Chess, according to many, is one of the oldest and most noble games ever played, with the first evidence of the game being played in India in the 6th century AD, and continued to be played by generals and aristocrats for centuries. Numerous studies have been published on the benefits of playing chess, from developing perceptiveness, to improving memory, deepening focus, and even preventing dementia in old age. The interest in chess has been increasing due to the above stated, making many aware of the game and motivating them to play. If you happen to be one such player, and you are loving it, you are probably looking for new ideas and ways to become even better. Therefore, we summed up some useful tips on how to level up your game with these easy steps.
Work on your endgame
Usually, it takes some time until you come to the endgame part, where you are left only with a few pieces, maybe pawns, and of course the king. The basic idea of the endgame is to somehow manage to “cross the line” and promote one of the pieces to a queen. This can drastically change the whole outcome of the game, and by practicing different strategies, you can drastically improve it.
The beginning of the opening is just as critical as the endgame. Memorizing openings is regarded as the basics by every chess player, however, instead of losing focus by trying to remember specific strategies or openings, you can try to work on the fundamentals instead. These fundamentals can be learned if you go here in order to improve your skills in playing chess.
Practice as often as possible
The old saying goes, “practice makes perfect” and behind every great player are hours and hours of constant training. Chess players, especially professionals, are known to play for as long as 15 hours per day constantly working on their unique strategies and improving their game. Imagine what the sheer will and determination can amount to, once you implement a similar training practice. And, for these long hours, you’ll need a high-quality chessboard in a more tournament-style fashion. There are several options to choose from, but a tournament chess set comes down to the same thing- a silicone chessboard, nicely weighted pieces, a book to keep score, and a timer. This will prepare you for real tournaments and plays as it uniquely resembles the same experience. Basic sets may lack personalization, but they provide great boards that are easy to clean and wash, are lightweight (so you can bring it everywhere you go), and are typically extremely robust, allowing you to practice for hours on end. Chess is a game where a person may learn about himself/herself and acquire sophisticated cognitive skills; also, multiple studies have proven that there are no drawbacks to practicing for hours, except for probable weariness and dehydration (be safe and make little breaks).
Review all your games
Once you have completed a certain number of chess games, the time has come to look them over carefully and to make sure you have not made a mistake more than once over the course of time. If you keep making the same mistakes, you're not learning from your games, and you're limiting your capacity to develop your game techniques, resulting in you being a worse player.
Simply keep a record of every game played, look at the opponent's tactics, when did you hesitate, what move made you anxious and insecure, and how predictable was your play strategy. Look at possible patterns; if you happen to play according to a pattern, your opponents will at some point develop an offensive strategy as your game is predictable. Also, make sure to never let your ego take the better of you, and accept criticism.
Look at how professionals play
If you happen to be practicing for hours, days, months, and years and you have been working on your strategies, endgame, and reviewing your play, the next step is looking at how professionals, chess masters, do it. Looking at videos, current tournaments, or reading about the greatest players of all time and their strategies can give you new ideas, motivation, and a few new strategies you can use in your next game. Chess masters have spent decades perfecting their strategies thereby giving you the chance to learn from their experience. Check out Robert Fisher, Mihail Botvinnik, or the current holder of best player Magnus Carlsen. By carefully looking at how they manage to achieve victory, you can do it as well.
With these simple tips, you can come a long way, however, the main rule still stays - it will take a lot of time and patience until you ultimately achieve your goal.
