Originally posted by kmac27yeah i know, i usually average around 1-3 mistakes a game, it drives me nuts. whats the best way to avoid making mistakes? also i usually play 20 min games so that amount of time should be suffiecent not to make those kind of mistakes. but i make some careless moves! whats the best why to avoid doing that?
Study every game whether you won or lost. I gaurintee that 99% of your games whether won or lost have mistakes in them. Thats kinda why I hate chess, I always make at least 1 or 2 mistake a game, thats a good game!
Originally posted by Arrak1) Study each of your moves before you make it. EVERY move. Even if you've already planned a line in your head and your opponent's moves fit right with it, still take at least a couple minutes to STUDY. You may see a combination, trap, etc. that you had missed before.
yeah i know, i usually average around 1-3 mistakes a game, it drives me nuts. whats the best way to avoid making mistakes? also i usually play 20 min games so that amount of time should be suffiecent not to make those kind of mistakes. but i make some careless moves! whats the best why to avoid doing that?
2) Do your dead-level best to think of every possible threat your opponent could throw at you. So long as the game is on, no matter what the odds, he or she still has a chance to win (or draw) just like you do. With every move they make, NEVER EVER say to yourself, "Oh, that doesn't look dangerous." or "Oh, I'm sure I can stop that." Even the greatest players get destroyed in a game when they get cocky and don't study their opponent's options.
3) Examine every game you play after it's completed. As you play and study more, your instincts will become sharper. You will notice subtle details that you never considered before. Positions will become clearer to you. And you'll form a sense of what works and what doesn't. Most of all, your confidence will grow, meaning you won't panic as often.
4) Never panic! Not if your time is running out. Not if your opponent is wiping you out. Think hard, and you may find a good move. Even grandmasters make the mistake of panicking often. They say the ticking clock has won more chess games than any human being.
twenty minute games are not even close to enough time to think and not make mistakes. I need at least an hour to make all of my moves and I really don't feel comftorable unless I have an hour and a half her game. I advocate for over the board play rather than online play to be honest. I find that I remember the games I play and the lines where I went wrong ten times better than any online game. I would suggest no more than 10 games at a time and I would push for even 5-6 at maximum at a time to be honest. Any more than that in my opinion is mindless and you don't learn from your mistakes as well, or at least I don't.
I do like internet play for a few reasons though. You see thousands of positions and you can research how to play against a certain line which is helpful. And also I would say only consult a database after a game has finished. Or use it only once to learn an opening and then after that see if you can remember it. Databases have hurt my over the board play rather than help them, because I don't have to memorize the information when online, but when over the board I have forgotten too many lines.
I play always the same openings to minimize making mistakes.
Playing the same opening give you most of the time similar positions and after a while you know what kind of plans are working. Obviously the Databases help as well to study plans, tactical opetions etc.!
On the other side it is easier for your opponent to prepare games against you. But I think this is where the challenge is with CC games: Always try to be a move ahead than your opponent.
Great point. A well known player in my area says to play the same openings always and constantly build upon your previous knowledge. if you play a game and only make it 6 moves into book and then make a mistake or fall out of book or go into a bad line, then research that and learn a few more moves in that line so that then next game you play that opening you might make 8 good moves until you fall into a bad line and continue to build upon your previous knowledge. Switching openings can be good to avoid boredom or also find new openings that better your playing style.
Originally posted by bill718I agree with bill718
I agree with kmac27... study them all, preferably with the help of someone rated over 2000. Strong players can offer valuable ideas that you may have missed.😏
I usually work with a strong Correspondence GM on my ICCF games. I also use my own Database.
Books are quite handy as well but in some line theory changes so rapidly you have to play catch up all the time. 😀
Originally posted by kmac27Well said! I also prefer over-the-board play to online play. Unfortunately, I rarely have time for an over-the-board game, and if I did, I'd have to find an opponent. That's how I got into online play -- almost all of my friends stopped playing me because I was always winning. Sometimes it hurts to be good at something.
twenty minute games are not even close to enough time to think and not make mistakes. I need at least an hour to make all of my moves and I really don't feel comftorable unless I have an hour and a half her game. I advocate for over the board play rather than online play to be honest. I find that I remember the games I play and the lines where I went wrong te ...[text shortened]... morize the information when online, but when over the board I have forgotten too many lines.
Alzheimer also has an excellent point. Pick several openings and stick with them, particularly ones to play as black (if you know exactly what you're aiming for, it negates white's advantage a little). Doing them over and over will make you highly successful.