4 Ways To Revamp Your Chess

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Good stuff! 👍

[@aussierule]

One of my favorite teachers!

[@theycallmekowalski]

I have some questions concerning your proposed lengths of study. You say 4 to 6 weeks for calculation, a month for the endgame... How do you go about studying after those time spans? Do you just look at the stuff casually?

[@davidstephenson416]

LOL

[@ChessDojo]

@@theycallmekowalski I would suggest moving on to a new topic of focus (middlegames, endgames, openings, etc.)

[@screamingliner]

The added value of studying endgames is that the value and capabilities of the pieces are truly highlighted. This type of knowledge helps your entire game.

[@tomekduresov706]

Happy new year, I'm really glad that I found this channel last year, it is by far the best chess chennel on youtube for people who want to improve and get to the next level, no BS or fake promises.. and special thanks goes to GM Jesse Kraai for changing my view of chess board, pieces, and general understanding, you guys make a great team, just keep doing what you're doing in the following (present) 2021.

[@ChessDojo]

Thank you so much for the kind words!

[@b.1565]

Did you hang on?

[@patrickfinney2623]

Thank you great stuff!! Follow up 5-1-23 - i bought this app and am 300 puzzles into it and i can already see improvement in the way i approach the game, but it is hard, really makes you think things through, and presents new approaches, that i had not seen before. So again, thank you!!

[@miggylobos1]

Thanks for the advice. I will try to crush each one individually: 1. Winning Chess by Chernev and Reinfeld for Tactics. 2. Smyslov Endgame Virtuoso. 3. Amateur's Mind for positional. 4. Mcdonald's Catalan book.

[@ChessDojo]

Great, best of luck!

[@SaurabhXDD]

So instructive Kostya really appreciated

[@chetheflin7447]

Thanks for your channel during 2020! Amateurs rated U1000 like myself face many weird non-book moves in the opening. Even though I have learned to a degree a few mainline openings, the really off-beat moves are not covered in books. I made it a goal for 2021 to review my openings after every online game and fix any mistakes. I’m already gaining confidence in my opening play after just two days, being retired and playing a lot right now. I record the online openings and fixes in a little book I titled, “My Amateur Chess Openings”. 👍

[@kdub1242]

Hi Kostya, HNY! I'm curious about your experience, especially with students, on how to profit most from playing over games collections. Some of of the more distinct views I've heard are: 1. You must cover up and guess each move of the "hero" playing the game. I believe Nimzowitsch and, for example, also Purdy advocated this. or 2. You must play over all variations, and squeeze all you can out of a game before going on to another. Maybe Yusupov suggested this type of study. or 3. Just spend 15 or 20 minutes per game, mostly on the main line, only occasionally going into variations for specific questions. Try to pick up patterns on how various positions are played, then go on to another game. In other words try to learn the most "per unit time" of study, rather than "per unit game" of study, because the supply of annotated games these days is huge. I think Heisman advocated this approach. Of course the "correct" answer could depend on the student and the timing, and in fact I'm sure a combination of approaches can be used. I realize that. But... if you _had_ to advise on one for a beginner to intermediate level player, which might you choose as most likely in your experience to help such a student?

[@Chess_Master60]

Bro ignored u fr☠️

[@rafiulhaque2838]

This is the best summed up video about chess improvement I've ever seen.

[@ChessDojo]

Thanks!

[@davidmencik9990]

Kostya is an alien. Look at that Saturn rings on his glasses! Great stuff Kostya, looking forward for a year full of educational content from chessdojo. Keep up the great work. Best wishes in 2021, and a GM norm for you personally!

[@ChessDojo]

Haha sorry that's my ring light. Thanks for the nice words!

[@kylen6430]

I have so many chess books. I buy them, go through a few games but get distracted and rarely return. I have now made it a point to make studies on lichess where I put all the games along with annotations…sometimes it’s simply what the author has annotated, sometimes my thoughts are included…but in either case I am more engaged and can actually track my progress through a book. It also helps with endgame books, because I can go right into playing against the computer to drill.

[@ChessDojo]

Good stuff!

[@brianr6994]

What great advice. I'm going through a book of games myself and working on my opening I just got done with 100 endgames that you need to know. slow and steady I'm improving my chess.

[@SheaMurtagh]

Seriously quality advice and much food for thought. Thanks for sharing.

[@ChessDojo]

Thanks!

[@yermiaandri9882]

Thanks for the suggestion! This is a great video. Thank you very much.

[@Rohan-xc3kl]

So lucky to have an IM advising u😊😊

[@PeterSodhi]

Kostya is such a great guy...

[@luizemanoel320]

Happy new year, Kostya!

[@ChessDojo]

Thanks, happy new year!

[@chessacademyfromdiscord2023]

Great and instructive video!

[@aaronmoody1758]

SUBSCRIBED!! Love the video,ordering a book tonight!

[@gdoggcasey]

This is incredibly helpful. As a returning player who has never been very good (rated 900 on chess.com) I decided that chess was something I was going to commit myself too and try to get better and even play competitively sometimes. I have been going for 30+ days now and still struggling to improve, but it might be because I put way too many different lesson on my plate. I chose 3 openings (1 white, 2 black) and also was doing chess puzzles and chessable courses. My brain is being shredded and I am really not retaining much at all. It makes much more sense to dedicate lets say one month to one topic and drill it into my head before moving on to something else, so I will try that for this month! Thanks for the great videos on Chess Dojo and your own personal channel as well. I expect to start taking part in the Sunday tournaments starting tomorrow!

[@alexdermer9827]

i would say at your level start w practicing tactics for the first month or so..... 90% of chess games from players under 2300 level will or could be decided by tactics. great foundation to build other skills from too

[@KeepChessSimple]

There's a recent book released on Smyslov. It is talked about in the Perpetual Chess Podcast and his 'simple/clear' style sound excellent to study for us ordinary players.

[@tuneboyz5634]

duvupov

[@KeepChessSimple]

@@tuneboyz5634 Tune BoyZ

[@stanleytime9193]

What book?

[@KeepChessSimple]

@@stanleytime9193 The Life and Games of Vasily Smyslov Volume 1

[@stanleytime9193]

@@KeepChessSimple tysm

[@Dragonnox]

Regarding game collections, would you recommend Kasparov's Predecessors series where he annotates other people's games, or is it better to first go over books where the player annotates their own games (Tal, Botvinnik, etc)? Great video!

[@ChessDojo]

You can definitely read the annotations of another author like Kasparov, Nunn, Chernev, Karolyi, etc. I'm a big fan of the MGP books and should have mentioned them, they are really good for advanced players, but don't be intimidated by the annotations!

[@StNicolausVI]

Seriously great advice!

[@Polaris_Real]

Did bro just call 2400 intermediate

[@marufhasanmishkat13]

Then what does that make us 1800?😂

[@stewste4316]

such a great video

[@matzleeach]

Best instructions how to revamp your chess. Great and wonderful useful video.

[@orusanen]

Great stuff. I have an old book on 300 practical endings, which I plan to study. Ps. I participated in Geldand’s lesson and he seemed really interested about your book club... have a great 2021

[@ChessDojo]

Very cool to hear about Gelfand, thanks!

[@kartavyaschesschannel8240]

Public Declaration: "I am starting and most importantly would be finishing the book by Johan Hellsten: Mastering Chess Strategy"

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Bravo

[@b.1565]

Did you finish it?

[@dericho7021]

How has the grind been ever since then?

[@christinemurray1444]

I'm here to ask for receipts.

[@timwheeler8523]

Excellent video

[@slowslav6653]

i have bought two of your recomended books woodpicker method and chess calculation training and it helped me to improve a lot👍🏻

[@southernrun9048]

Great ideas..thanks

[@luisayala9301]

As always, your videos and recommendations are very useful, thank you, I will follow your advice

[@youdonotknowme3552]

Great, informative, video. 👍

[@kartavyaschesschannel8240]

Happy New Year ChessDojo! Thanks for such great content! Hey Kostya I am often confused that which classics games should I be studying, is it Capablanca or Karpov, Alekhine or Fischer and so on. Could you please suggest me a master whose games I should be studying? I am around 1400 FIDE

[@ChessDojo]

I would start with Alekhine and Capablanca!

[@henrysuryanaga5924]

Thank you... Very useful and practical way for me to set my next 3 month goal.

[@at8630]

Your channel is the best. I am keeping a notebook on many of your recommendations on how to improve. This disciple will be following you on the road to GM.

[@מנדיסגל]

Thank you very much for the help.. this is really helpful

[@lucasbeemer5505]

I appreciate this channel so much. I’m going to learn that caro kan

[@chinscachi100]

Apreciado Maestro: Disculpa mi pedido, pero no está habilitada la traducción automática y sólo puedo verlo en español. Desde ya, muchas gracias.

[@NapoleonGARDENINGTV]

Thanks Chess DOJO !

[@vanzce12]

I really like how you structure your videos, including the timestamps and links, and how you teach/present in your most best and honest way (thats how I perceived it :) ). Just a couple of question though, is it ok to maybe study endgame (one book) and opening (one book) at the same time? I know you said focus on one thing but I think it's ok coz back in school days we learned many subjects at the same time. Have you heard about Hiarcs? You think it's a good alternative to Chessbase?

[@ChessDojo]

Thanks! You can study more than one book if you have time, yes. Haven't used Hiarcs, sorry :)

[@matesomos342]

Very nice video! I think it was a great idea to wrap up the method of improvement in a 10 min. video. All expert videos on chess improvement are either not covering all aspects of the game (as you did), or they are hours long. This is a really cool guide, thanks a lot! I'm currently doing the Woodpecker training (my brain is melting already, cycle 5), and waiting for the Reassess your chess book :) Do you think it's fine doing two of the chategories, like calculation+positional understanding at the same time?

[@ChessDojo]

Sure, if you have the time. But I would suggest keeping your focus on Woodpecker and making sure you complete that before doing anything else that day. Good luck!

[@matesomos342]

@@ChessDojo Thanks! Do you have any recommendation: is it better to do many quick puzzles (puzzle rush for example), or is it more beneficial to do less, more difficult and complex tactics?

[@randyking9489]

@@matesomos342 excellent question. I wondered about this myself

[@averagejoe5016]

Do you ever read multiple books at once or do you just finish one before starting another?

[@ChessDojo]

Probably 2 at the most, like 1 book for solving exercises and 1 game collection, but usually I try to focus on the one I'm most interested in at the time.

[@twiltot]

Hi Kostya, thanj you so much! What do you think about Nunn’s learn tactics book?

[@thefreshmailand]

Doing one thing for 4-6 weeks sound super dry. I can imagine being burned out very soon. But what do I know, currently learning 8 chessable courses (2 for White,3 for Black,2 Tactic/Strat and 1 Endgame) simultaneously and only finished about 1/4 after half a year. Its tuff.

[@kkdw]

came a year too late, hope the advice still holds :)

[@RigMaster_]

I've looked through quite a few of the books recommended on calculation and it looks like they are just a lot of puzzles. Is there a book that is focused on teaching you actual calculation techniques or a method to calculation?

[@ChessDojo]

Excelling at Chess Calculation by Aagaard is very good! A bit on the advanced side.

[@youngt2827]

Good shit

[@emanekaf6085]

Thanks for the great video Kostya! Lately for my online rapid games I’ve been hiding the move notation on the screen and recording the moves on paper, and then playing through the games on a physical board to analyze. Is this better than just going thru the moves with the arrow keys or am I just wasting my time? I’m about 1450 on chess.com and hoping to eventually play over the board.

[@ChessDojo]

If the goal is to play OTB, then OTB practice is a good idea!

[@paddaman2003]

What about doing the Yusupov books - where the themes are different in the various chapters?

[@ChessDojo]

Those are a kind of a mix of calculation/strategic exercises, but an excellent series to focus on

[@MultiMarcd]

Merci beaucoup Kostya. I wish you and everyone a good 2021. Bonne année 2021 à tout le monde. It's always good for my inspiration and the motivation when i look your videos. I really appreciate your books suggestion. For myself presently, i'm working on the Tarrasch defence and i just found out a really good pedagogical teacher ... Alexey Bezgodov with the book (The art of the Tarrasch Defence) Have a great year everyone.

[@ChessDojo]

Very cool, thanks!

[@miomio7864]

Hey Guys! This is the comment about my chess related Goals in 2021. I'm going to come back in December and I'm also going to tell you every month my short term goals and what I have achieved. I startet playing chess in January 2018 and I had several low points(getting checkmatted several times with the fools mate or a pause for 3 month) But 2020 due to the pandemic I started playing far more often and I improved my rating to 1500. My long term goal is to reach 1800 DWZ(DWZ is the national rating in Germany). Therefore I started on 25th December with the Woodpecker Method and I'm working on it every day for 90 minutes. This month I'm going to finish the first cycle and I'm also currently reading "Pump up your Rating" by Axel Smith sothat I get a more clean plan how to make a good Trainingsplan. I'm also watching many chess related videos from good channels for improvement like Chess Dojo or Hanging Pawns. Last but not least I'd like to magine that I already have over 50 chess books and I'm going to spend at least 2 hours a day playing chess and I'm really excited how far I can get. Btw. sorry for my bad English...^^ Note to myself: Hello future me! 😉😊

[@ChessDojo]

Excellent! I like Pump Up Your Rating a lot

[@japman5699]

So what's update after a year+

[@nobroo5264]

Bro I am also a german and my DWZ is 2150. If you need any help just tell me:)

[@coryc793]

Public declaration:I am going to be going to be studying my openings: Kings indian and classical sicillian by looking through games from fischer, radjabov, etc

[@Opferschach]

My goal for 2021 would be to force a resignation from a titled player in a rated blitz game. Or to checkmate one if they refuse to resign. No more losing from completely winning positions.

[@Armenian3394]

I'm a below average player and one of my colleagues advised that King's Indian Defense is a solid opening and recommended Victor Bologan King's Indian. Do you recommend that it is a good chess opening book repertoire? If not, what do you suggest? Thank you!

[@ChessDojo]

Bologan is a good author, but I'm not a fan of studying opening theory. I would suggest Smirin's book instead, which focuses on middlegame play

[@Armenian3394]

@@ChessDojo I found it the King's Indian warfare by Smirin. Thanks and I think I have to focus in Middlegame first. I have the "How to reassess your chess" and this is gonna help me a lot.

[@abdullahk9801]

If I am a 1400 player should I read Winning chess tactics, and how far does it take me?

[@ChessDojo]

Yes. Your rating will probably go up but it's impossible to say how much. Just keep playing and trying to improve :)

[@abdullahk9801]

@@ChessDojo Thank you, just wanted to know that it's not too elementary 😁

[@JishnuChatterjee]

How can someone dislike this video?

[@ChessDojo]

Not sure!

[@madhavkrishnau1111]

How many hours should I work on chess to reach 2000 I am 1500 rating in fide

[@angel_machariel]

Hi Kostya. I am told by stronger players (I'm FIDE 1500) that I'm tactically much better than my peers. So I was thinking maybe it's a good idea to become a "tactical player". But how to become one? I know this terminology exists, but what does it even mean?

[@ChessDojo]

Study the tactical greats like Tal, Shirov, and Kasparov

[@angel_machariel]

@@ChessDojo Can't you at least half-define what a tactical player is? To get me going. I do not have the illusion a puny 1500 like me would comprehend the moves of aforementioned masters. Cheers!

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

@@angel_machariel It means you solve your problems tactically rather than strategically

[@angel_machariel]

@@IMKostyaKavutskiy Thank you sir.

[@iXNomad]

Lol, I'm drilling rook endgames puzzles on lichess now😂 and I read Dvoretskiy)

[@freewheelburning8834]

I'm in 1900 puzzles but for some reason those weird 1400- 1500 puzzles

[@josephwolensky2685]

Thanks for this great video! I'm currently rated around 1400 USCF (but am probably closer to 1600 in strength). I've worked my way up to Woodpecker Mediums and have done about 2 or 3 sets at that level (80% approx accuracy) If i had to guess it probably takes me around 5-10 min to solve these problems. Does this sound like an appropriate level of puzzle for me to be working on ? Or would I be better served by some of the books in the 1400-1800 range?

[@ChessDojo]

5-10 minutes is good!

[@mohamedelmoctar777]

Iam a 1900 fide and I am starting reassess your chess

[@ChessDojo]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@kijetesantakalu]

Thanks Kostya! I've been stuck between 1400-1500 for a couple of years now, this year I will: * Follow the woodpecker method and get my chess.com tactics rating above 2000 again (currently ~1850) * Study the games of Petrosian (I like to play closed, positional games) and maybe switch up my standard QGD/Sicilian Dragon/KID repertoire accordingly * Focus more on endgames (I currently only know Lucina/Philidor positions and opposition), I just bought Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual With this, my goal for this year is to reach 1600 in classical games (and long term 1800).

[@ChessDojo]

Very cool, best of luck!

[@maximesellin7992]

oh my god you motivate me, I gonna crush the Caro Kann until I become invincible with the black when the white plays E4. Then I saw the D4 and D5 peoples who win against me. I will take you later ;)

[@ChessDojo]

Good luck!!

[@thejavorharalu9542]

Please do a review of yusupov build boost evolution 10 book series

[@ChessDojo]

It's good we have a training group in the Discord going through it!

[@vezizzy1962]

Are rated puzzles on chess.com also fine?

[@ChessDojo]

Absolutely. Just take your time and don't worry about the timer. Make sure to review the ones you get wrong too!

[@BradenLaughlin]

Thanks Kostya! Now can you show me how to revamp my marriage?

[@ChessDojo]

Step 1: Shut up and listen!

[@youngt2827]

Good shit