Chess can be a lonely game if we want it to be, but it doesn’t have to be that way either.
I love self-help books, and recently finished the book Eat Your Ice Cream. The book talks about how social connections are a strong predictor of longevity and happiness. Whenever I read these types of books, I always think about how the tips can be applied to chess improvement.
That got me thinking hard about this core question: Can chess connections improve chess progress?
Many adult improvers are locked into a routine that involves working at the computer for 95% of their chess time. Squeezing in some time each day to play blitz games online, analyze them, solve some puzzles, and watch some instructional content. This is perfectly fine, but can we add a social component into the mix?
Introducing.... Chess Friends @ ChessGoals Club! Your place to build friendships and stay motivated on your chess improvement journey!
Study Plan Accountability
Keeping your chess goals to yourself makes it more likely to skip a training session, or get distracted by technology.
In our #🧠study_diaries Discord channel, students can log their training routines, celebrate their progress, and ask the community for feedback.
Public Declaration: Declaring the start of your 12-week study plan builds positive momentum and keeps you honest on how your progress is going. We have three easy options to get you started:
- Looking to build a small habit to get started? We have a $9 course to Build Chess Habits That Actually Stick.
- Have between 15-30 minutes per day? We have a $9 course on How to Study Effectively With Limited Time.
- Greater than 30 minutes per day? Our free 12-week study plans are perfect. Check out The ChessGoals Blueprint.
Any study is better than none: Spending up to 20 hours per week is encouraged! Above that, you may run into burnout. Here’s a look at improvement data from the ChessGoals survey. You can see to the right of 25 hours, the amount of rating gain does not seem to increase, and may even decrease.
Friend Support: The most beneficial chess friendships are with like-minded adult improvers in the ChessGoals community. Your OTB (Over-The-Board) chess friends may not be as interested about the meticulous study plan details that you have designed.
Course Collaboration
Studying a course in isolation can sometimes make you become bored or disinterested in the study material. In our dedicated course channels, students can add the social aspect that ensures they are engaged in active learning.
- Ideas Over Memorization: Whether you are learning the 100 lines of the 1.e4 Repertoire, crushing newbs with the Benko Gambit, or working through Caro-Kann middlegame plans… discussing moves and lines with fellow students helps you learn and understand the content better.
- Brainstorming Sessions: Adult improvers ask real questions that Stockfish simply overlooks. Working with other adult improvers and coaches helps you get real answers that you can understand.
Next Steps
Joining takes just 30 seconds:
- Join the ChessGoals Club Discord Server.
- Say hi in the welcome channel and share your chess goals.
- Navigate to the study-diaries channel and post your weekly study plan and connect with other adult improvers!
Surround yourself with peers who have similar goals. This will make your journey fun and rewarding.
