How To Get Better At Chess
Every chess player has different strengths and weaknesses.
Still, it is possible to make generalizations across different rating levels about what tends to be necessary for players to win chess matches at their own level. Armed with this knowledge, the reader can build a training plan to help them win more games and progress to higher levels!
In this article we look at how to get better at chess at four different chess rating levels:
- Beginner (under 1000)
- Intermediate (1000 - 1500)
- Advanced (1500 - 2000)
- Expert (above 2000)
Beginners (Elo Chess Ratings <1000)
Learn The Opening Fundamentals
As a beginner, you do not need to know any opening theory yet. Instead, you should simply follow the opening fundamentals:
- Develop your pieces from their starting squares.
- Try not to move any piece twice in the opening.
- Castle your king early.
Many beginners (and even a lot of intermediate players) flout these rules. They launch hopeful, premature attacks with only a fraction of their forces developed. They leave their king exposed to danger in the middle of the board. Experienced players will punish this kind of poor opening play.
If you can just follow the fundamentals, you will already be ahead of most other beginner chess players in the opening phase of the game.
White has followed the opening fundamentals - developing their pieces and castling quickly.
Focus On Not Blundering
Savielly Tartakower, a Polish chess master from the early 20th century once said: “The winner of the game is the player who makes the next-to-last mistake.”
This is especially true at the beginner level where mistakes from both players are plentiful. Pieces left open to capture, checkmates in one, basic tactics such as pins and forks and skewers - it’s all there in the typical beginner chess game.
As a result, if you can cut down the number of blunders you make, your rating will quickly progress.
You just need to do two things at this level:
- Avoid blundering (don’t leave pieces without defenders, learn the basic chess tactics, etc…).
- Take advantage of your opponents' blunders (which will certainly come, if your opponent is a beginner too).
Easier said than done, of course! But concentrate hard and try to make blunder avoidance your top priority.
A useful question to constantly ask yourself is: “If I make this move I’m thinking of making - what would my opponent’s best reply be?” This, by the way, is a great question to ask yourself in chess at higher levels too - so get into the habit now!
Related: 1001 Chess Exercises For Beginners, available from the USCF store.
Intermediate (Elo Chess Ratings 1000 - 1500)
Select Openings Based On Your Playing Style
As an intermediate chess player, you should start to develop a proper opening repertoire.
By now, you probably have a feeling for the sorts of chess games you most enjoy. Do you thrive in tactical complications? Or do you prefer a slower, more stable game? Different chess openings tend to lead to different sorts of games. You should learn these and pick openings based on your strengths as a chess player.
If you need some help building your opening repertoire, check out our articles on:
Train Your Tactical Skills Regularly
As your chess level improves, the tactics become more complicated. Therefore, one of the best ways to improve at this level is to make tactics training a regular habit.
Practice solving positions such as the one shown below, taken from Steinitz vs. Van Foreest, 1896.
Black to move. Can you find the way Black can force a winning position?
By training tactics regularly, you will:
- Start recognizing tactical motifs more quickly and intuitively.
- Be less likely to offer tactical opportunities to your opponents (i.e. fewer blunders).
- Improve your calculation skills.
One of the top books for tactics training for intermediate and advanced chess players is The Woodpecker Method which is available from the USCF store.
Advanced (Elo Chess Ratings 1500 - 2000)
Opening Memorization Becomes Necessary
Once you cross 1500, it starts to become useful to memorize some of the openings move-by-move. As your rating climbs closer to the 2000 mark, it becomes absolutely essential.
For example, if you intend to play a King’s Indian Defense (with either color) against an advanced chess player, then you had better know the theory. Sharp openings such as these are replete with moments where the player who plays more accurately in the opening will get a large and long-lasting advantage for the rest of the game.
At this level, you will benefit greatly from building your chess opening library. Here is a list of recommended chess opening books for advanced players.
Study Strategic Concepts
”Tactics flow from a superior position” said the legendary American World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer.
Advanced chess players do not offer up many tactical chances unprovoked. To win against players at this level, you must first build your positional advantage by outplaying your opponent to the point where the tactics appear.
Concepts such as these become vital:
- Weak squares
- Isolated pawns
- Dynamic advantage
An example is shown below from Tal vs. Bilek, 1963.
Black’s knight has just captured a White piece on e5. Should White recapture on e5 with the pawn, with the bishop, or with the rook?
White to move. Black has just captured Nxe5. How should White recapture?
Studying positions like this one is helpful for advanced chess players. It is the sort of decision that can often appear during a game, and making a good choice will help build a positional advantage.
By recapturing with the pawn (i.e. fxe5), White gains:
- Time - by pushing the Black knight on f6 away with tempo.
- Better squares - because once the Black knight leaves f6, the e4 square is available for White’s own knight.
- Open lines - by opening the f-file for the benefit of White’s queen.
Related: Chess Strategy for Club Players, available from the USCF store.
Expert (Elo Chess Ratings 2000+)
Deep Opening Preparation
As you enter the 2000+ league, you must expect that your opponents will know all the main lines in the openings within their repertoires. This means the element of surprise in the opening becomes relevant. You should be looking to research the games your upcoming opponents have played in the past using databases such as ChessBase, and look for novelties to get your opponent out of their memorized opening preparation.
An example from one of my own recent tournaments where I had the White pieces against a titled player. We were playing a Scotch Game, and I confidently knew the first 10 moves by heart. Then, he hit me with a move I had never seen before 10. …g5!?
White to play - Black has just played the surprising 10. …g5!?
It turned out that my opponent had found one of my past games and prepared this line in anticipation that I would probably play the same first few moves again. I had never seen 10. …g5?! before, and spent 25 minutes thinking. Though it seems to sacrifice a pawn, I was uncomfortable taking fxg5 because of how weak my pawn on e5 would become, with my king still in the middle.
Despite consuming a lot of time, my next move (11. g3?) turned out to be a mistake - which my opponent instantly capitalized on. The game was over before it had really begun.
Hone Your Endgame Technique
The endgame becomes vital at the 2000+ chess elo rating. Games between experts will reach the endgame more often than games at lower levels. If you shied away from the endgame before, you will no longer be able to ignore it.
It is very helpful to know what sorts of endgames are winning, drawing and losing. That way, you can steer the game towards positions which favor you, and avoid those which do not.
Just as importantly, you must know how to conduct these endgames - because many are quite difficult to figure out while at the board if you have not studied the technique previously.
Related: Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual, available from the USCF store.
Final Thoughts: How To Get Better At Chess
As you can see, there is a great deal that goes into becoming a strong chess player.
The road to chess mastery is not an easy one. If it were easy, then everyone would do it!
Still, it can feel overwhelming. So, to wrap up this article, here are three things that any player - of any level - can do to improve their chess.
1. Play With Slower Time Controls. Analyze Your Games Afterwards.
Most players are guilty of indulging in too much blitz and bullet chess.
These quick time controls are the chess equivalent of a sugar rush. While they have their place, and can be a lot of fun, overdosing on blitz and bullet chess is ultimately not very good for your game.
If there is one thing that nearly every chess coach agrees on - it is this: the best way to achieve real chess improvement is through playing longer games.
Longer Time Controls
Playing with longer time controls means you:
- have enough time to think carefully about the position.
- can make decisions based on your understanding of chess.
- can calculate forced sequences (such as tactics) to the best of your ability.
In blitz and bullet chess, there is no time to do any of that. Instead, you must play on “instinct”. This can actually harm your chess performance, because it can get you into the habit of being impulsive - playing the first moves which come to mind.
Noted chess personality John Bartholomew recommends serious chess improvers play with 15 minutes + 10 second increment per move at a minimum - and even longer if possible.
Related: Check out our range of chess clocks from the USCF store.
Just as important is to review your games after you have played them.
Far too many players move immediately from one game to the next. But without studying your games, you are doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again.
Pay particular attention to the critical moments where there was a pivotal decision to make. What was your thought process like? Did you understand the position properly? What ended up happening? What can you learn and apply for next time?
The analysis process can be enhanced with the aid of a computer, or with a chess coach. However, try to do your own assessment first, so that you can then compare your thoughts with what your coach or the computer says about it. In this way, you can build your understanding of the game.
2. Focus On Improving Your Greatest Weakness.
In chess, it is generally better to work on the weakest areas of your game, rather than dedicate more time to those aspects which you are already strong at.
Surprisingly few players heed this advice. They would rather spend their time on the parts of chess where they feel competent, than do the uncomfortable (but necessary) work of strengthening their weaknesses.
For example, there are countless chess players who dislike studying the endgame - and so they never do - and so they keep suffering unnecessary losses in the endgame.
Related: 100 Endgames You Must Know, available from the USCF store.
A useful question to ask from time to time is: “why do I lose most of my chess games?”
The answer is different for everyone.
For some, it might be blunders. If this is the case, placing a greater focus on looking for your opponent’s best moves can reduce your blunder rate.
Others may find their results are particularly poor in games beginning with a certain opening. For them, a change in their opening repertoire may make all the difference.
The point is, once you take the time to appraise why you are losing, the potential “fix” will automatically become clearer to you.
Once you have clarity about what your greatest weakness in chess is - go to work on it.
3. Remember To Have Fun.
It is natural to feel frustrated when your chess improvement is not as rapid as you would like. All of us have been through phases where it all seems too hard and we wonder whether we should have chosen a different hobby!
At times like this, remind yourself that chess is a game. At the end of the day, it is something which should bring joy to your life.
It is always OK to take a step back from serious chess improvement and to simply enjoy the game for a while.
One of the best ways to keep chess fresh is to explore a new opening. If you are open to experimenting, check out our articles dedicated to these exciting chess gambits:
Another way to make chess more pleasurable is to study and play on a high-quality chess board. The USCF store has a wide range of wooden chess boards with a level of top-quality craftsmanship to match your passion for the game.
Good luck on your chess improvement journey!