Build a Chess Study Routine

With the busy fall season just around the corner, it’s a good time to start (or restart) a good chess study routine!

It doesn’t matter how much time you have—in my experience, chess improvement comes from consistency and efficiency. That means using the limited time you have to work on the right things.

Throughout the month of September, I’ll be posting weekly videos on my YouTube channel to help you build out a study plan that can be modified to any level. Here’s a brief preview of the categories I’ve found most helpful in my chess improvement.

Puzzles

This includes both quick practice with spotting easy tactical patterns and long calculation puzzles. I like to use Puzzle Rush as a warmup to keep my tactical vision sharp. In addition, finding harder puzzles (usually from a book) and setting them up on a physical board can help imitate a real over-the-board game scenario. Both kinds of puzzles are crucial for improvement at the club player level.

Playing

For a consistent routine, I’d recommend a small number of rapid games per day. Anything faster than rapid doesn’t count, and setting a specific number of games prevents tilt. Win or lose, it’s important to stop and briefly analyze both good and bad moves in your games. If you write down a few notes in a Why I’m Losing document, you can track this data over time and use it to shape your future study plans.

Openings/Endgames

Learning openings is a combination of memory and understanding. I like to use the rapid games I’ve played to review my opening lines and add unfamiliar moves to my repertoire. Endgames are also important, and the way you study them depends on your level—you might practice checkmate patterns, theoretical pawn and rook positions, or use a book to study practical endgames. Becoming comfortable with these two bookend phases of the game will increase your overall confidence and might even help with time management.

Analysis

This is different from the earlier, brief analysis we did with rapid games, and doesn’t need to happen every day—once or twice a month is plenty. I like to do some deeper analysis as a “big picture” session after an over-the-board event, but you can also use online games. The point is to choose one of your lost games, and spend some time writing down your thoughts on every single move, without consulting the engine first. This will give you insight into your thought process errors and help inform your study plan moving forward.

For details on each of these categories and to follow the challenge in real time, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel.

In Case You Missed It

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I published my first Chessable course! 50 Essential Chess Concepts - An Improver's Blueprint

I played in the National Open in Las Vegas earlier this year!