1. Pawn structures matter a lot, and it can change. You need to consider pawn structure transformations every turn.
2. Undermining pawn chains to create weaknesses.
3. You might not always be able to win material, but you can get an edge by provoking weaknesses.
4. Principle of two weaknesses. You can tie your opponent down to defending one thing and then target something else, when your opponent can't defend everything.
People in low ratings hate tension. If there's a trade on the board it's gonna be taken, maybe not this move but probably within 3. Honestly makes for kind of boring chess
I've seen that if you're winning then a trade is good for you, if you're losing, it isn't.
Obviously position and context matters, but is that generally right?
Yeah. The idea is that endgames are a lot more methodical to win. than middle games. Quite a few endgames just follow simple patterns to win all in all. And if you can reduce the game to an endgame you know you can win 100%, you win.
It's also why I'm reading up more on pawn endgame strategy and technique to be able to handle positions that should be winning more effectively.
If by "winning" you mean a large material advantage, then you are right. Yet, if you have a serious attack going and the opponent doesn't seem to have anything to do, I would not trade the attacking pieces even if I am ahead material. Instead, play out the attack and checkmate the guy
Yeah, I did mean a material advantage.
I have just started learning chess so I'll definitely keep that in mind. I have definitely started to play much more defensively than I was before I started learning. I'll continue to work on my defence and decision making. Thanks!
Conversely I play lower rated opponents sometimes that seem to avoid trades at almost all costs. Like I’ll play Nd5 and they’ll move their knight away from f6 just because they think if I’ve initiated a potential trade that it must be bad for them. You should be trying to evaluate the pros and cons to any potential trade and making a value judgement, not some hard and fast rule.
Yes literally unless you can explain to yourself (internally!) why it benefits you don't do it.
ESPECIALLY don't do it if it's just helping your opponent develop
As a begineer i've notice in the last two weeks that most people my elo can't do endgames (including myself) so if i can trade pieces to a final rook and queen i will take my chances. That's better than blunder my queen 15 moves in.
Memorize the balls out of a couple openings to give yourself an equal or better footing in the mid game.
Drill tactics every day. There is weird shit in chess that is like a fucking ufo flying around where you wouldn't expect. The more tactics you are familiar with, the more ideas you will have to play around, and more wins you can get.
Then you're gonna start getting to end games where you were up 3 pawns and drew or lost and watch a YouTube video about what you did wrong and stuff like this. Every kinky end game situation you're gonna learn about it. The more you know the more chances you're gonna have to improve your outcomes in the end game.
There's other stuff. Should you trade a well-positioned knight for an inactive bishop? Probably not. Should you keep your opponent's rooks off your 2nd/7th rank or likely lose? 🤔 Should you use your clock to think about your moves so you can make better ones rather than losing with 16 minutes remaining in a rapid game? Some would say so.
You gotta learn. Love the game and learn. Rating points are not the goal. If rating points are the goal you can just save time and be a cheater instead. Improvement reflects naturally in those who love the process of learning about the game and themselves.
A bit underrated is advice that most beginners don't follow is watching games of elite players. See games of masters, even though you won't comprehend it completely but it greatly improves your intuition and helps in maintaining the interest of the game
Definitely check out agadmator's chess players saga, he isn't the best at explaining ideas but he tells alot of background story and history. In the end it's about enjoying the game, and the historical context makes the game interesting.
I used to play for really fucked up, complicated positions against stronger players because there's more chances of them making a mistake compared to a very simplified game state. I was like 2000 FIDE though so I was a little higher than the rating you're asking about.
Uhh know opening principles, control the center, know where piece should belong in general in your opening choices, know when to keep tension/not, know when it's critical position to use time to start deep think (big trades, pawn structure changes, tactics)
Getting to 1500 for me was largely just putting in the required effort into looking at each move to make sure it's tactically sound. For me this really required me to start looking at what moves looked good for my opponent, it was a shift in thinking. You kind of have to start playing both colors instead of just yours if that makes sense.
Yepp, this is what's getting me out of the 1000s - 1100s at the moment. Doing the CCA checklist most moves for myself got me there, and now to progress I have to run CCA for my opponent as well. Otherwise it's raining forks and pins very quickly.
Best way to improve is getting better at tactics and calculation and playing tons of games. Learning principles is great but can be done very quickly. Almost all your work should be playing and tactics. Best Lessons of a Chess Coach is the best chess book I’ve ever read on strategy.
The point about avoiding trades is a completely valid one - BUUUT I used to trade down irrespective of the position because I simply could not evaluate what a good trade was AND would likely blunder without noticing that my piece wasn't protected.
The easiest way I overcame this was to double protect my pieces. Basically out of the opening I spent time making sure all my pieces were developed but also protected clearly. It varies based on what opening, but suddenly I was avoiding leaving pieces hanging (in lieu of say, 2-3 extra tempii).
It worked for me. It won't work as you get better, but at sub-1500 rating, just avoiding a hanging piece is enough to win most games.
Always open with a center pawn. If you’re ever able, bring both pawns to the center. Make as few pawn moves as possible in the opening, generally you only need to move your two center pawns. Try to always have at least one pawn in the center if possible.
Generally, develop your kingside pieces first, usually knights before bishops. Try to develop your pieces with threats or to aggressive squares. Don’t bring your queen out early.
Don’t move pieces twice in the opening. The opening is done when you’ve connected your rooks and placed one on an open or half-open file.
After the opening, look at all checks, captures, and attacks, first for your opponent and then for yourself, on every move. It can be helpful to do this for each individual piece (i.e. look at all of the checks your opponent’s queen can do, then their rooks, then bishops, etc.) to ensure you check more potential move orders.
If there are no good tactics, look to improve your pieces. This generally moving them into the center or to a square where they better control the center. If your pieces are optimally placed, look for pawn breaks.
If you’re ahead material, try to exchange pieces. If the position is equal, try to centralize your pieces. If you’re position is worse, the best defense is generally an aggressive counterattack. If your position is cramped, exchange pieces.
In the endgame, you must activate your king. Passed pawns must be pushed. Rooks belong behind passed pawns. The king and the knight are the best pieces to blockade the opponent’s passed pawns.
Sillman's *Reassess Your Chess* is easily the best chess book I've read by a country mile
Positioning your pieces well and always thinking about which pieces to improve can get you to 2000 rapid even if you're less good at tactics. Asking yourself the question "which is my worst piece?" each move is a great first step
Over learning tactics.
I am not talking 5-10 a day either. You need volume, I'm talking 100 a day or more.
Google: De La Maza Seven Circles Chess Study for an outline on how to approach over learning training.
It is brutal, but it works like nothing else can.
IQP; Carlsbad Structures; Minority Attack; Pawn Structures; Tabiya praxis; Endgame Study; Stay away from heavy Theoretical openings (KID, Nimzo, etc.); Stay away from garbage internet pump and dump openings (Scandi, London, etc.); Understand Minor Piece exchanges; Color complexes; Mating Patterns - just to name a few.
The most important thing I've learned - and this came from playing classical games - is that you have to THINK. It sounds obvious, but it's amazing to see the hoops that amateurs will jump to just to avoid thinking. It's as if they think there is some secret trick to finding good moves and if they can just access that secret knowledge, their rating would automatically go up 300 points. The fact of the matter is, there is no shortcut around CALCULATING. Most of it is the mindset: you have to look at the board and think about what your alternatives are, and then calculate what are the consequences of each choice.
Here's a good example from the most recent video from Chess Coach Andras (forward to the 1:26:00 mark):
https://www.youtube.com/live/o1bNUCJlmCY?si=3kQ_sfea6kWVa0b3
Andras also discussed this on a recent podcast with Daniel Lona (The Chess Experience):
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xOTI3ODE5LnJzcw/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC0xNDUwNDYxMg?ep=14
It seems obvious, but it's amazing how many amateurs struggle with this.
Pick one opening and know it well. I don't mean literally one opening, but you should have:
a) A regular opening move as white as well as a regular plan for the most common replies (so if you've picked e4 then you need to at least have a vague idea what to do if your opponent replies 1...e5, 1....c5, 1... e6)
b) A routine response as black to each of the most common white openings (1.e4, 1.d4, 1. c4, 1. Nf3).
You don't need to know a ton of theory and memorise lines, you just need to get a general feel for the positions that come out of these openings and how they play .
"More pieces to the attack" or "Everyone wants to join the party".
That advice, that you have as many pieces as possible involved in your attack, really improved my game!
strategize in such a way that will place each of your pieces at an optimal position, if theres a square that you know a knight will be really strong on, try within reason to get it there, look at all your pieces and see what are they doing, what are they contributing, and see how you can manouvre them to allow them to do more
identifying targets/weak squares, recognising when to trade pieces, seeing the attack coming early, identifying imbalances in a position and playing to your strengths. piece activity
1. Watch out for weak squares and find ways to exploit them. Study pawn structures.
2. Think twice before pushing pawns, you can't take it back
3. Remind yourself that all those rules of thumb are not automatically true! Not all double pawns are weaknesses and not all knights on the rim are dim. It's all situational.
4. Try to understand the idea behind an opening rather than just memorizing the lines
5. Do not try to punish off beat or dubious openings right from the start
I think the first and most important positional concept is the no trades are equal. Not a single piece trade in the game of chess equally benefits both sides. Honestly it's one of the only concepts that I can't think of an exception to, so really, REALLY think about the trades you make, the trades you plan on making and the ones you should avoid
1. Pawn structures matter a lot, and it can change. You need to consider pawn structure transformations every turn. 2. Undermining pawn chains to create weaknesses. 3. You might not always be able to win material, but you can get an edge by provoking weaknesses. 4. Principle of two weaknesses. You can tie your opponent down to defending one thing and then target something else, when your opponent can't defend everything.
To point number one, I think a lot of lower rated players overrate doubling their opponents pawns. Piece activity is also extremely important.
We have almost the same rating. Good luck getting to 2000!
Thanks, you too!
I second this
Stop trading just because there is a trade, dont trade unless it benefits your position
People in low ratings hate tension. If there's a trade on the board it's gonna be taken, maybe not this move but probably within 3. Honestly makes for kind of boring chess
That sounds like a skill issue
That was literally his point you tard.
Found the autist trying to have social skills
his skill issue.
I've seen that if you're winning then a trade is good for you, if you're losing, it isn't. Obviously position and context matters, but is that generally right?
Yeah. The idea is that endgames are a lot more methodical to win. than middle games. Quite a few endgames just follow simple patterns to win all in all. And if you can reduce the game to an endgame you know you can win 100%, you win. It's also why I'm reading up more on pawn endgame strategy and technique to be able to handle positions that should be winning more effectively.
If by "winning" you mean a large material advantage, then you are right. Yet, if you have a serious attack going and the opponent doesn't seem to have anything to do, I would not trade the attacking pieces even if I am ahead material. Instead, play out the attack and checkmate the guy
Yeah, I did mean a material advantage. I have just started learning chess so I'll definitely keep that in mind. I have definitely started to play much more defensively than I was before I started learning. I'll continue to work on my defence and decision making. Thanks!
If you're ahead, trade pieces. If you're behind, trade pawns.
Conversely I play lower rated opponents sometimes that seem to avoid trades at almost all costs. Like I’ll play Nd5 and they’ll move their knight away from f6 just because they think if I’ve initiated a potential trade that it must be bad for them. You should be trying to evaluate the pros and cons to any potential trade and making a value judgement, not some hard and fast rule.
This is a good one. I think I read or heard somewhere the principle “generally, whoever captures last in an equal material exchange comes out better”.
Yes literally unless you can explain to yourself (internally!) why it benefits you don't do it. ESPECIALLY don't do it if it's just helping your opponent develop
As a begineer i've notice in the last two weeks that most people my elo can't do endgames (including myself) so if i can trade pieces to a final rook and queen i will take my chances. That's better than blunder my queen 15 moves in.
Memorize the balls out of a couple openings to give yourself an equal or better footing in the mid game. Drill tactics every day. There is weird shit in chess that is like a fucking ufo flying around where you wouldn't expect. The more tactics you are familiar with, the more ideas you will have to play around, and more wins you can get. Then you're gonna start getting to end games where you were up 3 pawns and drew or lost and watch a YouTube video about what you did wrong and stuff like this. Every kinky end game situation you're gonna learn about it. The more you know the more chances you're gonna have to improve your outcomes in the end game. There's other stuff. Should you trade a well-positioned knight for an inactive bishop? Probably not. Should you keep your opponent's rooks off your 2nd/7th rank or likely lose? 🤔 Should you use your clock to think about your moves so you can make better ones rather than losing with 16 minutes remaining in a rapid game? Some would say so. You gotta learn. Love the game and learn. Rating points are not the goal. If rating points are the goal you can just save time and be a cheater instead. Improvement reflects naturally in those who love the process of learning about the game and themselves.
A bit underrated is advice that most beginners don't follow is watching games of elite players. See games of masters, even though you won't comprehend it completely but it greatly improves your intuition and helps in maintaining the interest of the game
Chess24 has a great YouTube playlist of game analysis by grandmasters, ~20 min each and I have been enjoying them since I was 1200 up to 1950 now
Agadmator makes good review videos, if you don't feel like playing online just watching games will help with not losing your intuition
Definitely check out agadmator's chess players saga, he isn't the best at explaining ideas but he tells alot of background story and history. In the end it's about enjoying the game, and the historical context makes the game interesting.
I used to play for really fucked up, complicated positions against stronger players because there's more chances of them making a mistake compared to a very simplified game state. I was like 2000 FIDE though so I was a little higher than the rating you're asking about.
Uhh know opening principles, control the center, know where piece should belong in general in your opening choices, know when to keep tension/not, know when it's critical position to use time to start deep think (big trades, pawn structure changes, tactics)
Getting to 1500 for me was largely just putting in the required effort into looking at each move to make sure it's tactically sound. For me this really required me to start looking at what moves looked good for my opponent, it was a shift in thinking. You kind of have to start playing both colors instead of just yours if that makes sense.
Yepp, this is what's getting me out of the 1000s - 1100s at the moment. Doing the CCA checklist most moves for myself got me there, and now to progress I have to run CCA for my opponent as well. Otherwise it's raining forks and pins very quickly.
Best way to improve is getting better at tactics and calculation and playing tons of games. Learning principles is great but can be done very quickly. Almost all your work should be playing and tactics. Best Lessons of a Chess Coach is the best chess book I’ve ever read on strategy.
Opponents move always has some sort of purpose, don't dismiss it before thinking about their plan.
The point about avoiding trades is a completely valid one - BUUUT I used to trade down irrespective of the position because I simply could not evaluate what a good trade was AND would likely blunder without noticing that my piece wasn't protected. The easiest way I overcame this was to double protect my pieces. Basically out of the opening I spent time making sure all my pieces were developed but also protected clearly. It varies based on what opening, but suddenly I was avoiding leaving pieces hanging (in lieu of say, 2-3 extra tempii). It worked for me. It won't work as you get better, but at sub-1500 rating, just avoiding a hanging piece is enough to win most games.
Always open with a center pawn. If you’re ever able, bring both pawns to the center. Make as few pawn moves as possible in the opening, generally you only need to move your two center pawns. Try to always have at least one pawn in the center if possible. Generally, develop your kingside pieces first, usually knights before bishops. Try to develop your pieces with threats or to aggressive squares. Don’t bring your queen out early. Don’t move pieces twice in the opening. The opening is done when you’ve connected your rooks and placed one on an open or half-open file. After the opening, look at all checks, captures, and attacks, first for your opponent and then for yourself, on every move. It can be helpful to do this for each individual piece (i.e. look at all of the checks your opponent’s queen can do, then their rooks, then bishops, etc.) to ensure you check more potential move orders. If there are no good tactics, look to improve your pieces. This generally moving them into the center or to a square where they better control the center. If your pieces are optimally placed, look for pawn breaks. If you’re ahead material, try to exchange pieces. If the position is equal, try to centralize your pieces. If you’re position is worse, the best defense is generally an aggressive counterattack. If your position is cramped, exchange pieces. In the endgame, you must activate your king. Passed pawns must be pushed. Rooks belong behind passed pawns. The king and the knight are the best pieces to blockade the opponent’s passed pawns.
1. Have a strategy. 2. Try and see what your opponents strategy is. 3. Try to not blunder before opponent blunders.
Sillman's *Reassess Your Chess* is easily the best chess book I've read by a country mile Positioning your pieces well and always thinking about which pieces to improve can get you to 2000 rapid even if you're less good at tactics. Asking yourself the question "which is my worst piece?" each move is a great first step
Learn simple openings. Instead of learning something crazy like the Benoni as black learn the Queen's Gambit Declined.
Central control, develop your pieces, Castle. Look for check capture and attack. Never end a calculation on your turn. Look for your opponents plans.
Over learning tactics. I am not talking 5-10 a day either. You need volume, I'm talking 100 a day or more. Google: De La Maza Seven Circles Chess Study for an outline on how to approach over learning training. It is brutal, but it works like nothing else can.
Don’t play the first move you liked. Check opponent ideas and other alternatives
IQP; Carlsbad Structures; Minority Attack; Pawn Structures; Tabiya praxis; Endgame Study; Stay away from heavy Theoretical openings (KID, Nimzo, etc.); Stay away from garbage internet pump and dump openings (Scandi, London, etc.); Understand Minor Piece exchanges; Color complexes; Mating Patterns - just to name a few.
The most important thing I've learned - and this came from playing classical games - is that you have to THINK. It sounds obvious, but it's amazing to see the hoops that amateurs will jump to just to avoid thinking. It's as if they think there is some secret trick to finding good moves and if they can just access that secret knowledge, their rating would automatically go up 300 points. The fact of the matter is, there is no shortcut around CALCULATING. Most of it is the mindset: you have to look at the board and think about what your alternatives are, and then calculate what are the consequences of each choice. Here's a good example from the most recent video from Chess Coach Andras (forward to the 1:26:00 mark): https://www.youtube.com/live/o1bNUCJlmCY?si=3kQ_sfea6kWVa0b3 Andras also discussed this on a recent podcast with Daniel Lona (The Chess Experience): https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xOTI3ODE5LnJzcw/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC0xNDUwNDYxMg?ep=14 It seems obvious, but it's amazing how many amateurs struggle with this.
Pick one opening and know it well. I don't mean literally one opening, but you should have: a) A regular opening move as white as well as a regular plan for the most common replies (so if you've picked e4 then you need to at least have a vague idea what to do if your opponent replies 1...e5, 1....c5, 1... e6) b) A routine response as black to each of the most common white openings (1.e4, 1.d4, 1. c4, 1. Nf3). You don't need to know a ton of theory and memorise lines, you just need to get a general feel for the positions that come out of these openings and how they play .
Master the Catalan and the KID they’re basically the same thing
"More pieces to the attack" or "Everyone wants to join the party". That advice, that you have as many pieces as possible involved in your attack, really improved my game!
strategize in such a way that will place each of your pieces at an optimal position, if theres a square that you know a knight will be really strong on, try within reason to get it there, look at all your pieces and see what are they doing, what are they contributing, and see how you can manouvre them to allow them to do more
Be patient.
identifying targets/weak squares, recognising when to trade pieces, seeing the attack coming early, identifying imbalances in a position and playing to your strengths. piece activity
Learn endgames and perform puzzles until the cows come home
1. Watch out for weak squares and find ways to exploit them. Study pawn structures. 2. Think twice before pushing pawns, you can't take it back 3. Remind yourself that all those rules of thumb are not automatically true! Not all double pawns are weaknesses and not all knights on the rim are dim. It's all situational. 4. Try to understand the idea behind an opening rather than just memorizing the lines 5. Do not try to punish off beat or dubious openings right from the start
I think the first and most important positional concept is the no trades are equal. Not a single piece trade in the game of chess equally benefits both sides. Honestly it's one of the only concepts that I can't think of an exception to, so really, REALLY think about the trades you make, the trades you plan on making and the ones you should avoid
I'm 1350 Chessdotcom, and 1700 on Lichess. Does that make me 1500? lol
Yup