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Pierre W posted an update
Nelson, I am one-third through the chapter on tactics, which I need to work on because the middlegame is my main weakness. Your examples are complex, even at the Intermediate level, and I am getting frustrated. I have studied other courses on tactics in the past few months, and my puzzle level on chess.com and Lichess is decent. Comments?
Jack, Andrew and Alexander5 Comments-
My advice would be to keep going. Sometimes, I want to do some puzzles and I can’t find the solution. It may be tempting to get mad, but I suggest using analysis after each puzzle. Try analysing Stockfish’s suggestions and your moves to see why. they were correct/incorrect.
On Lichess, you get unlimited puzzle tools (normal puzzles, puzzle rush, etc.), but unless you have chess.com premium, it is 3 puzzles per day and 1 puzzle rush and battle per day. Using Lichess can help you train faster just because it gives you more puzzle opportunities.
Everyone will have weak areas of chess, and yours could be tactics. Just be patient and keep training. The examples are meant to be challenging so it can help improve skills.
Hope this helps!
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Jack,
Thank you for your advice! I will keep going both on Lichess and on chess.com. I have chess.com Diamond so I have access to all the puzzles. On Lichess, I like to do the puzzles that are suggested at the end of a game. This has been useful for the Owen and Stonewall openings, as there is the option of practicing tactics for the opening, which is cool!
I must say that on Lichess, I cheat a little, as you can choose rated or unrated for puzzles and I choose rated when I think I know the solution! So I am at around 1800. The problem is that I might hurt myself because all the puzzles at 1800 (even though it is the equivalent of 1300-1500 on chess.com) are difficult. So it might be a good idea to let myself fall back to 1600!
On Chess.com, I am around 1400. I find Nelson’s puzzles are hard even at the “intermediate level” and often involve as he usually indicates several tactics and more than three moves at the intermediate level, which is more complex than 1400 on chess.com and sometimes 1800 on lichess (and 5 or 6 or more at the advanced or master level!)
Finally, it is a completely different subject, which I will address in more detail in a separate post at the end of the course; I am 69 years old, and I did not play between the ages of 12 and 63. At 63 and older, studying and memorizing lessons is much harder, and it is tough to think more than three moves ahead. This is not true for seniors who continue to study and become good in their teenage years or later, as their brains have memorized the early lessons.
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Hello Pierre. Thank you for your message.
It nice you have Diamond on Chess.com, so. you can have access to all tools. On Chess.com, I think the game review bot will give you some puzzle suggestions.
I am not too familiar about Lichess, so I’m not sure about the rated and unrated puzzles. It is completely your choice if you want to drop your Lichess puzzle rating. I guess it can match your Chess.com rating.
Concerning Nelson’s hard examples in his lessons: the whole point is to challenge yourself and try to find the solution. I suggest pausing the lesson and opening up the puzzle in an analysis board or something so you can actually make the moves, instead of visualisation. But if that still doesn’t work, just do more practice.
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Pierre, the “levels” in the tactics videos are just supposed to be rough estimates, so don’t get down on yourself if some of the intermediate seem to be more difficult sometimes. Also, it’s not about speed and how fast you can go through them, but about making sure your brain learns the new patterns. So don’t feel bad if you have to go over the solution multiple times. Just think of how next time you’ll be able to notice it in your game and it’ll be worth the time spent! Hope that helps!
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Hello Nelson, Thank you for your kind response. In this course and on YouTube, unlike most other teachers, it is obvious that you want to help lower-ranking players. I appreciate that! I have skipped the tactics chapter for now and will return to it later. I hope that this course will help me improve and reach 1500! My main issue is that I will be 70 years old this year, and I have not studied chess seriously until my late sixties. You mentioned that the brain has to remember some patterns. It is much more difficult for seniors to retain the patterns, primarily if they have not studied at a younger age. I am still hopeful. Chess is an excellent way for older people to prevent cognitive functions from regressing, and we want to have fun. Any advice for players my age would be appreciated. Thanks again!
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