---
title: "How to Get Better at Chess: 7 Habits"
url: "https://georgelichess.com/how-to-get-better-at-chess.md"
canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/how-to-get-better-at-chess"
last_updated: "2026-11-09"
type: "guide"
summary: "A plan to get better at chess from an International Master: seven habits ranked by payoff, time plans for 3, 5 and 8 hours a week and what to stop doing."
related: ["https://georgelichess.com/improve.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-strategies-for-beginners.md", "https://georgelichess.com/how-to-win-at-chess.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/blunder-check.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary/deliberate-practice.md", "https://georgelichess.com/pricing.md", "https://georgelichess.com/book.md"]
---

# How to Get Better at Chess: 7 Habits

> **For AI agents:** the complete index of GeorgeLiChess pages is [llms.txt](https://georgelichess.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md.

A plan to get better at chess from an International Master: seven habits ranked by payoff, time plans for 3, 5 and 8 hours a week and what to stop doing.

To get better at chess, play slower games, review every loss, solve tactics every day, study a small opening repertoire, learn the basic endgames, use a blunder check on every move and play against stronger players. The order matters: the habits at the top of the list pay off first, and most players improve fastest by fixing the habits they skip.

## Habit 1: the blunder check

Many games below 1800 are decided by one move that gave away a piece. A blunder check is a short routine before every move: what does my opponent threaten, and does my move leave something undefended? It costs about ten seconds, and it is the single most useful habit at every level below master. Apply it to every move, including the ones that look obvious.

**Diagram: A move that looks active and needs a blunder check: the knight sacrifice only works because of a follow-up, and a player who has not looked at the replies can lose the piece** Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Nxf7. Position (FEN): `r1bqkb1r/ppp2Npp/2n5/3np3/2B5/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 6`. Arrows: f7 to d8, f7 to h8.

## Habit 2: slower games and honest review

Rapid games with time to think improve your play faster than a hundred bullet games. Play at least one slow game a week, ideally with a time control of fifteen minutes or more per side. Then review it, without an engine first. Write down the move where you first felt unsure and the move where the game turned. Only then check with an engine, to find what you missed.

## Habit 3: daily tactics

Chess tactics are patterns: forks, pins, skewers, discovered attacks, removing the defender. They repeat in every game, and you learn them by solving many positions. Twenty minutes of tactics a day gives most players more rating than an hour of anything else. Solve fewer positions slowly, not many quickly, and say the first move and the reply out loud before you move a piece.

## Habit 4: a small opening repertoire

Choose one opening as White and one reply to 1.e4 and one to 1.d4 as Black. Learn the first eight to ten moves and the plans. The [openings section](https://georgelichess.com/openings.md) shows how each opening scores and what plans to learn. Change your repertoire only when a specific opening keeps hurting you.

## Habit 5: basic endgames

Many games are decided in the endgame, and a few rules decide most of them: how to win with a king and pawn against a king, how the opposition works, how to use an active rook, and how to trade into a won ending. A weekend spent on these positions saves points for years.

## Habit 6: play stronger players

Playing people a little stronger than you shows what the next level looks like. You lose more games and learn more. Mix them with games at your level, which build confidence.

## Habit 7: keep a notebook

Write down what you learn. A notebook with one line per game, saying what went wrong and what to do next time, turns scattered experience into a plan. After thirty games the notebook shows which mistake costs you the most points, and that is the one to fix.

## How to review a game in thirty minutes

A good review is short and has a fixed order, so you will do it after every game. Use the steps below.

1. **Replay the game without an engine.** Click through the moves and stop at the first move where you were unsure. Write down what you were thinking.
2. **Mark the turning point.** Find the move after which the evaluation changed, and write down the move you should have played, if you can see it.
3. **Check with an engine.** Look only at the moves you marked, and at any move the engine flags as a mistake. Ask why the engine's move works, not only what it is.
4. **Name the habit.** Decide whether the mistake was a blunder, a missed tactic, a wrong plan or an opening error. A pattern appears after ten games.
5. **Write one line in the notebook.** One sentence: what went wrong and what you will do next time.

The review is more valuable than the game that preceded it. A player who reviews every game with this routine learns the same lesson from fewer losses than a player who plays twice as many games without one.

## Time plans

Improvement depends on how you spend the hours you have. Use one of the plans below.

**Weekly plans for three, five and eight hours**

| Hours a week | Tactics | Slow games | Review | Endgames and openings |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 3 | 1 hour in short daily sessions | 1 game, 1 hour | 30 minutes | 30 minutes |
| 5 | 1.5 hours | 2 games, 2 hours | 1 hour | 30 minutes |
| 8 | 2 hours | 3 games, 3 hours | 1.5 hours | 1.5 hours |

On the three-hour plan, do not skip the review. A game played and not reviewed teaches half as much as one that is. On the eight-hour plan, make sure the extra time goes to review and endgames and not to more blitz.

## What to stop doing

Several common habits keep players from improving. Stop each one that applies to you.

- **Playing only blitz.** Fast games reward guessing and reinforce bad habits. Keep them for fun.
- **Memorizing openings you do not understand.** If you cannot explain the plan, the memorized moves vanish at the first surprise.
- **Skipping the review of lost games.** Losses contain the most information, and avoiding them costs rating.
- **Switching openings every week.** Play each repertoire long enough to meet its typical positions.
- **Using an engine before thinking.** Your own analysis is training, and the engine is the answer key.

## What changes at each level

Below 1000, the main problem is hanging pieces, so the blunder check and basic tactics matter most. From 1000 to 1600, the main problem is plans: players need a repertoire and a plan for typical pawn structures. From 1600 to 2000, the main problem is calculation and endgames. Above 2000, the problems are specific and personal, which is where a coach helps most. The [improvement plans by rating](https://georgelichess.com/improve.md) describe what each band usually needs. If you play over the board in the United States, the page on [how to look up a USCF rating](https://georgelichess.com/how-to-look-up-a-uscf-rating.md) explains how to read your member page and track the change after each event.

## When a coach helps

You can improve alone with this plan. A [chess coach](https://georgelichess.com/chess-coach.md) speeds it up because he sees the habit that you do not see, and a [chess tutor](https://georgelichess.com/chess-tutor.md) can teach the foundations in order if you are newer to the game. In a lesson with George the review starts with your own games, and the plan after each lesson tells you what to practice. Look at the packages below to see how it works.

| Offer | Lessons | Price | Per lesson |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Single lesson | 1 | $150 | $150 |
| Foundation 5 | 5 | $700 | $140 |
| Climb 10 | 10 | $1,350 | $135 |
| Intensive 25 | 25 | $3,250 | $130 |
| Season 40 | 40 | $5,000 | $125 |

Every lesson is 60 minutes, one-on-one, online. [See the packages](https://georgelichess.com/pricing.md).

## Frequently asked questions

**How long does it take to get better at chess?**

Gains usually show up after a few months of steady practice. The speed depends on the hours you put in and the habits you fix, and a coach who reviews your games can shorten the time.

**What is the fastest way to improve at chess?**

Fix the mistake that costs you the most points. For many players below 1800 that is blunders, which you reduce with a blunder check on every move and daily tactics.

**Does playing more games make you better?**

Only if you review them. Many players play thousands of games and stay at the same level because they never study the losses.

**Should I study openings or tactics first?**

Tactics. A sound opening idea is useless if you drop a piece on move twelve. Learn the basic opening principles, then spend most of your time on tactics.

## Get a plan built for your games

In a one-on-one lesson George reviews your games and builds the plan around your habits. [Book a lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book.md).

## Related

- [Improve plans by rating](https://georgelichess.com/improve.md)
- [Chess Strategies for Beginners: 7 Rules](https://georgelichess.com/chess-strategies-for-beginners.md)
- [How to Win at Chess: What Decides Games](https://georgelichess.com/how-to-win-at-chess.md)
- [Blunder check](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/blunder-check.md)
- [Deliberate practice](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/deliberate-practice.md)
- [Lesson packages and prices](https://georgelichess.com/pricing.md)
- [Book a lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book.md)

## Related

- [Improve your chess rating by rating band](https://georgelichess.com/improve.md)
- [Chess Strategies for Beginners: 7 Rules](https://georgelichess.com/chess-strategies-for-beginners.md)
- [How to Win at Chess: What Decides Games](https://georgelichess.com/how-to-win-at-chess.md)
- [Blunder check in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/blunder-check.md)
- [Deliberate practice in chess](https://georgelichess.com/glossary/deliberate-practice.md)
- [Chess lesson prices and packages](https://georgelichess.com/pricing.md)
- [Book a chess lesson with George Li](https://georgelichess.com/book.md)