How to Improve Chess If You Only Have One Hour a Day | The 4 Principles • page 1/1 • Community Blog Discussions • lichess.org

It is a thought provoking blog. Here are a few thoughts.

"You learn something first. You practice it; otherwise you’ll forget it."

Chess does not work that way. When you learn about forks, there is no guarantee a fork will turn up in your next few games. When you learn about a minority attack, there is no guarantee one will show up in your next games. When you learn about 5 vs. 4 rook endings, there is no guarantee one will show up in your next few games. You cannot learn and then practice what you learned in chess, as you can in mathematics. In my opinion the cycle is play - analyse losses - study.
If you lost a rook ending, then it is time to analyse your lost game, but then to study that kind of endgame.
If you lost with or against an isolated queen's pawn, then it is time to analyze the lost game, but then to study about how to play isolated queen's pawn positions from both sides.

"You can do 15 minutes of study, 30 minutes of play, 15 minutes of fixing."

What can you play in 30 minutes? Three 3+2 blitz games? One 10+5 rapid game? Are those worth to analyze?
'He who analyses blitz is stupid.' - Nezhmetdinov

"Or you can study one day, play the next day, analyze the third day."

This sounds better. A 15+10 rapid game fits in 1 hour. If you lost, then analyze the lost game for 1 hour next day.
If you won, then analyze an annotated grandmaster game instead.
Analyzing won games is inefficient.
'You may learn much more from a game you lose than from a game you win.
You will have to lose hundreds of games before becoming a good player.' - Capablanca
'Most players do not like losing, and consider defeat as something shameful. This is a wrong attitude. Those who wish to perfect themselves must regard their losses as lessons and learn from them what sorts of things to avoid in the future.' - Capablanca

'The best way to learn endings, as well as openings, is from the games of the masters.' - Capablanca

"Principle 2: Skip Useful. Choose the Most Effective"

That means no opening study. Study of the Sicilian Dragon, the Ruy Lopez Marshall Attack 20 moves deep are not effective at all. They are a bottomless pit that drains time away for no good use.
What you study does not happen, and when it finally happens, you will have forgotten.

"Every minute needs to work for you."

An hour spent on endgame study reaps more half points than an hour spent on any other study.
'In order to improve your game you must study the endgame before everything else; for, whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and the opening must be studied in relation to the endgame.' - Capablanca

"You cannot read 5 books on endgames"

To reach grandmaster 20 books suffice.
https://rafaelleitao.com/chess-books-grandmaster/
As it takes like 7 years to become a grandmaster, you should not study more than 3 books per year.
I say study, as chess books are no novels to read, but books to study, preferably with one, or better two chess boards.
'Chess books should be used as we use glasses: to assist the sight,
although some players make use of them as if they thought they conferred sight' - Capablanca

"When someone already did all of that work for you and packed it into one clear course with explanations and model games."

Opening books and courses are worthless.
'Memorization of variations could be even worse than playing in a tournament without looking in the books at all' - Botvinnik
'Ninety percent of the book variations have no great value, because either they contain mistakes or they are based on fallacious assumptions; just forget about the openings and spend all that time on the endings.' - Capablanca
'Of my fifty-seven years I have applied at least thirty to forgetting most of what I have learned or read. Since then, I have acquired a certain ease and cheer which I should never again like to be without. I have stored little in my memory, but I can apply that little, and it is of use in many and varied emergencies. I keep it in order, but resist every attempt to increase its dead weight.' - Lasker
Any opening book is obsolete while being printed. Games with some opening are being played right now. Just play your opening, preferably the simple and natural 1 e4 e5 and 1 d4 d5 as black and 1 e4 as white. If you lose, analyze the lost game. Then look up grandmaster games with the opening in a data base and study those games. Study whole games, not just opening lines. That gives an idea of possible middle games and endgames resulting from that opening.

It is a thought provoking blog. Here are a few thoughts. "You learn something first. You practice it; otherwise you’ll forget it." * Chess does not work that way. When you learn about forks, there is no guarantee a fork will turn up in your next few games. When you learn about a minority attack, there is no guarantee one will show up in your next games. When you learn about 5 vs. 4 rook endings, there is no guarantee one will show up in your next few games. You cannot learn and then practice what you learned in chess, as you can in mathematics. In my opinion the cycle is play - analyse losses - study. If you lost a rook ending, then it is time to analyse your lost game, but then to study that kind of endgame. If you lost with or against an isolated queen's pawn, then it is time to analyze the lost game, but then to study about how to play isolated queen's pawn positions from both sides. "You can do 15 minutes of study, 30 minutes of play, 15 minutes of fixing." * What can you play in 30 minutes? Three 3+2 blitz games? One 10+5 rapid game? Are those worth to analyze? 'He who analyses blitz is stupid.' - Nezhmetdinov "Or you can study one day, play the next day, analyze the third day." * This sounds better. A 15+10 rapid game fits in 1 hour. If you lost, then analyze the lost game for 1 hour next day. If you won, then analyze an annotated grandmaster game instead. Analyzing won games is inefficient. 'You may learn much more from a game you lose than from a game you win. You will have to lose hundreds of games before becoming a good player.' - Capablanca 'Most players do not like losing, and consider defeat as something shameful. This is a wrong attitude. Those who wish to perfect themselves must regard their losses as lessons and learn from them what sorts of things to avoid in the future.' - Capablanca 'The best way to learn endings, as well as openings, is from the games of the masters.' - Capablanca "Principle 2: Skip Useful. Choose the Most Effective" * That means no opening study. Study of the Sicilian Dragon, the Ruy Lopez Marshall Attack 20 moves deep are not effective at all. They are a bottomless pit that drains time away for no good use. What you study does not happen, and when it finally happens, you will have forgotten. "Every minute needs to work for you." * An hour spent on endgame study reaps more half points than an hour spent on any other study. 'In order to improve your game you must study the endgame before everything else; for, whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and the opening must be studied in relation to the endgame.' - Capablanca "You cannot read 5 books on endgames" * To reach grandmaster 20 books suffice. https://rafaelleitao.com/chess-books-grandmaster/ As it takes like 7 years to become a grandmaster, you should not study more than 3 books per year. I say study, as chess books are no novels to read, but books to study, preferably with one, or better two chess boards. 'Chess books should be used as we use glasses: to assist the sight, although some players make use of them as if they thought they conferred sight' - Capablanca "When someone already did all of that work for you and packed it into one clear course with explanations and model games." * Opening books and courses are worthless. 'Memorization of variations could be even worse than playing in a tournament without looking in the books at all' - Botvinnik 'Ninety percent of the book variations have no great value, because either they contain mistakes or they are based on fallacious assumptions; just forget about the openings and spend all that time on the endings.' - Capablanca 'Of my fifty-seven years I have applied at least thirty to forgetting most of what I have learned or read. Since then, I have acquired a certain ease and cheer which I should never again like to be without. I have stored little in my memory, but I can apply that little, and it is of use in many and varied emergencies. I keep it in order, but resist every attempt to increase its dead weight.' - Lasker Any opening book is obsolete while being printed. Games with some opening are being played right now. Just play your opening, preferably the simple and natural 1 e4 e5 and 1 d4 d5 as black and 1 e4 as white. If you lose, analyze the lost game. Then look up grandmaster games with the opening in a data base and study those games. Study whole games, not just opening lines. That gives an idea of possible middle games and endgames resulting from that opening.