You don’t need more chess knowledge. You need to look before you move.
10,752 of your games are blitz, 93% of them 3+0. Your rating has lived between 800 and 1,080 since 2020. The engine says why, and it is mostly one habit.
The short answer
Analysed: Player A’s chess.com blitz games: 10,837 games · Stockfish 19 on the latest 2,000 (Mar 9 2025 – Sep 20 2026). Report date: .
Verdict: Rating: 799 → 1,039 in 90 days. Move quality: unchanged. Accuracy, blunder rate and opening results are statistically identical to the prior nine months. What changed is that you now save more lost games (26% → 38%, p = 0.001) — real fighting spirit plus generous opponents, not better chess. A 200-point swing inside 90 days has happened in half of all 90-day windows since 2020. Expect it to fade unless the habits below change.
Biggest leaks:
- One-move oversights: 1,081 mistakes · 23% of all
- Not taking what’s offered: 1,704 missed punishments · you cash in only 58% of opponent blunders
- Openings that start you in a hole: As Black: −1.8 average by move 10 · ≥1.5 pawns down in 46% of games
How to review your own games for free · Time pressure in chess, measured
1000–1400
The r/chessbeginners rating guide describes this band plainly: players still sometimes hang pieces, don’t understand openings yet, and create weaknesses with random pawn moves. Most of them already know enough chess. What they lack is a check they run before every move.
That is you, almost to the number. 460 pieces left where they were attacked, 427 moved onto attacked squares, −1.8 by move 10 as Black. Your puzzle rating (≈1,600) says the knowledge is there. Your rating has lived between 800 and 1,080 since 2020 because the habit isn’t.
Improving, or lucky?
| Metric | Last 30d | Last 90d | Prior 9 mo | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results | ||||
| Games | 170 | 413 | 953 | |
| Rating, start → end | 930 → 1039 | 799 → 1039 | 1013 → 791 | up |
| Score | 53.8% | 53.3% | 48.1% | p = 0.08, not significant |
| Skill — what the engine sees | ||||
| Your accuracy | 79.0 | 79.7 | 80.1 | flat (p = 0.36) |
| Opponents’ accuracy | 79.1 | 79.6 | 80.3 | flat |
| Big mistakes per 40 moves | 3.00 | 2.89 | 2.83 | flat (p = 0.81) |
| Opponent blunders you punish | 60% | 58% | 58% | flat |
| Eval at move 10 as Black | −2.1 | −1.8 | −2.0 | flat — still bad |
| More accurate than opponent | 47% | 47% | 46% | flat |
| Resilience & luck | ||||
| Score after being −5 or worse | 37.8% | 37.5% | 26.2% | real change (p = 0.001) |
| Score after reaching +5 | 71.9% | 72.2% | 65.8% | borderline (p = 0.055) |
| Wins that came from a lost position | 47% | 47% | 33% | half your wins are comebacks |
| Wins on the clock while losing on the board | 14% | 12% | 9% | flag luck rising |
Rating, rolling 50-game average
Same band for 18 months. The current climb starts from the lowest trough in the sample.Accuracy, rolling 50-game average
If you were improving, the blue line would pull away from the orange one. It never has.Credit where due: not resigning and fighting on is a skill, and it is paying. But it is a skill that depends on opponents erring back. Both players reach +5 in over 60% of your games — these are coin-flip brawls. Fewer blunders is the only durable way up.
Six leaks, ranked by rating points
Every position below is from your own games in the last 120 days. Decide first, then open the answer and step through what you played and what was best with the ← → buttons (or your arrow keys). Red arrows show what went wrong, green arrows what was best.
1 · One-move oversights
1,081 mistakes · 23% of allIt never even passed through my mind that this was threatened.
460 times you ignored a piece that was already attacked. 427 times you moved a piece onto an attacked square. 146 times you walked into mate in 1–3. Your blunder rate is the same with 90+ seconds on the clock (7.4 per 100 moves) as with under 10 (6.1) — this is not time trouble. It is not looking.
- Why it happens
- You play what Dan Heisman calls Hope Chess: you move without checking their forcing replies and hope there is an answer. The clock isn’t the cause. Your blunder rate is 7.4 per 100 moves with 90+ seconds left and 6.1 with under 10.
- The habit
- Heisman’s “Is it safe?” check on every move. What did their last move attack? What can they check or capture after mine? It takes three seconds, and you still hold 104 of your 180 at move 20.
- The drill
- 15 minutes a day of Lichess Hanging piece puzzles, untimed, 95% correct. Finish with one Puzzle Streak run. One miss ends it, so it rewards looking before you click.
- What success looks like
- Big mistakes at 2.4 per 40 moves or fewer (now 2.9). Half as many pieces left en prise in your next 40 games.
- Dan Heisman: Is Your Move Safe?articleThe blunder check, explained by the coach who named it.
- Lichess Puzzles: Hanging PiecepracticeSpot the undefended piece, yours and theirs. The core skill below 1400.
- Lichess Puzzle StreakpracticeNo clock, one mistake ends the run. It rewards checking before you move.
- GM Aman Hambleton: Building Chess HabitsvideoHabit rules staged by rating, from beginner to about 2000. Start with the videos at your rating.
Practice this: The blunder check →
2 · Not taking what’s offered
1,704 missed punishments · you cash in only 58% of opponent blundersTake every Pawn or piece that may be offered to you unless you see immediate danger.
243 free pieces left on the board. 19 mates-in-one not played. Opponents blunder as often as you do; whoever notices first wins. Before every move: checks, captures, threats — for both sides.
- Why it happens
- Your opponents blunder as often as you do. You cash in only 58% of those blunders because you look at your own plan, not at their last move. 243 free pieces and 19 mates in one went untaken.
- The habit
- Checks, captures, threats (CCT), in that order, for both sides, on every move. Forcing moves first, because forcing moves decide games at your level.
- The drill
- Five minutes of Lichess Mate in 1 before every session, then Mate in 2. In games, look at every check before any other move.
- What success looks like
- Punish 68% of opponent blunders or more (now 58%). No missed mate in one in your next 40 games.
- Lichess Puzzles: Mate in 1practiceFast pattern reps. A good five-minute warm-up before you play.
- Lichess Puzzles: Mate in 2practiceThe next step once mate in 1 is easy.
- Lichess Practice: Checkmate Patterns IpracticeNamed mating patterns, back rank first. Pattern memory is what makes a mate jump off the board.
- IM John Bartholomew: Chess FundamentalsvideoEpisode 1 is “Undefended Pieces”. That’s the free material you keep walking past.
Practice this: Is it really safe? Counting attackers and defenders →
3 · Openings that start you in a hole
As Black: −1.8 average by move 10 · ≥1.5 pawns down in 46% of gamesIn the openings avoid moving the same piece twice. It retards your development.
As White you are fine on average (+0.2) except for the Qf3/Qh5 sorties. As Black you are regularly lost before the middlegame: early …Qf6, the Scotch (−2.8), the London (−2.7), generic 1.d4 (−2.2), Italian (score 32%). In a quarter of all games your first blunder comes before move 10.
- Why it happens
- Qf3, Qh5, Qb3 and …Qf6 all move the queen early and move it again when it gets chased. Your knights stay at home. As Black you are 1.5 pawns or more down by move 10 in 46% of your games.
- The habit
- Knights out, then bishops, then castle. No queen move before move 8 unless it wins material. Play one setup as White and one as Black. You need fewer lines, not more.
- The drill
- Step through the week-3 walkthroughs until you can play them without the board. Then open your last ten Black games on the Lichess analysis board and mark the move where you left the setup.
- What success looks like
- Eval at move 10 as Black of −0.7 or better (now −1.8). Your first blunder comes after move 10, not before it (now a quarter of your games).
- ChessNetwork (NM Jerry): Beginner to Chess MastervideoA patient climb through the ratings with every idea explained.
- Lichess Analysis board + Opening ExplorerpracticeCheck your own opening lines against master games. The explorer needs a free Lichess login.
- Lichess Puzzles: OpeningpracticeTactics from the first moves of the game, where cheap traps live.
Practice this: Opening rules that win games →
4 · Not converting won games
Reached +5 in 1,220 games · lost 382 · drew 40My wife does not really know how to play chess, but she can beat anyone who loses on time against her.
164 of those losses were on time, 163 by checkmate. When you are winning you keep attacking at 2 seconds a move instead of trading down and checking your own king. 35% of your big mistakes are made from positions that were already winning.
- Why it happens
- You reached +5 in 1,220 games and lost 382 of them, 164 on time and 163 to checkmate. 35% of all your big mistakes come from positions that were already won. Winning is when you stop checking.
- The habit
- When you’re +3: trade pieces, not pawns. Check your own king. Then ask what their only threat is and take it away. That is prophylaxis, Nimzowitsch’s idea: stop their plan before you run yours.
- The drill
- K+Q vs K and K+R vs K in under 30 seconds, five times a day. Then play +5 positions from your own lost games against a level 4–5 bot until you win each twice.
- What success looks like
- Score from +5 at 80% or more (now 67%). No more stalemates. Five of your games were drawn that way.
- Lichess Practice: Piece Checkmates IpracticeQueen, rook and two-rook mates until they are automatic. A won game you can’t finish is not won.
- Lichess Puzzles: CrushingpracticePositions where one move wins decisively. Train the instinct to finish.
- Prophylaxis (chess) on WikipediaarticleA short definition of prophylaxis: asking what the opponent wants before you move.
- GM Daniel Naroditsky: Beginner to Master SpeedrunvideoThe late GM Naroditsky explained his thinking move by move. Watch what he does once he is ahead: that is the skill this leak is about.
Practice this: Converting a won game: trade pieces, not pawns →
5 · Two-move tactics: forks, loose pieces, f2/f7
≈1,900 mistakes punished by a short tacticWhenever we see an unprotected piece we must keep our eyes peeled because this is one of the most important ingredients of a combination.
Most common punishers: capture sequences on under-defended pieces (653), attacks on pieces with no retreat (651), checks (297), forks (270). Your puzzle rating (≈1,600) says you can find these when told one exists. In games nobody tells you.
- Why it happens
- Most of these are short shots at loose pieces: 653 capture sequences on under-defended pieces, 651 attacks on pieces with no retreat, 270 forks. Your puzzle rating says you can solve them. In a game, nobody tells you a tactic is there.
- The habit
- LPDO: loose pieces drop off, the rule popularized by GM John Nunn. After every move, name each undefended piece on both sides. When an enemy knight reaches your half, check its fork squares.
- The drill
- One puzzle theme every two days, 20 minutes a day: Fork, Pin, Trapped piece, Discovered attack. Do the matching Lichess Practice module first, then the puzzles.
- What success looks like
- Fork losses cut in half (270 in this sample). You find your own forks as often as they find theirs: the same drill fixes both.
- ChessBase: Loose Pieces Drop Off (LPDO)articleThe rule popularized by GM John Nunn: an undefended piece is a target waiting to happen.
- Lichess Practice: The ForkpracticeThe tactic amateurs miss most, and fall for most. Short and interactive.
- Lichess Practice: The PinpracticePins explain a lot of “I didn’t see that” losses. Do it right after the fork module.
- Lichess Puzzles: Trapped PiecepracticeThe quiet win: attack a piece that has nowhere to go.
Practice this: Forks: one piece, two targets →
6 · Endgames played at 1.4 seconds a move
Score in 40+ move games: 38% · entered winning endgames: only 71%It should be borne in mind that a player strong in the endings will have a decided advantage over the others.
You reach move 40 with 37 seconds on average and lose 38 clearly winning endgames on time. 85% of endgame mistakes are in rook or rook-plus-minor endings: passive king, rook behind nothing, missed back-rank and edge mates.
- Why it happens
- You reach move 40 with 37 seconds on average and play the ending at 1.4 seconds a move. 85% of your endgame mistakes are in rook endings: passive king, a rook behind nothing, missed edge mates.
- The habit
- Keep 60 seconds for move 30 and beyond. In the ending the king is a fighting piece, so walk it to the centre first. Rooks go behind passed pawns, as Tarrasch taught.
- The drill
- Silman’s Complete Endgame Course, your rating section only. Then Lichess Practice: Opposition, and Basic Rook Endgames.
- What success looks like
- Score in 40+ move games of 48% or better (now 38%). No clearly winning ending lost on time (now 38).
- Jeremy Silman: Silman’s Complete Endgame CoursebookChapters are split by rating. Read your section and the one below it, nothing more.
- Lichess Practice: OppositionpracticeKing-and-pawn basics. The foundation for converting a simplified win.
- Lichess Practice: Basic Rook EndgamespracticeLucena and Philidor ideas. Rook endings are the most common endings you will reach.
- Lichess Puzzles: Rook EndgamepracticeRook-ending puzzles. Pairs with the rook endgame practice modules.
Practice this: Converting a won game: trade pieces, not pawns →
The plan
Five rules, starting today
- The 3-second blunder check. Before releasing any move: “What did their last move attack? What can they check or capture after mine?” You have the time — at move 20 you still hold 104 of 180 seconds.
- Checks, captures, threats — theirs first, then yours. Every move, especially right after the opponent moves a piece next to your king or queen.
- Play 5+3 or 10+0 for the next 8 weeks. At most one 3+0 session a week. You cannot build a look-first habit at 3 seconds a move. 10,000 games of 3+0 have produced zero rating change.
- When +3 or more: trade pieces, not pawns; king safety first; no new adventures.
- Stop after two losses in a row (you score 40–48% after 2–3 straight losses), and max 6 games per session (game 7+ scores 45%).
Before you let go of the piece
- What did their last move attack?
- Checks, captures, threats: theirs first, then mine.
- Is the square I’m moving to safe?
- Up +3 or more? Trade pieces, guard my king, no adventures.
Week by week
Each week has a board. Pick a tab, then step through it with ← → or your arrow keys. Every line was checked for legality; the two basic mates are Stockfish’s own play.
Board vision
Your game, move 8. You are +2.5. Before moving: what did their last move attack?
- Daily 15 min: Lichess puzzle themes Hanging piece, Mate in 1, Mate in 2. Untimed, aim 95% correct — accuracy over speed.
- Daily 5 min: for each puzzle position, first name every undefended piece on both sides.
- 2–3 games of 10+0. After each: find your first big mistake with Game Review and write which rule it broke.
A repertoire you can’t lose from
Your new White opening. Same setup every game.
- Step through all five tabs until you can play each line from memory, then play them out against a level-3 bot.
- White: the Italian setup. Delete Qf3, Qh5 and Qb3. If you keep the King’s Gambit, the knight comes out before anything is captured.
- Black: knight defends e5, bishop to c5, castle. One setup against every 1.d4.
- Rule: no queen move before move 8 unless it wins material or the line above says so.
Two-move tactics
King behind three unmoved pawns, no rook guarding the back rank.
- Daily 20 min puzzles by theme, one theme per 2 days: Fork, Pin, Trapped piece, Discovered attack, Removing the defender, Back-rank mate, Kingside attack (h7/f7).
- Learn the 10 basic mate patterns (back rank, smothered, Anastasia, Arabian, Qh7/Qg7 support mates, Légal, Scholar’s, Greek gift idea).
- In games: whenever a knight reaches your 4th/5th rank, check its fork squares.
Winning won games
Box the king in with the queen a knight-move away, bring your king, mate. Drill until it takes under 30 seconds.
- Play 10 “+5” positions from your own lost games against Stockfish level 4–5 until you win each twice.
- Drill: K+Q vs K and K+R vs K mates in under 30 seconds each, five times daily. You drew 5 games by stalemating.
- Checklist when ahead: is my king safe → what can I trade → what is their only threat.
Endgames that actually occur
King on the 6th rank ahead of its pawn always wins.
- Silman’s Complete Endgame Course, parts for beginner → class C only: opposition, square of the pawn, rook behind passed pawns, Lucena and Philidor ideas, king activity.
- Lichess Practice: Rook endgames, Pawn endgames basics.
- Clock rule: keep ≥ 60 s for move 30+. Spend less in the opening (you now know it) — not less in the endgame.
Audit again
- Play 40 games at 5+3.
- Re-run this exact analysis on them. If accuracy is ≥ 82 and blunders ≤ 2.4 / 40, the gain is real and 1,150–1,200 follows. Then go back to 3+0 if you like.
- If not: repeat weeks 1–2. That habit is worth more than everything else combined.
Rough value of each fix, from your own numbers: converting +5 positions at 80% instead of 67% is worth ≈ +55 Elo. Reaching the middlegame level as Black instead of −1.8 is plausibly worth as much, and halving one-move oversights likely more than both.
All games from the chess.com public API. Stockfish 19, 150k nodes per position, every position of the latest 2,000 blitz/rapid games (≈130k positions). Mistake = ≥20 win-percentage points lost in one move (Lichess win-% model); accuracy uses the Lichess formula, so numbers differ slightly from chess.com’s CAPS. Motif tags are heuristic. Significance: Welch z-test, last 30/90 days vs days 91–365. Older games (2009–Feb 2025) were used for opening, time-of-day and streak statistics only.