I picked chess back up about 2 months ago after a very long hiatus. I played competitively OTB as a kid in the 90s and had a rating somewhere around 1200-1300. Fast forward a couple decades, and on Chess.com I’m currently around 1600 rapid, ~1700 puzzles, and my Puzzle Rush high score is 27 (really want to break 30). My blitz and bullet ratings are abysmal and we don’t need to talk about those. Blunders everywhere.
I want to start taking improvement a little more seriously, but honestly the amount of stuff out there now is overwhelming compared to when I was younger. Back then it was basically “buy a book and get humbled repeatedly.” Now it’s courses, apps, memberships, streaks, spaced repetition systems, opening repertoires, dopamine-fueled YouTube thumbnails, and twelve different guys promising they can get you to 2000 with one weird trick. At the moment I’m kind of stuck in the “overwhelmed but motivated” phase.
If you had an extra 30-60 minutes a day to devote to serious and consistent study, where would you spend it? Chess.com premium? Chessable courses? Chessreps? Or dust off an old copy of Reassess Your Chess?
Also, ever since I started watching chess content again, my feeds have become nonstop ads for courses, boot camps, dojos, secret systems, etc. I’m sure some of them are genuinely great, but some definitely have “made with ChatGPT and a ring light” vibes.
I don’t mind spending money if something is actually worth it and helps streamline improvement, but I’m not looking to light cash on fire either. Any advice from people who’ve been down this road would be appreciated.