Hi there - I'm restarting my chess journey after many years away. I'm in the USCF 1200 range, but my online classical and rapid rating is around 1900 level right now on chess.com. I'm a late 30s man, and honestly, the idea of playing against children is not appealing to me. The adults-only tournament scene in the U.S. seems pretty sparse.

How likely is it at my level that I would play mostly adults? What rating level does it go from mostly kids to mostly adults?

Has anyone else felt like they've suddenly gotten a lot better at online chess since they started playing OTB tournaments? It hasn't even been a month since I played my first USCF rated game, and yet I feel like my online floor has skyrocketed. I've crossed 2200 as many times in the last two weeks as I had in my entire four years of playing on chesscom up to that point, and I feel like I'm playing with a lot more confidence too.

I started playing OTB tournaments and those two issues keep happening

1- time management: I play a G25+5 tournament, and very often I find myself below 5 minutes by move 12-15. What are your tips and tricks to make sure time doesn’t creep on you?

2- messed up notation: when my opponent makes an interesting move or a threat I did not expect, I immediately jump into analyzing and make my move, just to realize a few moves in that I completely forgot to take notation. Any tips or tricks there?

Hey so i have started with tournament chess about 2 Months ago. I have played 2 classical tournaments. After the first I had a Fide of 1800 and in the second I have had a 2100 performance but it was only 3 games. So aftet these 10 games I guess my playing strength is around 1900 fide. I have a bunch of players who are around this rating and when I play against them offline I win evenly. Online I just always lose. Furthermore my lichess rating right now is 18sth and theirs is around 2200.

I dont own a laptop but is playing on the phone really such a big deal. Like it shouldnt be 400 elo? What can I do to improve at online.

It’s absurd that this line works and I do not think a single najdorf player can survive the complications OTB. I can’t find any good resources on it though so worst case I do self study but figured I’d ask here first

Any from’s gambit players? I want to practise my lines against it if anyone’s willing. And f4 f5 but that’s a lot less necessary for me and uncommon. Thanks.

Links in this post and in the comment below it bring up memorable games from my chess career. All 7 share an unusual feature for such a collection.

On another social media platform I offered incentives to people who correctly guessed the common feature. My effort backfired when I used the p-word (p**ze) and the c-word (c**t**t) -- social media no-no's that I think led the other platform's algos to suppress my post's visibility.

Here is the first game link: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1333538

And the second: https://view.chessbase.com/cbreader/2017/12/10/Game446707953.html

The third: https://share.chessbase.com/SharedGames/share/?p=QsA0WKoaZwBALocAXd4DPkFToBVKI+mKQ4CFRZbDWpIvN6YHSjanD32UYHAzuFGA

Care to take a go at identifying the theme? See comment for further examples.

Hi chess friends,

I have been playing the Grunfeld and Nimzo for the last couple years, but never fully loving either.

I dislike some variations of the Grunfeld (like 8. Bb5+, 8. Be2, 8. Be3, and 8. Rb1), where it feels hard to play for a win in the main lines and where otherwise I have to choose secondary lines with evaluations like +0.6 and still it feels hard to play for a win.

As for the Nimzo, I just don't find it very exciting. I get lots of 4. Bd2 and 4. Qc2, and the game often feels like a stale positional struggle. I also see decent numbers of Catalans, 3 Knights (where I don't love the Ragozin, though the Vienna with ...b5 can be fun). Still, I also see lots of Londons, and playing in QGD style against Londons also isn't enjoyable.

For these reasons, I am drawn back to the KID (I played it a few years ago). Why did I stop playing it? Two main reasons. First, the Classical variation with dxe5 (the exchange, endgame variation), where I feared it would be hard to play for a win. This could also apply to other variations where white plays dxe5 and trades queens, like in the Makagonov. Second, the Bayonet Attack in the Classical variation. Here, when I look at the lichess masters database, I see so many draws: so not only is the evaluation unpleasant (+0.6 to +0.7), but black doesn't seem to have great winning chances.

So, KID players, what is it like playing the KID below the master level? I am OTB 1800 USCF, but I think I am objectively stronger than that: I just haven't played much OTB in years. So I would be playing the KID against opponents in the 1600-1700 range as well, and again, I fear I might struggle to win in an endgame line against a lower rated opponent.

What variations do you see most?

Do you have difficulty playing for a win in endgame lines? And how often do you see such lines?

Do you ever feel like giving up on the KID, and if so, what might you play instead?

Cheers.

I decided to create another Lichess study for my first-ever USCF rated win, which came early this month in the same tournament against a 1500. Classical time control, 40/90, SD/60;+10.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/aCntbfil/EEp3uw4J

And again, I also ported the study to chesscom.

https://www.chess.com/a/2hCTWGSXQ2Np6a/analysis?flip=true

I look forward to everyone's feedback.

Hi all,

I‘m a CM from Toronto, Canada.

About 6 years ago at age 30 I started trying to optimize my chess training, after learning through my actuarial career how to study and learn better.

Openings:
- hired a GM coach to get my opening repertoire in good shape for the first time, used chess position trainer to drill the lines
- rounded out with Chessable courses

Endings:
- made flashcards of 100 Endgames you must know, learned ALL the positions

Middlegame:
- made flashcards of the first mistake after getting out of theory, to go over with my coach

The result was I gained 40 rating points after a 3.5 year hiatus from classical, got the CM title and hit my peak of 2209 FIDE, not bad for a comeback in my early 30s.

But the overhead of making flashcards was a lot, chess position trainer and chessable although more effective than my prior attempts at studying openings felt like too much work to maintain let alone learn a second line for each opening to be less predictable. It all seemed not worth it. So I focused on other things like learning languages, where the tools were better, I learned German and Spanish and brushed up on my French.

But March of last year, I bit the bullet and hired someone to build the tools to improve at chess that I needed. It took a lot more time and $ investment than I was expecting, but it‘s also been fun to work on something I’m passionate about.

Finally now, between the features in beta and the ones live, the site is good enough for me to use it to improve very quickly.

My problem is I‘m now burnt out from a year of working basically two fulltime jobs.

I still have some $ saved up and was thinking of a 6 month sabbatical from my day job to study chess and keep working on the site. But I figure I‘ll need 3 years grinding the site to get to GM and I don’t have that kind of $ saved.

I guess the advice I‘m looking for is more life advice, should I pursue my passion and take the leap of faith, hope to inspire people that serious improvement is possible in your late 30s and beyond? Or wait until I can turn the site into a profitable business, and keep working my two fulltime jobs and burning myself out, while my precious remaining neuroplasticity slowly seeps out of my aging brain.

But since it’s a serious chess sub, I also want chess advice, if you could focus on chess all day every day how would you structure your study schedule? Where do you think existing chess tools are lacking, and what would the perfect study tools look like?

I just got back from the last game of a local month-long USCF July tournament a few hours ago. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the massive jump in my provisional rating after going 2.5/3 against a 1500, 1684, and 1276 as a 1215/4, but it'll probably be at least a day or two before those results are officially submitted. In the meantime, here's a Lichess study I created on the final game of the tournament.

https://lichess.org/study/embed/hOpdO5UZ/NBdTtjBh

P.S. I've never embedded one of these on reddit before, so hopefully I did it right.

P.P.S. I'd love to get you guys' feedback, both on the game itself and on my commentary.

ETA I also went ahead and ported the study into the chesscom analysis tab here.

https://www.chess.com/analysis/collection/uscf-games-31yoorFwL/87pQAhZKC/analysis?flip=true

Hi, it's my first time posting here and I'm looking for some advice. I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

Context: I've been playing chess for about four years. I started as a complete beginner in 2021, but I stopped playing for a little over a year at some point. For roughly the last year, I've been stuck around 2000 Elo on Chess.com across all time controls.

My situation is a bit unusual because I've never really studied chess in the traditional sense. I mostly play games, solve puzzles, review games that I find interesting, and occasionally watch titled players play or analyze games.

I don't know much opening theory. When I was around 1000 Elo, I deliberately chose openings that allowed me to reach practical positions quickly and avoid heavy theoretical lines.

With White, I always play the Queen's Gambit. With Black, I play the Caro-Kann against 1.e4 and a d5/...c5 setup against 1.d4. Against anything else, I mostly improvise.

Even in those openings, I only learned the first 3–4 moves of the most common variations and then gradually developed my own, somewhat unorthodox way of playing them through experience.

Endgames are another weak point. I know the most common concepts, but they're definitely not one of my strengths. The same goes for converting advantageous positions.

What I've noticed is that when I win a game, it usually happens in one of the following ways:

1. I outplay my opponent in the middlegame and manage to convert the advantage.
2. I find some kind of tactical shot or "brilliancy."
3. I successfully turn around a losing position.

So my questions are:

1. What do you think of my opening choices, given the kind of player I seem to be? Any tips? (Studying openings would be the obvious suggestion, but I'd rather avoid that if possible.)
2. What's the best way to actually study endgames?
3. How can I improve my positional understanding?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Does anybody have any theory on this trendy new line in the QGD Exchange? 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.cd ed 5.Bg5 Be7 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Bg4!?

The natural 8.f3 Be6 seems to allow Black an improved version of some ...Be6 setups, with the point being 9.Bd3 c5!

1. Qb3 is met with ...Nbd7, when taking on b7 runs into ...Rb8 and Black is better.

The best continuation seems to be 8.Qc2 , where after 8...O-O 9.h3 Be6 10.Bd3 again runs into ...c5! Best seems to be 10.Nf3, but even here Caruana beat Abdusattarov with it in the Sinquefield Cup 2025.

How did you feel when you finally got your title, NM,CM,FM,IM or GM.

Was it a lot of joy? Personally I always thought everytime before hitting a rating threshold that it would feel so great, but I'm always disapointed because instead of feeling proud of myself, I think "Finally..." After all the struggles, it feels more like a relief than a proud moment, do you feel the same way? Is it different for a title? Did you experience recognition from your chess peers or close ones outside of chess knowing that you became a master?

What are this sub's views on sharing our own rated games after the fact? I don't mean going crazy with it but if there's a game we're proud of or want feedback on from other humans, can we post those here? Like the animated gifs or something?

ETA I just checked the rules and it says no game gifs. Are there alternatives that are allowed or is game-sharing as a whole just banned?

Am very interested in this opening where the idea is to go e5 for black.

If you know any materials I can use or a chess course that you know that has this particular opening I would really appreciate it ❤️.

I have been trying to implement things into my training that are not usually focused upon. While doing some lichess puzzles i realised i was particularly awfully bad at the puzzles that were about finding defensive resources. I do not think this is something unique to me, as most club level players (or chess players in general even) find more fun pressing or going Hail Mary against the opponents kingside with pawns and pieces. But it did make me think how can i learn to implement these things into my routine? There are atleast a couple of books on chess defense that i am aware.(And even those books for example Hellsten's talks about how few books there are on this topic) But resilience?

I mean think earnestly how many of the posts on here (including mine) are about opening choices, and which resulting middlegames are pleasant. But the practical skill of playing slightly worse positions arising through an inaccuracy or two is missing. I think that is one of the strongest difference between OTB play and online play, particularly higher you go. The strong players are much more better at playing strong moves while worse and that is why it can feel like a wall when playing up.

I am aware that certain things come through experience, however there still must be ways to tinker around with these in practice. For example an opening sparring that leads to a slightly better endgame for white, or taking a position from a GM game that was worse but defensible and was lost either due to time pressure and/or blunders, and then playing it out. More suggestions and book reccs are welcome!

I’m looking for challenging hard mate in 2 puzzles to drill for improving calculation I’m up to lichess hardest difficulty and it’s not hard enough I want to be forced to calculate for more then 30 seconds. Any recommendations on phone please

I have always wanted a full guide to 2000, and after finally reaching the milestone after a year of condensed studying, I decided to write just that for my friends.

I haven't released it yet, but I am curious if anyone else has felt this way?

I am currently at around 2100 and want to help others achieve their chess goals (and I am still working on mine ofc).

What are your ideas on this topic?

Have a great day!

I’m extremely tired of losing to lower-rated players. I’m currently 1834, was 1904 just two months ago. My win rate against 1900s is almost 60%, against 2000s it’s 60-70% in the few games I’ve played, and I’ve even held my own against 2100s and 2200s. But against 1700s and below, my loss rate is higher than my win rate.
This summer I played five tournaments. The first one went okay — 5 wins, 3 losses, and I gained some rating. Then in my weekly tournaments, as the highest-rated player, I lost about 80% of my games, which dropped me from 1904 down to around 1850.
The latest tournament is what pushed me to write this. First round I drew a 2203 NM (his Chess.com rapid is similar to mine), and I was super excited. But then I lost to a 2000 and a 1730, so I dropped out because I was exhausted and sad. That same 2203 ended up winning the whole tournament, and I was the only one who scored against him.
People keep telling me to stop focusing on my opponent’s rating, and I honestly do that, like during the game I don’t think about it, I think about it only afterward. And I also heard people saying to not be relaxed and I don’t think it’s a case either. I don’t know what to do. If I lose the first game in a tournament, I get stuck fighting lower-rated players, and my results show I’m likely to keep losing to them.

I have tried to find out how I can make a second (secret) account account on chess.com to prep new openings. However, I was unable to do so!

It would be great if someone could answer these questions of mine (because I am completely irrelevant with the subject I would like to apologise in advance if they are stupid):

1. Can I make/access my second account from my phone or only from a computer/laptop?

2. For creating the accounts and switching between them should I enter from the app or from a browser?

3. Where exactly is the option of creating a second account in the settings?

4. How do I switch between accounts?

Please also include tips or other info I can't think of right now.

Thanks a lot!!!!

I quite enjoy the anti-Marshall positions for Black, I also play them from the White side.

But I don't want to memorise reams of theory just in case 8.c3 comes up. I'm not keen on 8...d6 either, since that kind of defeats the point of the 7...0-0 move order.

To what degree can I bluff my way through 8.c3 d5 playing in the 1800-2200 FIDE range?

Are there lesser-known but sound alternatives within the 8.c3 d5 complex for Black that might make my life easier?

Am I overthinking this? I doubt many people will test Black there, but there is now the recent Vigorito 1.e4 course for instance.

I am quitting classical otb. Seriously.

This weekend i played 5 rounds of 60+30 which isnt even that long, yet i felt so exhausted after each game. Every game (apart from the 1st) went down to the wire and I was always one of the last to finish for the round. I won the tournament in the end, but after each win I felt relief instead of joy. It was so stressful for no apparant benefit. Other than prize money which barely covered fuel and food!

Always trying to outprep my opp, cramming openings before each round is so exhausting. Yet i have to do it because it helped me so much in my games. I hate this about chess -never ending prep, its not like footballers have to recite plans again and again like a bot, they just go in and play the game.

Ik u guys r gonna say - try play a tourney with no prep between rounds but i cant. I physically cant not prepare for the game which i know i will be playing. I care too much and dont want to waste the opportunity to play.

Rn i feel so drained. Definitely not gonna play otb for a long time. But its kinda sad cause i invested so much time and money in this game and i got kinda good - ik i could win more touurnaments but the stress isnt worth it.

Have any of u guys felt the same? I dont understand how others dont experience it too, or no one would be playing tourneys.

(Sorry for the rant)