Tactics Trainer and Type of Problem

the problem is: most of us have rudimentary evaluation skills.  In tactics trainer, you get presented a 'new tactic' each time, without benefit of knowing anything about it (not having played into the position).

BUT: in a game, when your opponent makes a move, and it is an error, normally you are caught NOT expecting that error to happen, and must evaluate the board using your skills.

Do you get to know how many moves a tactic takes in a game - before you play it out? no, you have to figure it out.  same way with tactics trainer.

If everyone thought it was madness, no one would be working tactics daily.

regards, 

it seems that you are mistaking tactics with strategy. you should always have a plan/strategy, but this is not what tactics trainer is training you to do. it is training you to recognize patterns and tactics within a game or position. once you begin to recognize these patterns and positions, it is your goal to bring these positions about in your own games through your plan/strategy.

I find this TT-OTB rating fascinating. I am rated 1800 in tactics trainer, but probably around 1300 OTB. I wonder what this says about my other chess skills?

grammar,  are you losing games in the openings or in the endings ?

if your tactical sense is high, then maybe you do well in a 'cluttered board' situation but when the position becomes less cluttered, you are making errors;  or possibly you are just not getting to the middlegame where tactics abound.

regards,

Ret,

That's really good to know. Ironically, I "prefer" open boards, but perhaps I should try more cluttered games. I know several openings and have studying their variations, so I'd like to think my weakness isn't there. I also believe I'm pretty well-versed in end games, but I could be giving myself too much credit. I appreciate your mod role in TT:)

Anyway, if this helps, my stats (from chess.com) indicate that my average game is 28 moves, win or loss. I think my problem is I am too aggressive, and never make it to the end-game.

Personally I find that my performance (whether on Tactics Trainer or on game play) correlates strongly to the degree of concentration, alertness and focus that I bring to the board.

On a good day I can nail almost every tactic, and my game play will be tight and clean. I just "see" or "feel" the right moves, using methodical analysis as a verification mechanism rather than as a move-finding tool.

Then on less successful days (of which I have plenty) I will make the most horrendous blunders - I don't "see" or "feel" a single move, and my analysis is shown to be full of holes when I fail the tactic or lose the game.

Over the course of 6,325 tactics my rating has peaked at 2101 and bottomed out at 709... And over the course of 270 turn-based games my rating has reached high/low extremes of 2155 and 1361.

So far I have not found any magic recipe to keep my rating from plummeting from time to time, and I don't think my experience is any different from 90% of players here...

So when you are having a rough chess day just take a deep breath, try to empty your mind of distraction, and focus on the board and pieces. If that is not possible for whatever reason, then just log out, get some sleep and come back the next day!

what about your stats in OTB games?

I was asking about those - are you playing lengthy, and well thought out endings or are you winning on tactics in the middlegame ?  or tricks/traps/tactics right in the opening ?

endings: characterized by kings and pawns activity, with one or two supporting rooks or minor pieces  - often ending when one side queens a pawn.

Well, my 1300 rating estimate was just that, an estimate. I joined a club 5 weeks ago, and in U1400 tournaments, I'm 3-1-1 (the loss was my first game, and I played way too fast--leaving about 40 minutes on my clock). But I'm 1400 on this site, so I don't imagine I'd be that much better OTB?

Oddly enough, my one draw resulted in a winning end game which I completely blundered. I had three pawns against a knight, and post game analysis showed that I had a relatively obvious winning line, and instead I blundered right away.

in general, you are looking to win material. in other words, trying to find hanging pieces. if not, then for checks. if you capture a rook or a queen. you almost always solve the problem. if a continuation occurs, then try to find a sequence of moves that leads to mate. it helps to look at the solution if your move is incorrect. that way, you see the kind of things their looking for. if you can check the king, then it's usually a mating problem. if you can't, then try to gain material. after a while it becomes intuitive. also look for tactics, such as double attacks, forks and pins. sometimes it's obvious. good luck and have fun. aloha,...ppeets

I have the same thing, My TT is hundreds higher than my online rating, ±1900 vs ±1600,

I suppose I'm "cheating" a little, If I dont find the full solution quickly, I'll try the move that "feels right", and I often guess correctly.

What I would like to see are a few more Defensive type tactics.