One reason to take some interest in opening study is to find openings that lead to the type of play that you like. Preferring to create your own game rather than follow book moves is fine but there's no harm in following the book moves a few times just to get the feel for an opening and see if you like where it takes you.
Originally posted by wormwoodIt means basically looking in these forums, picking a lot up from here, and a lot more up from actually playing and occasionally playing good players who give pointers and advice.
what does 'unserious studying' mean in practice?
Iv never read a chess book, or really gone back and alanysed seriously my games that often, just when i want to post a game up in forums occasionally to get feedback (which i never seem to get, maybe my games are dull 😛)
And sam the sham, if you look at my games, if im cheating im using one hell of a rubbish engine. And cheating allegations arent allowed in the forums.
The post that was quoted here has been removedactually I also think that 2-3 monthes ago something changed for you...no idea what, maybe you started to play more carefully the game, maybe you reduced your game load, maybe you are very young and improving fast, maybe something clicked in your mind and gave you a big boost...because 300 points in 3 months after lurking in 1450s for a couple of years is still a big improvement
(edit: or maybe you found out that DBs are allowed)
Iv been improving steadily the whole time, i just always used to spend a few seconds at most on moves for most of the games, except for better opponents, as i only really enjoyed playing the higher rated opponents. Recently i have started concentrating more on lower rated players as i want to get a higher rating to be able to play more higher rated opponents, its as simple as that. I know your not accusing me of cheating, i just want to make it plain that im not. I dont own a chess engine, and if i did it would have to be a veeery poor one to only have an 1800ish rating..
And i wasnt in the 1450s for a couple of years, iv only been playing chess since i joined the site in april last year.
Originally posted by mazziewagI noticed in you profile that you used to play a lot of higher rated players which would explain why your rating was suppressed and that more recently you've played more similar or lower rated players which explains the recent ratings climb as you say.
Iv been improving steadily the whole time, i just always used to spend a few seconds at most on moves for most of the games, except for better opponents, as i only really enjoyed playing the higher rated opponents. Recently i have started concentrating more on lower rated players as i want to get a higher rating to be able to play more higher rated opponen ...[text shortened]... 0s for a couple of years, iv only been playing chess since i joined the site in april last year.
But it does cause me to wince a little because I do study chess quite a bit, yet my rating doesn't climb so high so fast. This could be down to talent - just as some people can run faster than others, or having employment that uses skills that benefit chess , or previous exposure to chess before staring on this site, or being younger, or just playing more chess...or a mixture of all of the above. Could also be that my study is misguided!
What would be of interest would be to see where we both are in two years time. Will it be a tortoise and hare scenario where, with my study, I overtake in the long term while you plateau out or will my study simply allow me to catch up or even less.
I'll make a note in my scheduler to check your rating in a couple of years!!!
I dont study openings, this site can be very helpful for you here in redhotpawn. www.redhotpawn.com/gamesexplorer. you can see many different openings choose one that you think is good and it is not hard to follow it. If you play many game it will be easy for you later. It will come by itself if you just keep playing. so more you play better you will be.
- LoLLe
Originally posted by MahoutHaha look forward to it, i dont think ill get past 1900 and maintain it there, ever, without some study so im sure youll catch me up dont worry 😛
I noticed in you profile that you used to play a lot of higher rated players which would explain why your rating was suppressed and that more recently you've played more similar or lower rated players which explains the recent ratings climb as you say.
But it does cause me to wince a little because I do study chess quite a bit, yet my rating doesn't clim ...[text shortened]... even less.
I'll make a note in my scheduler to check your rating in a couple of years!!!