Between 800 and 1600 most players improve in the same order: first tactics, then a small opening repertoire, then endings and plans. The plans below come from the chessGM training path. They are not magic, but they give your week a shape, and a shape is what most players lack.
Stage 1: 800 to 1200, the club beginner
You win some games and lose some, mostly to tactics. Aim for four to five hours a week.
Goals at this stage
- See most one- and two-move tactics before your opponent does.
- Win king and pawn endings using the opposition.
- Know the first eight to ten moves of one opening as White and one defence each to 1.e4 and 1.d4.
- Play at a steady pace: do not use up the clock in the first ten moves.
Weekly plan
- Lessons: back-rank mates, discovered attacks, king and pawn endings, pawn races, removing the defender.
- Puzzles: about 30 a day, on forks, pins, skewers, discovered attacks, back rank, deflection and hanging pieces. One short timed puzzle run a day builds speed.
- Games: six a week, 10 or 15 minutes with an increment. Review every loss.
- Openings: one White line and one Black line, reviewed for five minutes each day.
- Endgames: once a week, play a king and pawn ending against a computer.
How to measure progress
- Rapid rating of 1000 to 1200 that is stable.
- Your chessGM puzzle rating at about 1100.
- Review accuracy of 70 to 75 percent.
- Fewer than two blunders per game in your review.
These are rough guideposts, not guarantees; accuracy and rating scales differ between sites and time controls.
Common mistakes at 800 to 1200
- Learning ten openings. Learn one deeply.
- Attacking without enough pieces.
- Ignoring endgames. Many games at this level are decided by one pawn.
- Playing blitz all day. It builds habits, bad ones too. Slower games teach more.
Stage 2: 1200 to 1600, the improving player
You know the standard tactics and openings and want to win more of the equal games. Aim for five to seven hours a week.
Goals at this stage
- Build a repertoire twelve to fifteen moves deep, with the ideas behind it.
- Calculate three moves ahead in forcing lines: checks, captures and threats.
- Play simple plans: open files for rooks, outposts for knights, a good bishop against a bad one.
- Convert a won position and hold a worse one.
Weekly plan
- Lessons: forks, pins and skewers, sacrifices on the king, defensive moves, quiet moves, queen endings, bishop and knight endings.
- Puzzles: 30 to 40 a day, mixed themes, plus a queue of the puzzles you missed. A five-minute timed run three times a week.
- Games: six to eight a week. Rapid 15 | 10 as the main diet, a few 30-minute games for thinking. Review all losses and one win.
- Openings: learn one course to twelve to fifteen moves, and look at what strong players play from the same positions.
- Preparation: before a match or a tournament, look at your opponent’s games.
How to measure progress
- Rapid rating of 1400 to 1600.
- Your chessGM puzzle rating at 1500 or more, solving at under 30 seconds per puzzle.
- Review accuracy of 75 to 80 percent.
- Fewer blunders after move 15 than in the opening.
These are rough guideposts, not guarantees; accuracy and rating scales differ between sites and time controls.
Common mistakes at 1200 to 1600
- Memorising lines without understanding the plan.
- Moving too fast when the position becomes complicated.
- Trading good pieces for no reason, or keeping a tension you cannot handle.
- Neglecting rook endings.
- Using the engine to pick moves instead of to understand them.
A tip for both stages: on each move, say your opponent’s plan to yourself. If you cannot, slow down.
Feature descriptions checked against the app by the chessGM team. The training plans are general guidance, not personal coaching, and have not been reviewed by a titled coach.