Study · Guide

A chess study plan that works

A good chess study plan spends most of its time on tactics and your own games — not memorising openings. Here’s a 30-minutes-a-day template you can actually keep.

A weekly chess study plan

You don’t need hours a day. Here’s a plan that fits in about 30 minutes most days and actually moves your rating, because it spends the time where it counts: your own games and the patterns you miss.

• Every day (10–15 min): tactics, focused on the patterns you actually miss.
• After each serious game: a quick review — find the one turning point and the lesson.
• Twice a week: drill the weakness your reviews keep surfacing until it stops.
• Once a week: 15 minutes of opening ideas — understanding, not memorising.

Why this works

It’s built on the same loop as real improvement: study your games, fix one thing at a time, and practise it. The daily tactics keep your pattern recognition sharp; the reviews make sure you’re fixing real mistakes, not imaginary ones.