Play online chess
5/22/26
5/21/26
Study Tactics Daily! (When Possible)
If you want to become stronger at chess, studying tactics consistently is one of the fastest ways to improve.
The average 1800-level player has relatively limited chess knowledge, but is strong tactically.
Chess skill is largely based on pattern recognition. The goal is to improve your pattern recognition so that you rarely miss one-, two-, and three-move tactics. Even if an 1800-level player doesn't spot a tactic immediately, their pattern recognition is often strong enough to alert them that a position may contain a tactical opportunity, prompting them to calculate more deeply.
Many players develop tactical strength simply by playing a large amount of speed chess, but studying tactics is a more time-efficient way to build pattern recognition.
Consistency is the key. I recommend 30 minutes of tactical study per day. I know a couple of people who improved tremendously by studying tactics for 60 to 90 minutes daily, but most people don't have that kind of time. Thirty minutes a day is a good goal, but if that feels overwhelming, 15 to 20 minutes per day, done consistently, will still improve your tactical ability.
More than 20 years ago, I spent a year studying 300 Most Important Chess Positions for just ten minutes each night before bed, along with other tactical exercises. After that period of study, I achieved some of my best tournament results.
I recommend repeatedly working through the one-, two-, and three-move tactics on my website. Don't be afraid of repetition; repetition builds pattern recognition. With enough practice, a 2000-level player should be able to complete all of the White-to-move problems in the one-, two-, and three-move sections in about 30 minutes.
These tactics problems, along with the book Sharpen Your Tactics, helped me improve from 1800 to 1900.
The books 300 Most Important Chess Positions and Practical Chess Exercises, together with the 1,000 problems in the Shredder app—which I enjoy so much that I have worked through them at least 30 times—helped me improve from 1900 to 2000.
Thoughts on Getting Better at Chess
Players need to work on tactical pattern recognition and calculation. These are two sides of the same coin. We can't calculate very well unless we can also recognize the patterns on the chessboard.
My personal goal is to be able to either recognize or calculate 3 move tactics while playing speed chess. I think that there is a difference from 1500 to 2000 where the players go from calculating tactics to recognizing more of them instantly. Starting in the late-1990s, I spent a great deal of time studying tactics and this took me from 1800 to 2000.
Many people claim that speed chess is bad, but I don't agree. It builds pattern recognition and teaches quick calculation, although it depends upon the person. Speed chess can create bad habits and some people just need more time to calculate.
There is this idea called The Woodpecker Method and a book by the same name. The method is to study the same set of a thousand tactical problems repeatedly. Each time you do them you will get faster at doing the entire set. Another author, Michael de La Maza, had the same idea in a book called Rapid Chess Improvement. Before he wrote his book, he first published it as an article, but first, he sent the article to me to ask what I thought of it, because I was already advocating the same idea in my online chess lessons.
5/20/26
5/19/26
Chess Vision Browser Extension
If you have Google Chrome, I suggest downloading the browser extension called "Chessvision.ai". This allows you to analyze any position in the web browser.
5/18/26
5/15/26
5/14/26
5/13/26
5/12/26
5/11/26
Practice This Exercise on a Chess Board!
Many players have trouble with knights, because their movement is less intuitive, so may players will fall prey to knight forks.
The purpose of this exercise is to practice seeing more quickly where the knight can move. The black pawns never move in this exercise. The goal is to make legal knight moves to take the knight from square a1 to square b1, however with the limitation that the knight can never land on the black pawns or where the pawns can capture. For example, the pawn on c3 can capture on b2 and d2, making all three squares off-limits to the knight.
The knight can get to b1 in three moves by moving Nc2, Na3, and then Nb1. The next goal is to get the knight from square b1 to square c1 following the same rules. One of many ways to do that is to play Na3, and then Nc2, Nd4, Nb3, and then finally Nc1.
After that, the goals are to get to d1, e1, f1, g1, h1, h2, f2, c2, a2, a3, b3, d3, etc. until the entire board is reached in this fashion.
A good class A player with practice should be able to do the entire board in less than 3 minutes. However, for lower-ranked players, this might take much longer, even with practice.
Doing this exercise will actually help you win more games by making you better with your knights.
The knight can get to b1 in three moves by moving Nc2, Na3, and then Nb1. The next goal is to get the knight from square b1 to square c1 following the same rules. One of many ways to do that is to play Na3, and then Nc2, Nd4, Nb3, and then finally Nc1.
After that, the goals are to get to d1, e1, f1, g1, h1, h2, f2, c2, a2, a3, b3, d3, etc. until the entire board is reached in this fashion.
A good class A player with practice should be able to do the entire board in less than 3 minutes. However, for lower-ranked players, this might take much longer, even with practice.
Doing this exercise will actually help you win more games by making you better with your knights.
Sometimes I practice this exercise in my head without a board.
5/08/26
5/02/26
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