Articles

What Plysight's counts of online games show about getting better at chess, by rating.

• How to get better at chess: what 150,000 games showWhat separates 800 from 1200, 1200 from 1600, 1600 from 2000? Counts from 150,000 online games, and what to work on at your rating.
• What's your chess style? What 20,000 games say about how people playYour rating says how often you win, not how you play. What 20,000 games show about forcing and quiet play, piece safety and fighting back.
• Hanging pieces: how often players leave one, and why it costs some more than othersHow to stop blundering: strong players leave pieces loose almost as often as anyone, but it rarely costs them. Counts from 150,000 games.
• Missed checkmates and free material: what players at each rating walk pastHow often players miss mate in one, leave one, or skip free material, by rating. Counts from 150,000 online games, and what to practice.
• Chess openings by rating: where games go wrong in the first 12 movesBefore the best chess openings: below 1200, most of the rating gap is in the first ten moves, and it isn't theory. Counts from 150,000 games.
• How to win a won game: what 150,000 games say about convertingEveryone blunders more once ahead, at every rating. What separates 1600 from 2000 is finishing won games. Counts from online games.
• After a blunder: what the next move looks like at every ratingOne mistake makes the next twice as likely, at every rating. What separates ratings is the move after your opponent's blunder.