Reach 1800 ELO with the Ultimate Climb Guide

[@Gingnose]

This video was on point! I reached 1800 in rapid the other day. Your lecture definitely played a huge role!!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Super happy to hear your feedback, thank you so much, and congrats!

[@sanjaydutta170]

This video is so true i just lost a game because I got super greedy to take my opponents pawn and blundered my queen in the next 5 forcing moves So the materialism issue and not identifying all the threats is def real

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Super happy to see your feedback. We are learning together.

[@kdawghomie]

I have a peak rating of 1790, so this is the video I needed! My main problem mid-game has always been thinking, "Well, now what the heck do I do?" I waste so much of my clock asking myself that question, and this helped show me a couple blind spots in my game.

[@eschiedler]

Good luck on vacation. Some suggestions: If you pick a few series that you are very interested in and upload them consistently it will help your subscribers look forward to those. Meanwhile, don't worry too much about what cotent is being made other chess sites and chess coaches, but from time to time they might have a good idea. Also, it seems you are most interested in the cognitive science behind chess so you might find your highest enthusiasm for those video categories. And finally, your real-time play against chess bots are very fun, you are a great player but it is not your strength as a video maker - yet.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you for your honest feedback! Really appreciate it. Moving forward, I want to get better at producing videos while playing and thinking out loud at the same time. We will see how that evolves. Endgame conversion against bots really did not get any views so far, that is why I stopped.

[@davidmchugh7264]

Good work Dr can😂

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Much appreciated!

[@day-bu2ms]

200 to 1500 in 5 months is good or bad For 2000 how much time I need

[@Dr.CansClinic]

That sounds very very good. The progress will become much slower as you go higher, so I can't give a number. Keep on loving and studying the game.

[@NidusFormicarum]

My ELO is 1900. I have huge problems with converting winning positions as well as finding winning continuations when there should be one. My endgame technique is generally excellent for a sub-2000-rated player, but unfortunately the same can not be said about my attacking skills in the midlegame. I have no problems converting easily winning positions as when I am a piece up, for instance, but when I have a winning attack I often end up sacrificing too much material and end up in a losing positions. Higher rated opponents go on to beat me, while lower rated opponents usually throw their games away at some point. I can't count the number of times I have been completely lost against 1400-1600-rated players who inexplicably just blunders away the game and giving me the full point after my initial attack failed and they slipped away with a winning or drawing position. I have even had opponents who just put a piece in take in the late middlegame or andgame. What?? These kinds of blunder are very rarely seen at the rating rang of 1700-2100, I am playing. (Talking about ove-the-board chess, rated slow time controls.) One problem I have is caclulating longer variations precisely. I and my opponents in my rating range usually have no problems finding sequences of 2 or 3 moves in a rated slow time control game, but what happens is that when I realize that I probably have something, I miss the winning move 5-8 moves down the line, because my visualization is not clear. If you gave me the same position just 1 or 2 moves before, I would usually see the winning continuation easily. Thus, I end up playing a much weaker move and evetually my advantage fizzles out. This is very typical for my level, I have heard. We kow the basic concepts, recognize tactical patterns, have a dedent general understand, relatively speaking, but our calculation skills are sloppy and inprecize in conparison to master level. I think that at the lower levels, the skill of being able to calculate long lines is not that important, but at my level it starts to become a decisive factor in many games. I have won many games against 1600-1700-rated opponents just because I was able to caclulate a bit longer or was a bit more precize in my calculations. It can be just one move that decides the game when the rating difference is not that big! In a typical game you don't need to caclute long lines on the vast majority of moves, but there can be just onw or two moves where it really makes all the difference and may decide the game. On the other hand, if the advantage is of a more strategic, long-term nature, I find that it is often very hard to come back from a position that is almost lost at my level. If I play an opponent with roughly the same rating and I make a couple of big strategic mistakes in the opening, I may still suffer in a lost endgame 70 moves later! This was not my experience, when I was 1400-1500.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so very much for your detailed feedback and insights about your game and the patterns you observed on that rating range!! 🙏☺️ Please keep on doing so, I am reading them with great interest! Interesting observations about the need to calculate deeper at your level. I am planning to make a course on 5-ply calculation, building on the 3-ply one I published last year. It may be more relevant for your level. Tactical consistency issues indeed seems to be a huge issue around 1500 - thanks for sharing similar observations in your games. Converting advantages is a huge issue indeed - also for 1800 ELO chesscom as I laid out in this viceo. Let's see around which level it starts to get better ☺️

[@NidusFormicarum]

Consistesny and blundering is still an issue at my level, but the blunders are in the vast majority of cases more advanced than at the lower levels. Given that I am not in time pressure or have a very bad position or is exhausted after a long game, I only fall for a simple 2 or 3 move tactaic one or two times a year in classical chess. However, unfortunately this cannot be said about a bit more difficult and slightly longer sequence tactics. Of course, even a 1500 usually do find a 4 or 5 move tactic in a slow time control game, given that it is not too complicated lines to visualize.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your feedback as always!

[@puma7171]

I very much appreciate your videos. Just a suggestion: please change the colour temperature of your camera and even the ravens will feel much cosier :)

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you! Noted. But I am really not great at technical stuff, and I feel it would be confusing to change the camera temperature each time the light conditions change in the room... Perhaps you have a better solution.

[@Quickshot657311]

This was an excellent video

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much! 🙏

[@greatdanelegend7001]

It will take some time for me to get to 1800 but it's interesting to see what chess is like at the 1800 level

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Great feedback, thanks. You will eventually reach there as you watch this channel and study my courses.

[@kamilkp]

Hello Can, I love your work and I think you’re an excellent teacher and analyst. I already own 3 of your courses: Fundamental Chess Calculation, Opponent’s Move and Art of Exchanging Pieces. As an (almost) 1500 myself I 100% resonate with all the weaknesses of a 1500 you outlined in this video - especially the „consistency” one. Which of your other courses would you recommend me to take a stab at next? I’m eyeing either The Art Of Awakening Pieces or Multi-puspose Moves

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Kamil, Thank you so much for your kind feedback and studying my courses! Really appreciate it. Consistency is a big issue indeed. As outlined in this video, the Art of Awakening Pieces will help you get closer to 1800. So I would recommend that first. Multi-purpose moves you can tackle, once you reach 1800 ☺️ Please do not hesitate asking any questions while studying those courses!

[@eschiedler]

FYI, on the tactical visual example at 19:00, as a visualization exercise I was able to spot that Kg1 Re1+ Kf2 Ra1 followed by a queen trade leads to an even end-game. Though not easy to find these defensive resources under pressure, I admit.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Great spot, Kg1 is also a good move!

[@Noams_chess_school]

Next do 2300 Elo!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

If there is demand, why not?

[@Noams_chess_school]

Yesssss! Love it! Ty TY!@@Dr.CansClinic

[@MMWGR1980]

Best chess coaching I found so far (and I have watched a lot)

[@Dr.CansClinic]

That means a lot to me. Thank you so much ☺️ I would be very happy if you share the channel, so we can reach more people and I can continue doing this.

[@Avisawis]

Doctor I am rated 2360 on lichess rapid, but cannot perform my level on FIDE tournaments. My play otb is significantly weaker than on 2d screen. What can I do to be stronger otb?

[@AdrianHernandez-ul4in]

I had the same issue, and the solution I needed was to play a lot more classical games on lichess. Once I started playing those, my performance got to where I wanted it to be. Practicing more OTB regardless of whether it's a local or national level helps too. Even just playing casual with friends can help you get a better feel of the board.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Hello! I liked Adrian's suggestions. Getting yourself familiar with long - and otb - games may be the key. Regular tournament experience will help you get there. You can also mix your training with some puzzles you solve using a physical board. You can for example do a guess-the-move training using a physical board.

[@jacksontranz9161]

Your freaking awesome my dude, your gonna yank me outta my rut

[@Dr.CansClinic]

That is your awesomeness!

[@fivescoop]

Watching this as 1800+ and it's quite instructive. I actually found Rook takes f6 BTW.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Great feedback, thanks! What is your rating if I may ask? Super curious on what level such positional sacrifices emerge.

[@BaruchJW]

What helps you to improve your strength in chess?

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Passion and dedication & hard work.@@BaruchJW

[@BaruchJW]

@@Dr.CansClinic thank you🙏

[@fivescoop]

@@Dr.CansClinic 1849 rating

[@ravivarma239]

Best one thanks much🙏🏻

[@Dr.CansClinic]

You're welcome 😊🙏

[@Socrates...]

Please go up to 2300

[@Dr.CansClinic]

If there is demand, why not?

[@adnanghaleb2196]

Thanks

[@Dr.CansClinic]

My pleasure.

[@wizzard929]

Much appreciated video. A great foundational work. I‘d love to see a course about: Find the blunder! Where you need to find the one natural looking move that loses immediately. This would be a playful way to train blunderchecking. And combine this with „set a trap!“: Where in an objektivly lost position you need to find the move that creates subtle threats, while maybe not being the top engine move.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much! Great suggestions about course ideas! It would be difficult to implement on Chessable I guess, as you are not supposed to execute the "blunder move" on the puzzles 😀 When it comes to setting a trap, I think David Smerdon's course on Chess Swindles could be useful to check out.

[@HCW2855HCW]

🔥✔

[@Dr.CansClinic]

🙏

[@jaybingham3711]

Yummy stuff. 👍

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you 😋

[@shutupandkeeplicking]

I have a lot of those consistency issues. Especially yesterday, 2 games in a row, I made very obvious blunders. Of course, it was too late when I saw the mistakes.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks for the feedback. Raising your floor by cutting down on those blunders would really boost your rating ☺️

[@hiwibaba22]

Hey question, will chessable give us a deal if we buy a "Can of Can Bundle" of all your courses?

[@Dr.CansClinic]

I have no clue ☺️ But I love the name of that package!

[@cristiantudorescu9153]

Long and very, very instructive videos. Thanks a lot ! Best chess content on youtube 🏅🙏🏻

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Love it! Thank you so much for your kind thoughts 🙏

[@jaypandya2227]

already reached 2041 rapid, please make a video on 2300+!!!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Congrats! I will seriously consider going for 2300!

[@JorgeMonasterio-xe6em]

Ok, Can: Here is my thinking on this. 1) This is a great video -- I love the insights, and hope they will help me. 2) I do not actually think a set of "rules" that will make you an 1800 can actually work. I want to delve into #2 because I see this at tech companies all the time: New startup tech companies look at big companies like Microsoft/Facebook/Netflix/Amazon, and say "I want to be like that! I will just copy their processes and procedures and become great, too." But those process and procedures don't exist in a vaccuum. They depend on the product the company sells, and the people they have, and the situation they were in when they started out. It just doesn't workout. Of course, many of those chess rules are great. But they may not be what a particular individual needs to become 1800. Maybe they really just need to study harder. Or maybe they need to work on being more competitive. Or time management. Or many other things besides "pawn breaks". I want your list of rules to work. I really do. And probably if I ignore those rules, I have no chance at all to be an 1800. But I do not think any list like that can be sufficient.

[@tomclancy3988]

The things he mentioned in the list are illustrative not exhaustive. These are the most popular problems 1500s face ofc every player is different and they need to work on their individual issues like analysing their games and making their own list of areas where they are lacking the most. You cannot solve all of your problems at one go you have to identify your issues and fix them. Good startup companies don't look at big companies and try to copy them. They identify their strengths and weakness and try to be better than they were in the previous financial year. They also study their environment and analyse what common challenges other startups like them are facing.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Hello, I think tomclancy summarized the main points neatly, but just to reiterate: I am talking about general trends in this video, in an attempt to find out which chess skills emerge in what order as people grow stronger. This will help fix two issues you see occasionally in chess coaching circles: "1) Go study tactics and you will solve all your problems." and 2) Offering Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual to 1000 ELO players. I am not saying model what 1800 ELO does, I am laying out that those skills are present at 1800 ELO, while 1500 ELO shows the remnants of that ability. This suggests that particular skill is within reach (proximate zone) for 1500 ELO with targeted training. Effort will always be required, and it won't be an easy ride. But they won't get overwhelmed either (cognitive load will be managable). Again, I am talking about general trends and not about individual players. Chess is too complex to reduce to few principles and lists. I am not saying I know all the answers, but I am basing my claims on actual evidence I observed rather than coming with one size fits all approach or coming up with random training advice for different rating ranges, as you can see in some chess coaching circles if you just google it.

[@JorgeMonasterio-xe6em]

@@Dr.CansClinic I love it. Keep going!

[@dmacready]

Fantastic lesson, thank you.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Glad you liked it, thanks!

[@decisivemoment]

This is so helpful!!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much, glad that it helped 😊

[@timwoods3173]

Thank you

[@Dr.CansClinic]

You're welcome ☺️

[@MrDaniele17]

bravo 🎉❤

[@Dr.CansClinic]

🙏❤️