The Main Way to Improve Your Chess Game, No Matter Your Rating

Clip with GM Ben Finegold! [02-06-2023]

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327 Comments

  1. Some people go to college and just get high!

  2. Bro, he's spitting straight facts. Not only is he teaching us how to actually get better chess but also in life

  3. I did chess once. It didn't work out. So I did something else.

  4. Thank you for giving it as it is. Life is about passion. That's why when my youngest son started learning the piano, I told the piano teacher that my son will not do piano exams and that she should rather teach him a new piece of music each week. That's 52 pieces of music in a year and not 6 exam pieces.

  5. Sir i totally get what you're saying, i do things to improve at chess but after getting stuck at a point you seek for others suggestions to know where you are lacking and what you're doing wrong but taking examples of their experiences and that's what i want. But i did learn something from this video. Maybe i am focusing too much on ratings and not paying attention to what changes i have gained over the time.

  6. I love the comment " There's a book about that" – which proves exactly what Ben meant. People – myself included – are addicted to read and plan about being successful and about how to put in the work without actually doing the work. I have 200 self improvement books on my kindle. I haven't even read more than 5. I am addicted to searching for more books, possible THE book that solves all my problems and does the work for me without even having to do it myself. Meanwhile I fail at all goals I set for myself because I want to figure out how to achieve them first.

  7. a month ago I lost 28~ games in a row xD, I am 2200 cc

  8. – i was looking for chess tipps
    – now am an atheist

  9. The punchlines are so dry and quick it’s hilarious.

  10. Loving the game, and playing a lot will get you to your "natural level" which is determined by your inborn talent, something you cannot change. After you reach this level, you can love the game and keep playing it five hours a day, and in ten years you will not be better; in fact you might be worse, because you are older. But it is possible to rise about your natural level, and that is what a good teacher should be about. Nothing in this video is about this.

  11. Sounds good but no cigar. We didn't search "how to get better" to be told that inactivity means we wont learn. Lmao. Who said that asking questions isn't a part of learning??? Idiots. I listen to this glutten long enough. Fat mouth mf probably has a boyfriend.

  12. I think you are trying to "keep it real", but actually you are not making much sense.
    What you're basically saying is: If you want to be good at something, just get good.
    If you wanna get good at Chess, just get good. Stop asking questions. That won't do anything.
    It doesn't matter what other people say.

    Sure, Let's all simply go play a bunch of Chess games, and we'll get good. Right?
    No.
    This is the same mentality as the "10 000 hours rule". You can practice aimlessly for 10 000 hours, or you could practice with a clear path and intention for 10 000 hours and you will see much different results.
    You want to lose weight? Ask a professional.
    You wanna become better at soccer? Go find a coach.
    Coaches and Mentors are there for a reason. They can provide very valuable lessons, and help guide you through your learning process and point you in a good direction.

    If you are new to something, or you are stuck at a plateau, you should 100% seek advice from experts or people who are more knowledgeable than you.

    You don't just go and hack at it randomly in hopes that what you are doing will yield results.

  13. I'm a software engineer and the coding example is spot on. I see many people asking how to get better at coding. They expect that there is some magic course or book out there that will make them a good enough programmer to earn six figures a year without actually doing the hard work to learn the craft.

  14. I first thought I’d find you a bit annoying / not sympathetic, and now I’ve transitioned to the point that I not only just saved this video in my chess video play list, but also in my philosophical / motivational playlist. Now I finally got the point and recognise the quality of your videos.

  15. now the question is, are there people doing the work and ALSO asking those question? probably yes. Also are there people doing the hard work and not improving for long periods of time? Also probably yes. So then what is the answer for those people?

  16. This is horrible advice. There's nothing wrong with seeking best practices from other well-informed people. In many cases, when people "have done their own thing" they've wasted years AND lifetimes reinventing the wheel.

  17. Bro I’m just getting back into chess at 50!!
    18 is spring chicken!!

    To get better one must learn, study, study study n more study. Naturally there is a limit but one must natural interest.

    YouTube is the absolute best place to start.
    Works for me.

    Opening is a bit overrated. How many openings can there be?

    I find that copying ur opponents opening for several moves frustrates them n stops them from developing their original attack plans 😂😂😂

  18. How to drive a car? Just go drive it! Stop asking questions.

  19. Thanks, because this is fucking brilliant.

  20. Chess is not about choosing what clothes fit you (what opening, strategy, end game should i play?). It is making your body fit in whatever clothes you currently have (what your opponent does, you try to counter). Memorizing doesn't work. Responding to the attacks 99% of the time does.

  21. Title should read: Do you even know how to chess, bro?

  22. The only surefire way to get good at chess I know is to lose games. I'm pretty sure the less you lose the harder it is to improve.

  23. Love this guy. So wise. I've followed a good amount of this advice after going through some struggles. I'm now doing very well both at Chess and in life. You're like a Buddha.

  24. Good advice lol i feel for anyone who has a hard time understanding sarcasm. In terms of asking for advice I'd just like to add a bit I read somewhere – Ask for advice from people who are where you want to be.

    Yea it's nice to ask close family and friends but if they have never done the thing you want to do, they're going to be limited in the amount of help they can give. Their advice shouldn't necessarily be disregarded though, I think it's always good to have multiple perspectives. Just keep in mind which ones actually apply to you and your life. And always be honest with yourself.

  25. Overdoing anything is no good. Continuously asking for advice and not acting is certainly useless. Not asking anybody for any advice might not be that smart either. However, asking for advice, understanding and evaluating the advice and then acting then reevaluating, maybe asking for more advice from a different person then adjusting and moving on might not be such a bad idea. As for life choices, yes, anyone can do anything and make his own choices. That doesn't mean all choices are equal.

  26. Good advice. My rating is currently about 750. But implementing this, I hope to earn my grandmaster title by this date next year.

  27. Yes, to all the young people out there. I agree with Ben. Don't seek validation. Just play and care about your game to yourself.

  28. The question is basically, “How do I skip the phase where you have to grind out not just wins, but losses in Chess?” And obviously, anyone who knows how to improve at something properly, will tell you that there is no other way. There are no true shortcuts. That phase is essential. And the next steps will be obvious when you’ve played enough or worked long enough on something.

  29. Just "doing" doesn't mean you're going to get better either. You have to understand if what you're doing is good. I've seen players make the same blunder in the opening repeatedly. They never learn from their mistakes. Anyhow, it's obvious the way you get better at anything is understanding what you're doing is good practice. For example, you may be able to shoot accurately a basketball from your chest, but shooting from the chest is predictable and easily blocked. What's the lesson one has learned here? Learn to do a proper jump shot for instance. So all of you who want to get better at chess just improve incrementally in any stage of chess. If you're poor in the opening, analyze your games and understand how your opponent got the better position for instance and little by little you'll gain understanding as to how you could get better at equalizing or whatever goal it is that you have in a given position.

  30. Gotta learn from the masters though studying good chess can help you get better

  31. "Your friends and family are terrible". Daym.

  32. No disrespect but if you’re a beginner trying to learn something, go to another video

  33. It's a bit sad seeing Ben getting old and stupid.

  34. The purpose of asking questions is to learn how to perceive their own experience. Ben grew up in a chess family so there's so much experience there to pull from that he's forgetting about.

  35. this video was so pointless. I want my 5 minutes back. Not helpful in any way.

  36. "People don't do stuff, they just talk about it." Pure truth!

  37. That's not true. You cannot get better at chess by just playing games. You need to study more than you play

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