[Chess] lichess.org

I encouraged him: “But Howard, you are making basic counting errors and so are your opponents. The only difference is that you are taking less advantage of their basic errors than they are of yours. If you take your time and concentrate on just making fewer basic safety errors and taking more advantage of your opponents’, you will win almost every game against players of that level!” And indeed that did happen; eventually Howard burst through that barrier and kept on going.

Today Howard’s ICC rating is hovering around 1700 and, like all 1700 players, he does not find playing an 1100 player challenging because they would likely just give him free material. What has changed? Howard’s board vision, tactical vision, and thought process have all improved, so that he only rarely allows trades that lose material and, when his opponent allows them, he almost always takes advantage of the situation. Also, his understanding of chess principles has greatly improved; he knows much better how to apply these principles and when one takes precedence over another. He has always been a slow and careful player, but now that extra thinking time is reaping much more effective benefits.