The Ultimate Chess Training Program for pot-bellied man

If you're truly short on time, besides playing, just focus on the next step. Of course, this involves playing regularly as well

1.Dedicate yourself to solving tactical problems daily, but avoid rushing through them. Take your time to thoroughly understand the positions before checking the solution. Try to visualize the solution and analyze it in your mind without moving the pieces. This practice will enhance your chess vision. A step forward could be to commit one chess position to memory and attempt to solve it while taking a shower, walking, or riding the bus.

If you have additional time, you could implement the following steps:

3.Analyze all your games, focusing on blunders made by both you and your opponent. Try to understand the reasons behind these mistakes, and consult a chess engine to see the correct moves. If possible, play against the engine and try to maintain the engine's evaluation for 2 or three moves, but do so by playing from the winning side's perspective.

4.Select interesting endgame positions from your games and try playing them against the computer and other friends. It's not necessary to gather a large number of positions; it's more beneficial to revisit these same positions from time to time, playing them again to deepen your understanding and skills.

If you got fired, your wife left you, and took the kids, it's time to use all this free time to implement the next step and achieve mastery

5.When analyzing your games, in addition to step 3, focus on the openings. Check with a database for the most common moves by masters in those positions. Familiarize yourself with the most frequent moves, not with the intent of memorizing them, but to understand the spirit behind those moves. Additionally, analyze a few full games of masters, focusing on the placement of the pieces, strategycal maneuveurs, blunders, and collecting more endgames to increase your endgame collection.

6.Compile your chess material for revisiting, including tactical blows, endgames, and model games from masters, There's magic in creating something of your own; that feeling helps the content to firmly fix in your mind.

7.Create your own opening analyses. Investigate the positions you play and suggest new moves. Use an engine to check if the moves you suggest are viable, and rely on your intuition and imagination.

Two additional pieces of advice

When studying chess, prioritize quality over quantity. Analyzing five model games twenty times each will provide significantly more benefit than skimming through one hundred games only once.

Chess is a brutal game, man. Embrace the frustration, it's part of the process. Short-term results ain't everything. Just focus on training right, each and every time. Stick with it, and the results will come naturally in a few months