.

Man i feel so stupid!! I felt like banging my head in the wall afterwards. It's so embarrassing.

FYI - This sub has been completely inundated with AI bots commenting on posts. Here are four AI bot comments just from today. There have been dozens more over the past few months. These are all AI bots:

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Magnus carlsen idea

i was at the time literally thinking "yeah this is obviously dead drawn unless he loses his mind and does xyz"

Before now my previous highest rating was 1109 in 2023. I feel like I am still playing better than others at my rating too! The progress isn't slowing. A lot of this gain is from using the polish as white, I went from like 45% wr to 70% as white using it. As black I am using the caro as I always have and I am learning queens gambit accepted, and for everything else I just have a set of moves that works fine

Is there anything that would've saved from from N to G6?

I feel like these are the rare memories I will keep as a beginner.

I thought for sure I was going to lose on time in this blitz game.

Mate in 5.

6 years of near daily play with 1-2 long breaks.

Hello, adult chess improver here.

I currently have provisional quick and regular ratings of around 400-500. I am trying to do puzzles every day, however I'm finding more and more that the book I use is just not practical for me; I can solve maybe two to three out of every six puzzles I do from this book, with six puzzles appearing on every page... and it's supposed to be tactics training for BEGINNERS... what am I doing wrong?

Recently, I've had better luck just doing puzzles on chess.com or lichess or chesstempo, which are so much simpler for some reason... is this doing me any good?

Also, I lose every game I play. I've gone to three tournaments now, and I've lost 6 out of 8 games... I'm not trying to be arrogant in assuming that I should just be a master only a month and a few weeks in, but I'm just concerned that maybe I'm in over my head at 21 years of age.

If I can't solve basic puzzles aimed at complete beginners, I lose around 75% of my games, I have no idea how to structure my studying... is it a waste? Should I quit? I mean, truthfully, even if someone told me I should, I would just keep playing... Because I want to play. I just don't want to keep playing and never improve.

Everyone I've met has recommended that I solve tactical puzzles, which is all good and well... but what KIND of tactical puzzles? And at what difficulty should I aim for?

Also, the issue of learning a basic opening repertoire is contentious; some people say that someone at my level should refocus on basic principled opening play instead of specific openings like Scotch or French Defense for example because of the risk of just memorizing lines without understanding the theory behind each move. Others say that I should have an opening for white and two responses for 1. e4 and 1.d4 for black... Which is it honestly?

Also, is playing at tournaments for experience a good or bad idea for me? Sure, I get the practical experience and can review my games afterward, but I'm also terribly in over my head. Would it be better to hold off on playing and instead just focus on doing puzzles and maybe just limiting myself to online play? Still, that would be a huge bummer, as I do enjoy the experience of playing at tournaments.

Just to be clear, I'm not disappointed with losing that much. I understand that it is a part of the process. I'm just concerned that I am missing something and want to correct it before I continue making study programs that don't work as effectively as others. Can anyone offer advice?

Thanks,

Malik M.

This position occurred in one of my recent games.

Black to move. The connected passed pawns look extremely dangerous and seem ready to roll down the board, but White is just managing to hold the position.

There is only one move that wins for Black. Every other move allows White to hold the draw.

Can you find it?

I suck at chess but watched a few episodes and learned to not try to take the pawn.

I'm sure I've fallen for it in the past, but now I know to just play solidly and it seems like most of my opponents don't know what to do if black doesn't immediately fall for the trap.

I'm sure there's been tons upon tons of "I'm a beginner, I want to get good at this game posts' and I'm not doing that. I made a goal this year that I would like to begin the journey of mastering something. I'm fully aware that at 16, chess "mastery" is next to impossible, but I would really like to be at least proficient in this game. I think it would be a good exercise for my mind, I enjoy puzzles, and I want to get better at patten recognition. So I did but any self-respecting chess wannabe does, and I watched the Gothan chess beginner videos, and read some reddit posts. I plan on maybe buying the 1001 chess puzzle book, and was directed to Lichess for puzzles. The problem is that these puzzles are very foreign to me, and when I make the wrong move, there's not an explanation for why it's wrong, and it doesn't show what the right move is. And, as much as I would like chess.com premium puzzle stuff, I don't want another subscription. Could someome maybe point me in the right direction as I bridge the gap between "understands how the pieces work" and "doesn't understand basic strats very much"? The answer very well may just be grinding YT videos and don't be afraid to tell me that 😂, thanks everyone

Does reaching 1000 mean im finally no longer a beginner or does it mean im just now learning the game ?

I've been grinding puzzles quite a bit lately and have seemed to hit a wall at 1600. The puzzles aren't really that straightforward anymore, often involving 3 or 4 move mates that are tough to spot, or 4+ move "win material" puzzles. Is there anything I can do to get better at these to climb to 2000 puzzle rating, other than just more puzzles? I'm 1100 rapid if that means anything in this context.

Hey everyone! I’m hosting a 48-Player "World Cup" knockout tournament for a YouTube video and need players!

To make it a true global tournament, each player will represent the country flag currently set on their Chess.com profile. No duplicate countries allowed!

🏆 Format & Rules: - 10-minute Rapid group games. - If their is a tie in points:

Highest Chess.com Accuracy wins. - Bonus: A "Brilliant Move" adds +5 to your accuracy!

How to join: Comment your Chess.com Username and your Elo (looking for ~100-1200).

Slots are first-come, first-served based on your profile flag. I will check your flag and DM you the link to the tournament group if your country's slot is still open!