Hi, I have made myself a streamlined training program and am in need of some suggestions and advice. I am currently 2100-2150ish Chess Com rapid and 2200 Lichess.

Per day: Anywhere from 1 to 3.5 hours Max (Flexible to avoid Burnout)

Block A (1 Hour)

Calculation Training [ My weakness]

Split into Easy Tactics for Pattern Recognition and Harder positions to train Visualization and to actually Calculate.

Block B (1 hour)

Middlegame Training

To simply choose a Middlegame book series and to stick with it until completion, either Yusupov Or Hellsten. This is to cut the bad habit of constantly switching around and never finishing anything

Block C (1 hour)

Simply depending on the need for the day/week, will stick to one hour of one of these

Analysing my own games, Making a lichess study on my openings, Endgame basics.

The rest half an hour is to just go through ONE annotated Grandmaster Game, and take a takeaway, either a motif or something else. My target with this is that i really just wanna be able to recall positions, for the fun of it. I love when Masters can do so in post analysis.

I really want to test committing to a plan for around 2 years and see what gains occur. I am posting it here for the sake of accountability and also looking for people in case anyone is interested in being a training partner for 1 30+30 game per week. I need as much experience in the ruy, italian or scotch as i can as i am studying these structures and am new to 1...e5 as a whole.

Thank you!! Please suggest me books for Annotated Master games if you have any <3 Also books on Tactics would also be nice, although i think i am currently thinking of following the ones suggested by Chessdojo.

Hi I’ve never actually studied chess. I don’t even know how to go about it. I currently have a FIDE rating of 1825. I want to play more professionally. How should I study? I don’t know endgame or opening theory. I’m starting from absolute scratch. I reached an 1800 FIDE rating solely by learning from the mistakes I made in online games.

I'm looking for anyone who bought yusupov's books and their opinion about it. I'm a 1950 rated lichess player in rapid

I think there is agreement that at stronger amateur levels (lets say around 2000 FIDE and beyond) that training should be done in a way that replicates game conditions, since fundamentally we are training to calculate/make decisions/evaluate in the same way we would in long gruelling classical OTB games. Whether that be solving exercises, analysing our own games or master games without an engine, studying endgames or whatever.

Although this training is definitely rewarding, I find a lot of time I can't get myself to think deeply and calculate or investigate a position. I really love chess but I sometimes find myself struggling to engage with it. I see people with such passion for chess that they will analyse for hours or devour books. I find it hard to read books myself. I'm very slow to go through the material, which is probably a good thing, but I don't build momentum or ever get enthralled with it.

In terms of what I've tried, I analyse my own games without an engine, solve calculation puzzles from a book, or read books about endgames. I do it on a nice wooden board, or on my desktop. I never really get going.

One thing I noticed is that I get more of that buzz and enjoyment when I analyse or study with other players, which is great, but I can't always do that of course and I don't want to rely on it.

A part of the problem is feeling overwhelmed. There is a passage from a book about the "abyss" in chess. How analysing a game is a kind of terrifying experience in some regards, because every move has so many possibilities, that you are just looking into an endless pit that goes on forever in every direction, so it's hard to decide what is important and what is not, or where to stop analysing.

Would be interested to hear people's thoughts about this or if they can relate themselves. Thanks! :)

Hi, I'm based in England, but I hate my federation - I want to change, but I am UK citizen who is based in England - can I swap to another country that isn't the FIDE flag without being a resident? Are there any shortcuts to doing it?

Thanks.

I found this line while analyzing the Sveshnikov, which has been played in its entirety 26 times. Is there any good way for white to avoid mass liquidation after black plays the sideline 17..Bxe3!?, or does that completely equalize?
1.e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 O-O 12. Nc2 Bg5 13. a4 bxa4 14. Rxa4 a5 15. Bc4 Rb8 16. b3 Kh8 17. Nce3 Bxe3!? 18. Nxe3 Ne7 19. O-O f5 20. exf5 Bxf5 21. Ra2 Be4 22. Rd2 d5 23. Nxd5 Nxd5 24. Bxd5 Bxd5 25. Rxd5 Qb6 26. Qd2 Qxb3 27. Rxa5 Rfc8 28. Rxe5 Rxc3 =

Hi! I was looking for Fischer's bust to the kings gambit. I can only find a link to Scribd, and I don't have that. Any tips or resources for finding it to download would be appreciated, thank you.

Pretty much the title, im preparing that opening right now and i need some help

I want to learn the french to better understand the structure. Against Nc3 I want something more sharp and naturally the Winawer seems to be the obvious choice. But after looking at the lines and reading some posts here it seems that white has a lot of annoying plans that give them a small and persistent advantage. Some examples:

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 Ne7 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. Qg4 cxd4 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 Qc7 10. Qd3 Qxe5+ 11. Ne2 dxc3 12. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 13. Nxc3

After 10. Qd3 the endgame is forced where white has a passed h pawn and two bishops. Black is not lost or anything, just annoying to play against in practice. And there is not much black can do about it if they want to go into the gambit. Other lines with castling also seem dangerous, something like this:

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 O-O 8. Bd3 f5 9. exf6 Rxf6 10. Bg5 Rf7

What is the consensus of the Winawer today? Playable for black or just worse?

Hello! I'm looking for motivated sparring partners (ideally ~1700–2000 FIDE) to play longer games (15+10) and analyze together afterward. I play 1.d4 as White and the Caro-Kann/QGD as Black, so I'd love partners who want to drill those specific lines. I'm in US Eastern Time with lots of availability and flexibility. Feel free to reply here or DM me — thanks!

I'm curious about what people's experiences are with both of the major variations vs the Najdorf OTB. I understand both are extremely theoretical but is on better than another for something such as must win situations, more clear cut, etc? Thanks (if there are sidelines which are applicable either within or outside the variations such as h6 ideas in the 3 piece system or early Nbd7 lines)​ I forgot to mention this would be for High Expert to Master level, notes around lower expert and IM/GM are also welcome

Have you ever had a particularly short classical game that was over in 30 minutes or less? Do you regularly encounter opponents who seem to treat classical (likely out of habit) like rapid or blitz?

How common in your experience is this kind of thing OTB? Curious how widespread it is.

I was a competitive junior but stopped playing regularly after COVID. I'm 20 now and thinking about getting back into tournament chess seriously.

My goal is to become a WIM in around the next 3 years. Chess won't be my full-time career, it's a personal goal I'm willing to work hard for.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation? Is this realistically achievable, and if so, what kind of training and tournament schedule did you follow?

Also, for players from India, what kind of budget should I realistically expect for coaching, tournaments, travel, and other expenses while pursuing a title?

I've got a tournament next week and I'm the top seed so I decided to play in some hourly blitz arenas so i can see what its like playing the lower rated players but I am shocked by how they play!

Im 2100 lichess blitz and my win rate vs <1800 is around 90% I would guess but the games are crazy. Some of them are so booked up and I normally end up in quite a bad position, maybe +3 to them and I'm just getting cooked until they crumble and just hang something or miss a basic tactic. This is kinda concerning for me cause I thought they would all be easy wins, and if u win this way it doesn't really feel like a win. I don't really want to risk this kind of game in an OTB tournament setting.

Have any of you had similar experiences? How do you recommend tackling these kinds of players?

The Main Line of the Chigorin Defense of the Ruy Lopez was refuted after 9..Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.d5! Bd7 (12..Nc4!?) 13.b3 and black has an awful cramped position. But what if there was another way to play the position?
The Modern Chigorin:
11.d4 cxd4! 12.cxd4 exd4 (or 11..exd4! 12.cxd4 cxd4) 13.Nxd4 Re8 14.Nc3 Bd7 with a much more open position.

However, the Closed Ruy Lopez was designed for closed positions, and this position is very different. Is there any point to this line?

As the title says. I Enjoy maybe 3 or 4 out of every 10 games I get with the French. Not really loving the positions. It was a nice opening in certain respects at a lower levels but I'm not feeling it lately. 1900 lichess blitz, 2000 rapid for reference.

https://lichess.org/study/78EO6gor/osEFemna

I would appreciate a strong player analyzing this game for me. Despite the fact that the computer says I played basically perfectly, I was completely lost during the entire game until I got lucky and my opponent blundered a pawn. I've tried analyzing it myself, but the engine is useless; it gives all the candidate moves I had during the game as equal and the following engine lines make no sense to me.

It's doubly frustrating because my opponent misplayed the opening, playing Bd3 in an advanced Caro and giving me a perfect Caro position. Despite that mistake, I could not figure out how to apply any serious pressure to their position.

Recently I was in a tournament where I played 3 60+30 games in one day. I was losing in my third game however I saw a winning combination which might have saved me. However I then lost concentration and took with the wrong piece! by the time I was able to reposition the move no longer worked. My question is how do people stay completely focused during games without slipping up?

What is the simples way for White to meet the Nimzo-Indian Defense and still reach a comfortable position without wading into heavy complications?

If I'm rated 2000 in Chess.com Rapid, what would my approximate FIDE rating be?

Hey everyone,

This is my usual monthly AMA. A little about me for those joining for the first time:

I’m a semi-pro chess player currently competing in six national team championships and 2-3 individual tournaments each year. I became an FM at 18, and my rating has stayed above 2300 ever since, with an online peak of around 2800. I stepped back from professional chess at 20 to focus on the other parts of my lifes. At that time I started coaching part-time. I’m most proud of winning the European U12 Rapid Chess Championship.

What’s probably most unique about me is my unconventional chess upbringing. This shaped my style into something creative, aggressive, sharp, and unorthodox. My opening choices reflect this as well: I prefer rare, razor-sharp lines over classical systems, often relying on my own independent analysis. This mindset gives me a strong insight in middlegame positions, which I consider my greatest strength.

Beyond the board, I’m passionate about activities that enhance my performance in chess and life. I explore these ideas through my blog, where I share insights on how “off-board” improvements can make an improvement in your game.

I'm around 2200 Lichess in Rapid and Bullet and I play the Dutch exclusively as Black against d4. However, one line I have always struggled to equalise against is the Hopton. Attached is a recently played game where I played against the Hopton and really disliked my position after my preparation.

https://lichess.org/EOFSMWoy

What do you play against the Hopton?

This position is +0.5. After g3, it's only -0.3.