How can I improve at this point? I am 1700 rated now.

@kajalmaya said in #20:
> ... watching high level games live. ... when the player takes time
> to make a move, you know that the position is critical, and then
> you also naturally spend more time thinking more about the
> position, trying to understand what the big problem is. ...
For me, a problem is that high level players can see things much more quickly than I do. With reading, I can easily proceed through a game at a rate that is comfortable for me. I also need helpful explanations. I once saw a lecture by Bobby Fischer. He would wave his hand vaguely across the board and make comments like, "Take, take, take, and it's all over."

@kajalmaya said in #20:
> Something that does not get mentioned much is watching high level games live

Aside from occasionally seeing some really fast customers that don't screw up much, most of the live games I watch are slow and loaded with errors people of their rank shouldn't be making. Which tells me they are just playing ranking games and screwing around. None of which are good to learn from.

I rank 650 on average so I know what I'm talkn bout.

@kindaspongey said in #22:
> For me, a problem is that high level players can see things much more quickly than I do. With reading, I can easily proceed through a game at a rate that is comfortable for me. I also need helpful explanations. I once saw a lecture by Bobby Fischer. He would wave his hand vaguely across the board and make comments like, "Take, take, take, and it's all over."

Of course, there is no substitute for learning from books. But if since I don't play much and don't study at all, watching games gives me enough overall training.