Keep Your Chess Study Simple

Easy and Effective

Dovetailing on our last topic of Chess Study That Actually Works is Keeping It Simple. The idea here is to not over complicate your chess study process. I see various other online chess communities touting a one stop shop for chess improvement where they offer this one size fits all approach to chess improvement when in all reality it might be a fantastic framework overall in theory but, in practice perhaps a more individualized approach might yield greater results. Now I am not hating on those programs out there. I think those communities are really great. For one they offer a community of like minded chess improvers looking to make the most of their game on limited time. I have tried a few of them even. One felt too simplistic and did not offer enough but had consistency. Another offered a plethora of options and resources to work with and had a really nice way of tracking it all but left the improver to choose what to do in any given day. In both cases they had a brilliant collection of players who are willing to help even if it was misguided or drank too much from the koolaid. I will say this, if those plans seem to be working for you then please do continue with them however if you find perhaps its stale or you are not seeing the results you expected read on my friend.

With that being said I do value what those communities are doing for the chess public and I hope it works for anyone who gives them a try. Unfortunately for me they did not yeild the highly expected results I had for myself. I know what many of you might say “Nick, you did not give them enough time.” And for many of you, you certainly could be correct in this assumption, however; I put myself on a more accellerated time table than most might be willing to contend with. My reasons are my own but, I have a lofty goal of reaching National Master before I am 50. That gives my goal less than six years and counting at this point of writing this post. I set out to prove ANYONE can reach the coveted title of National Master with enough hard work and effort. A goal that may be ambitious. I have never been one to take the easy route. Truth be told I have done most things in my life the hard way so why would my chess journey be any different?

I digress, now onto the topic at length at this point. Keep It Simple. It sounds rather well, simplistic, doesn’t it. Almost too easy. Chess is hard is what everyone keeps telling me. As I have shown though in my piece about making huge gains found here, it almost appeared easy but, I can attest it was not. What did I do that others did not to enjoy such wondrous gains? Consitency I think is the major factor. I showed up everyday and followed MY plan. A simple plan. What I can say about that is when I did veer from the more simplistic avenue my chess suffered for it. Usually met with loss of ELO due to not keeping up on my studies or traveled a different path in an effort to find a faster route when in all reality I was already on the fast track. I had to explore different options to ultimately come to this conclusion of course. It was necessary for me to find the ways that did not work for me more importantly than the one that did. As an engineer by trade I am always looking for a better way. The saying “I have been doing this for 20 years!” does not work with me. I always ask “Did you ever consider you have been doing it the wrong way for 20 years?” This is why I struggle with listening to what Grandmasters have to say about chess improvement specifically as it relates to club players. Though I am sure their heart and mind is in the right place I do not beleive they have the best options for class and club players coming up. After all many, not all of course as I am speaking generally here, were GMs before they were adults. So many do not know the struggle of what it is like to try to improve as an adult. At least not through the class and club level anyways. Most reached 2000 when they were in their teen years. This is not hating on GMs at all but rather an introspection as to whether they really do know what might be best for “all” adult chess improvers. Much of what they know is so ingrained in them it might be difficult to point out what is the beset method for chess improvement at any level. This is why you see Masters and International Master making some of the best coaches and trainers in the world. The reason I mention this is If we all listened to what Grandmaster said explicitly wouldn’t we see more players reaching National Master?

If you read my last post you would may have found one of the key components is to find the pattern in your mistakes. Once you have done that then to create a plan to solve that issue. Then stick to that plan. These are not hard things to understand or learn but we do not know what we do not know. Again to reemphisive reading Pump Up Your Rating by Axel Smith can help you find those patterns. Once completed you can then create a plan. The idea with this plan is to keep is as simple as possible. Do not overcomplicate matters with tons of materials or websites in your plan. I will lay out my current issues and plan in detail so readers can get the gist of the process and come up with easy plans for themselves. My goal is to enable you all to take your chess improvement into your own hands.

Nick’s Current Plan Based on Patterns Found from Mistakes

My mistakes are thus. Mainly tactical, calculation or thought process in nature. Now I do have more as this table suggested from my last 12 losses however you have to pick an avenue that is causing the most amount of grief in your play. One such issue is pawn levers. In almost every game I lost I have a pawn break that went in the wrong way due to my lack of understanding. A major issue that requires deep attention for me.

One also might conclude I have positional and attitudinal issues as well. It is true. Emotions for me are always at work on the chess board and I have to work actively to keep them at bay during my play. I have worked on those since the drawing up of these last 12 losses in another manner. For attitude I read Rowson’s Seven Deadly Chess Sins and I listen to David Goggins audiobooks to get my mind right. He certianly is not for everyone but, works for me. My positional issues are related to pawn structure which I am working on now.

Now for my Current Daily Plan

1. 7 Circles (RCI - Rapid Chess Improvement by da la Maza) using 1001 Chess Exercizes for Beginners. I do each of these cycles on an accellerated time table where I do not reduce down to 20 problems a day as de la Maza suggests but I stop at Circle 3 and to that three times before moving onto circle 3. This cuts the time of each set of puzzles for the cycle down by half.

2. Puzzle Storm - Helps build intiution and quick pattern recognition. Also serves as a warm up for Rapid Games. Never go into a game stone cold.

3. Rapid Games - 2-5x a day with full analysis

4. Middlegame Plans based on Pawn Stuctures related to my openings. Reviewing each game - identifying the strucutre and plan I should have used then comparing it with what I actually did in the game. I have a lichess study for the most common pawn structures to arise from my openings. In t hat study I put the plans for both white and black to review on the regular. Then I will be adding an example of what NOT to do from one of my games and then one where I did exactly what I should have done.

5. Opening drilling: Repeatedly drilling common lines in openings I play. Openingtrainer.com is excellent for this. Drill the lines you need and not a bunch of extra stuff you will never see.

That is my daily effort. Not complicated. Focuses on two of my major issues which are tactics and pawn structure. I suggest never working on more than two of your major issues at a time. Slow and steady wins the race on this one. For those interested in some of the science behind why working more slowly to see faster gains can be found here. He talks about how his students have seen quicker gains while digesting less content. Information overload is most certainly a thing. Cut out 90% of what you had on your plan and follow a more focused approach and you will see results. I tried this myself and I can say it is due to the more focused attention on my tactics and RCI program. When I focus on RCI as the main thing my chess becomes a lot more crisp and clean. My thought process seems easier. Everything falls into place. Since I have simplified my chess improvement it feels like I am not doing enough each day but, when I play I can tell a difference after this simplification. My peers have told me things have changed as well. That is where I see the biggest change. You can see these excellent changes too.