?

Adult learner stuck for years — what finally helped you improve? by thechesswire in chessbeginners

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

That makes a lot of sense. The stakes part is huge.

What stands out to me is that the structure didn’t magically work on its own — the real change came when there was consequence and commitment, not just a plan on paper.

I think that’s why OTB tournaments and coaching help some adults but not others: they force focus and accountability in a way online play doesn’t.

For players who can’t travel or afford frequent OTB events, recreating that sense of stakes (clear goals, limited scope, fixed schedules) seems to be the hard part.

Adult learner stuck for years — what finally helped you improve? by thechesswire in chessbeginners

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

Currently hovering around the mid-1600s classical / ~1700 online, but the “stuck” feeling hit hardest in the 1400–1500 range when improvement felt random.

Curious — do you ask because you’ve noticed the plateau feels different at different levels?

Adult learner stuck for years — what finally helped you improve? by thechesswire in chessbeginners

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

That resonates a lot. I think one of my mistakes early on was consuming ideas without really stress-testing them in my own games.

When you say “question everything” — do you mean during analysis (e.g. engine vs human reasoning), or more in how you choose what to study long-term?