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I don't know what I should focus on.

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KimTGF
I have seen many articles on how to improve but none of them help sometimes i look at a chess tactic see a move and still can't figure out how it helped in the bigger picture in puzzles too i asked myself what was accomplished by doing this ? I am a beginner or even i don't know what i am but the thing is i can't strategise ahead of steps like 'getting this piece there would help me to get this piece there which would be helpful' I am not able to think that far. What should i do ?
robblues
This is exactly what I’m struggling with. I understand the point of the game. I understand what the pieces can do. But I don’t understand the game as a whole.
kindaspongey

"... for those that want to be as good as they can be, they'll have to work hard.
Play opponents who are better than you … . Learn basic endgames. Create a simple opening repertoire (understanding the moves are far more important than memorizing them). Study tactics. And pick up tons of patterns. That’s the drumbeat of success. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (December 27, 2018)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/little-things-that-help-your-game
https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-start-out-in-chess
https://www.chess.com/news/view/a-new-years-resolution-improve-your-chess-with-new-lessons

https://www.chess.com/article/view/mastery-chess-lessons-are-here
"... In order to maximize the benefits of [theory and practice], these two should be approached in a balanced manner. ... Play as many slow games (60 5 or preferably slower) as possible, ... The other side of improvement is theory. ... This can be reading books, taking lessons, watching videos, doing problems on software, etc. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627084053/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman19.pdf
"... If it’s instruction, you look for an author that addresses players at your level (buying something that’s too advanced won’t help you at all). This means that a classic book that is revered by many people might not be useful for you. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2015)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-best-chess-books-ever
Here are some reading possibilities that I often mention:
Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
http://dev.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Simple-Attacking-Plans-77p3731.htm
Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1948)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
Back to Basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233537/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review585.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-back-to-basics-tactics
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5856bd64ff7c50433c3803db/t/5895fc0ca5790af7895297e4/1486224396755/btbtactics2excerpt.pdf
Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Chess Endgames for Kids by Karsten Müller (2015)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf
A Guide to Chess Improvement by Dan Heisman (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105628/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review781.pdf
Studying Chess Made Easy by Andrew Soltis (2009)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090448/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review750.pdf
Seirawan stuff:
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092617/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review560.pdf

RussBell

Simply playing without an understanding of fundamental chess principles and how to apply them will do little to help you become a good chess player.  In order to understand these principles it takes study - there is no easy, quick solution to playing good chess....you have to put in the effort to learn...

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond....

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

 

romannosejob

I'm a relative beginner too, probably somewhere about the casual/intermediate level now.

As well as chess advice I'd make sure you're approaching the idea of learning the right way, an article like https://www.teachthought.com/learning/25-simple-ways-develop-growth-mindset/ might be helpful. 

Don't try and learn everything at once and take your time, enjoy yourself.

Capabotvikhine

to be a good chess player you need to appreciate the. Importance of the B-pair.

Image result for Hot chess playing girls

I am talking about the bishop pair which you can clearly see from this position.

rafone1

robblues a écrit :

This is exactly what I’m struggling with. I understand the point of the game. I understand what the pieces can do. But I don’t understand the game as a whole.

robblues a écrit : This is exactly what I’m struggling with. I understand the point of the game. I understand what the pieces can do. But I don’t understand the game as a whole.

MaxLange-simulator

For now, just focus on not hanging pieces and make sure all the pieces are always adequately defended.  

Caesar49bc

For years I did random tactics for little improvement.

It's when I started doing pattern tactics I started to improve.

Learn a tactic pattern, then do 10 more of the same tactic, all taken from different games played over the years.

After that, you're much more likely to spot the tactic in your own games.

SacrifycedStoat
If you don’t understand tactics, I would recommend watching the video to go along with the daily puzzle as much as you can. They explain it well.
ChessMasteryOfficial

Learn and apply the most important principles of chess. - (core of my teaching)
Always blunder-check your moves.
Solve tactics in the right way.
Analyze your games.
Study games of strong players.
Learn how to be more psychologically resilient.
Work on your time management skills.
Get a coach if you can.

Bgabor91

Dear Kim,

I am a certified, full-time chess coach, so I hope I can help you. happy.png Everybody is different, so that's why there isn't only one general way to learn. First of all, you have to discover your biggest weaknesses in the game and start working on them. The most effective way for that is analyzing your own games. Of course, if you are a beginner, you can't do it efficiently because you don't know too much about the game yet. There is a built-in engine on chess.com which can show you if a move is good or bad but the only problem is that it can't explain to you the plans, ideas behind the moves, so you won't know why it is so good or bad.

In my opinion, chess has 4 main territories (openings, strategies, tactics/combinations and endgames). If you want to improve efficiently, you should improve all of these skills almost at the same time. That's what my training program is based on. My students really like it because the lessons are not boring (because we talk about more than one areas within one lesson) and they feel the improvement on the longer run. Of course, there are always ups and downs but this is completely normal in everyone's career. happy.png

If you would like to learn more about chess, you can visit my Patreon channel (www.patreon.com/Bgabor91), where you can learn about every kind of topics. I've just started this channel and I'm planning to upload 3-4 new videos per week.

I hope this is helpful for you. Good luck with your games! happy.png