Want To Reach Those Chess Goals More Quickly? Your Mental Effort Is Key
Chess players know that strategy and skill are vital components in victories, and students often focus on learning moves and plays to get closer to that goal of getting a higher rating. But it's not just the immediate knowledge or the ability to think ahead a few moves that help -- it's your overall mental effort and ability. This is not something that good players automatically have; they work on these seemingly general skills constantly.
Focus and Concentration
Yes, yes, chess is great for improving your ability to concentrate. But it goes the other way, too; your ability to concentrate greatly improves your chess performance. If you're distracted often and can't focus on the game, you could miss key opportunities. You may feel more restless and make silly mistakes yourself.
You can do exercises to improve your focus, but of course, if you're easily distracted, you could get distracted from doing the exercises themselves. Working with a chess coach specifically on focus exercises may be your best move (no pun intended).
Memory
This isn't just about short-term memory of your opponent's prior moves. It's also about their game strategies in prior competitions. Do you notice anything familiar about their current plays against you? If you can connect what they're doing now with something they might have tried in a previous game, you can use that information to block their attempts to win.
Another way that working on your memory gets you closer to your rating goals is by letting you retain more and more information about classic plays. If you can get that archive in your head organized and remember plays easily, that gives you more resources for your own games.
Rested State
This may sound like an odd one, but it's a fundamental part of improving your rating. You need to be rested. You need to have good nutrition and be properly hydrated. A registered dietitian would normally help you with the nutrition part, but talk to your coach, too, about what they have noticed other people do to get the best sleep and nutrition possible.
Chess coaches can devote time to working on these mental skills. You have to put in the practice, but eventually, when you compare your previous rating with your new rating, you should see an improvement because you were better able to zero in on what your opponent was attempting and what options you had at your disposal.
For more information, contact a company like CHESS TEACHER.