How to Actually Study Chess (2 Rules That Matter)

I hear this a lot. Let’s clear it up.

Ask ten strong players and you will get ten answers. Openings, tactics, endgames, puzzles, videos, analyzing your games. Everyone is a little bit right. All of it matters.

But the list is not the point. How you do it is. Two things make the biggest difference.

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1. Do It Actively. Don’t Just Watch.

Watching a video or reading a book feels productive. Everything makes sense while you watch. You close the tab feeling smart.
A week later the same pattern shows up in your game, and you miss it.

I know this feeling from outside of chess. At the start of university I went to every math lecture for a whole semester. I listened and I took notes. Then came the exam and I got 7%.
For the retake I did something different. For one week I only solved problems. I got 70% and passed.
The lectures were not useless. But they were not enough. Solving the problems is what made the knowledge work.

It is the same in chess. Videos and books are the lectures. Puzzles, solving positions and analyzing your own games are the problems.

Here is what to do:

• Try to solve the position yourself first, then check the answer
• Pause the video before the instructor shows the move
• Analyze your own game before you turn on the engine

You will not remember an idea because someone showed it to you. You will remember it because you had to work for it.

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2. Have a Plan and Stick to It.

The second rule is about how you study, not what you study.
You need a training plan and you need to follow it. A flawed plan that you follow is better than no plan. You can always adjust it later. What you cannot skip is consistency.

Almost no one improves in a week. I trained two hours a day for ten years, and even then progress was not a straight line. I was stuck at 1800 for four years, then jumped to 2000 in a single month. Later I sat at 2100 for three years, then reached 2400 in under six months.

The daily habit did not feel like it was doing much. And then, suddenly, it was.

• Give a plan at least a couple of months before you judge it
• Do not switch methods every two weeks because results are not instant

Changing methods too often is one of the most common ways players slow down their own progress.

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You do not need the one perfect list of exercises. Choose what to do, do it actively, and follow your plan long enough to see if it works.

If you want a simple structure for both rules, I made a free 10-week improvement plan. It covers 10 important topics that will make you a stronger player. Work actively and stay consistent while you go through it.

You can sign up here:
https://10-week.matbobula.com