A. Which part of your chess game needs the most work?
1. Endgame
2. Middlegame
3. Openings
4. Tactics
5. Mental toughness
6. All of the above
B. Do you know what it takes to improve your weakness in chess?
1. Yes
2. No 
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
2. Middlegame
Why?
getting a plan together can often be the hard part
Mental Toughness
No
A 1.endgame
B 1.yes
Openings and Middlegame and specifically the transition from opening to middlegame. I often find myself confused about the subtle differences in move order in the late opening and waste a lot of time if I’m in a position that warrants h3/h6 or a3/a6 or not.
I have no idea how to address it.
1) All of the above.
2) Yes. Study and practice.
(And an extra 24 hours in the day. 😉 )
first question:
MENTAL TOUGHNESS (i assume…? alternatively,and most probably the best description of my main handicap: COWARDICE ! i’m for sure AFRAID to loose – about 60 percent of my real life chess games end in a draw, but on the other hand my WHOLE LIFE loss percentage is less than 5 percent …)
second question:
NO (i’ve tried too hard too long to know a good way … :(( )
by the way: germany turned to a 10 degrees centigrade refrigerator today … THANKS GOD!
sincerly, yours Vohaul
I gave up trying to get better. I worked at it for so long and it did not much good. now I sit back and enjoy playing the game. I am not so concerned with winning or losing.
I know I need to do a lot of work and I just am no longer willing to work hard at it.
i think the hardest part is to find time to work on your game.
I have come up with a regimen that consists of training for 8 weeks one way and then figuring out at the end of 8 weeks if what I did is working.
One thing I find hard though is that if I study or play chess close to my bedtime, it keeps me up at night. But I only have time to work on chess at the end of the day after a long day of work.
My basic regimen consists of studying tactics, endgame, game collections and playing games against friends and the computer.
My goal right now is to manage my time well and then to play a game with the least amount of tactical error.
Middlegame is probably my weakest because it is so vast.
BTW: Susan, I found out from my delegate that Sam Sloan got elected for one year. Sorry. I guess we should have all acted sooner. Hopefully next time.
regards.
I would say tactics, but what I need even more is simple observation skills. I still hang pieces with alarming frequency, most often because I forget about diagonal moves.
I don’t know if I can get better here. I’m just not a good spatial thinker, so practice doesn’t help much. I’ve basically resigned myself to playing the computer on the moron level. Which is still a fun way to play. I just won’t be hitting Class A or B anytime soon!
A. Which part of your chess game needs the most work?
4. Tactics
B. Do you know what it takes to improve your weakness in chess?
1. Yes
I am using Convetkta’s tactics program CT-ART and tactics books.
Feedback from my chess mentor suggests an item that is not on the list, and that is confidence in my abilities (perhaps that is a part of “mental toughness??”) I’m not quite sure how one works on that.
A. Opening theory (and to some extent, positions) and to some extent, mental toughness.
B. I think that some nice chess lessons would do me some good. Just reading and trying to memorize lines on my own doesn’t help me much and, at times, gives me a headache.
A. 3. Openings
I don’t like to memorize stuff, but also I do not study enough theory and games to remember long variations etc. just by that. I did study openings though in the past, but not as much as required to play at higher levels.
B. 1. Yes… I would have to study and practise openings and much more master games, constantly (!). I did that in the past too, but now I only play blitz games online. I am probably not a good example! 🙂
About mental toughness: Chess isn’t boxing… and it probably makes a big difference on which level you play, and what (and how much) you could win or lose. As for me, I hardly find anything to be nervous about while playing chess 🙂
Weakness: recognizing my opponent’s tactics (I do fine recognizing my own tactics), and
middlegame strategy (especially closed positions)
Know what to do to get better: I was about to say yes, but then I think it is a trick question: If I really knew, then I would be better! 🙂
I am equally bad at all parts of the game. I think I should use my time better at the board. Often I think forever for no good reason.
How do I get better at chess? I think getting my weight down to 150-170 is the ticket! Also, I think reverse aging might help… 🙂
BPF
1,1
1. All of the above.
2. Yes.
Class B. I never hang pieces, I can spot most 2-move and some 3/4-move combos, I know basic endings and a few openings. Otherwise my game sucks. It completely lacks the artistry of master-level games.
To improve takes struggle, sacrifice, and many pots of coffee!