Why I'll never reach 1400

Originally posted by greenpawn34
Too many games in progress at your level.

It always happens that after a period of inactivity, I start a handful of games, gain a few rating points and then get overexcited and decide to see how high I can push my rating.

In my impatience I enter several tournaments, starting dozens of games and end up hacking through them and only getting truly engaged with maybe five or six of them.

My rating then tumbles, I lose my enthusiasm, stop playing and a few months later the process starts again... this has been the pattern for the last nine years on RHP!

An adage that baseball announcers use when describing teams that are on hot streaks or are in slumps -- you're never as good as you think you are when things are going especially well -- and you're never as bad as you think you are when things are going badly.

It might be good to just forget what your rating is and just focus on enjoying each game. (I need frequently need to remind myself to follow this advice). It'll prevent a lot of the highs and lows.

As for chess, one approach that I find is often helpful is to flip the board and pretend you're the other player and spend awhile in that mode. It's amazing what stuff you start noticing.

I also find that when you lose games, you're very rarely done in by a move you "expect" your opponent to make. Make it a goal to never lose a game because your opponent made a move you didn't expect. You're still going to lose games because you're going to mis-analyze positions, but vow NEVER to lose because your were be hit by surprise with a move you didn't even consider your opponent making.

Originally posted by Tiwaking
*light bulb goes off in head*
...Wow! No one has ever told me that. Sure, I've been told "Just give up" and "Nah its lost, just leave it". Not no one has ever bothered to say WHY you should give up

This is excellent advice and has become my quote of the day 😀

It makes sense, yes, but i still subscribe to the theory that the only sure fire way to lose a hopeless game is to resign. (which is exactly the logic i'm applying to our game, Tiwaking 😉 ) I mean, at what point can one safely say that a game is hopeless? Especially if one is lowly ranked and expected to appraise that situation for themself? I think there's stuff to be learned in all stages of the game, even in a hopeless endgame. 😉

Don't listen too closely to me though. I'm having trouble cracking 1400 myself.

Originally posted by greenpawn34
[Also resign if all hope is gone, players spend more time looking at and trying
to save totally lost games than they do the games that are still in the balance.

This is wasted effort that affects the games that are not lost.[/b]

My rule of thumb for lost positions is that I will continue to play if there are still

1) tactical complications that could reverse the outcome;

2) endgame possibilities that require good technique (at my level, technique should be tested, I believe); or

3) things for me to learn from the game (closely related to #2).

When I am clearly worse but not dead lost, I dramatically reduce my "deep think" effort in the game, and concentrate on placing my pieces on their best squares, and keeping a sharp eye out for tactics, especially the two move variety.

I have swindled many games like this, and I have also been swindled myself by other people ( 😞 ), so I think it works pretty well.

Originally posted by Sever
Don't listen too closely to me though. I'm having trouble cracking 1400 myself.

I dont know what the other player do, but here is my strategy:

Opening: Try to setup a familiar position

As soon as the position becomes unfamiliar: Figure out a good move. Make that move
If it enters familiar territory again: Load up the conditional moves (so I dont forget what I was doing)

*GO AWAY*

Come back: Setup board from start. Play through the game until it reaches the position again

Try to figure out a good move. Make move

Setup board from start and play through....


For example: In the game against sever, which is the longest game I have on record, I must have played through it at least....40 times


Trying to recapture the mindset you were in when making seemingly brilliant moves is much harder than actually making brilliant moves

Originally posted by Tiwaking
I dont know what the other player do, but here is my strategy:

Opening: Try to setup a familiar position

As soon as the position becomes unfamiliar: Figure out a good move. Make that move
If it enters familiar territory again: Load up the conditional moves (so I dont forget what I was doing)

*GO AWAY*

Come back: Setup board from start. Play thr ...[text shortened]... ere in when making seemingly brilliant moves is much harder than actually making brilliant moves

this is good, so many games i have lost because i had a cunning plan, went away and forgot what it was. the problem that i have faced is after the sacrifice of material. once i sacrificed a bishop knowing that i had a good return for it, but on returning to the board i forgot that i had done so, a few moves later i had to ask my opponent what happened to my light squared bishop, in which he informed me it had left the board. yes i understood that, but I was thinking, how did it happen, then i remembered my plan, but it was too late !

Originally posted by Chris
Yep, pretty horrifying! I've been watching my rating fall over the last 24 hours but thought I had this one in the bag.

Shame I missed 23... Nd4!

Some people have quoted some general principles, and while these are all valid comments i think i can sum up what went wrong in this game pretty easily...

You stopped looking for what your opponents best strategy would be.

I've lost count of the number of times i've been mated while i have a hefty material advantage. A good approach to chess in general is to spend a good part of your thinking time analysing the position as if you are playing from the other side. If you find a good move, then your move should be to counter that move. IF you're ahead (like in this game) find the most likely strategy your opponent can adopt and prevent it. There is no better way to convert a material advantage than to remove counter play from the position... 😉

Originally posted by Chris
It always happens that after a period of inactivity, I start a handful of games, gain a few rating points and then get overexcited and decide to see how high I can push my rating.

I am TOTALLY guilty of this too!! T-chex pointed out a good approach...instead of starting new games, analyse the games you already have and record conditional moves instead. 😉

Originally posted by Marinkatomb
You stopped looking for what your opponents best strategy would be

This is great advice, which reminds me: I have another tip!


If you are having trouble finding a 'good move', then do the opposite! Find the WORST move you could make and dont do it

Even better: Find the WORST move your opponent can make and try to make him do it, it is incredibly satisfying to do

great advice.

Originally posted by Marinkatomb
I am TOTALLY guilty of this too!! T-chex pointed out a good approach...instead of starting new games, analyse the games you already have and record conditional moves instead. 😉

This really is great advice. Instead of getting impatient because I have no games waiting for my move (and therefore creating more games so I have a greater flow), I should take my existing games, flip the board and try to figure out what I would do in my opponent's shoes and then save the notes.

This has the added benefit of it not being possible to send the notes as a message to my opponent which I have done on more than one occasion when it's been my move 🙂

Crap...
I would bet even against you that if you keep playing and spend about the same amount for chess that you spend now, in 3 years you will be way over 1400...

Originally posted by Tiwaking
This is great advice, which reminds me: I have another tip!


If you are having trouble finding a 'good move', then do the opposite! Find the WORST move you could make and dont do it

Even better: Find the WORST move your opponent can make and try to make him do it, it is incredibly satisfying to do

this actually might help you find good moves that would otherwise be easy to miss.

as you consider all sorts of "terrible" moves, you might discover that putting the knight en prise is a good move because the pawn is actually pinned - or you might realize that sacrificing that knight gives you a major advantage. Or you may discover that you opponent has these options available for his moves, allowing you to prevent it.

Nice game! I like your fork on f2 and the way you got out protected by the queen!
But I agree with Double G: you are dealing your attack with one piece at a time. You have to develop all the pieces you can and actually build up an attack. Good luck

Originally posted by Marinkatomb
Some people have quoted some general principles, and while these are all valid comments i think i can sum up what went wrong in this game pretty easily...

You stopped looking for what your opponents best strategy would be.

I've lost count of the number of times i've been mated while i have a hefty material advantage. A good approach to chess in ge ...[text shortened]... etter way to convert a material advantage than to remove counter play from the position... 😉

yes.

I think we all fall into the trap of thinking that our own "awesome strategy" is the ONLY strategy. So we assume that our opponent is thinking only about ways to defend against our own "awesome strategy". Totally missing the even more awesome strategy the opponent is actually planning that ultimately wins the game.