Breaking Bad (Chess Habits) - Remote Chess Academy (2025)

When learning chess, it’s easy to develop habits that stick with us over time, for better or worse. Many of us wish we had been taught the right way to think and play from the start. If bad habits form early on, they become ingrained with every game.

As the saying goes, “Practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes permanent”—or almost. The good news is, even though it takes more effort, it’s still possible to break these bad habits and steer your chess journey in the right direction.

Let’s explore some of the most common bad habits in chess and how to correct them.

1. Planning to Win Quickly

• The Problem: Many beginners tend to rely on unsound opening traps. Before the internet, the best-selling chess books for beginners usually had the title, ”How to Win Chess Quickly” or some variation of it. However, strong players would know how to counter those and turn the tables.
• The Solution: Aim for improvement, not quick victories. To be in the league of strong players, one must learn how to think like a strong player. This means making the best moves, not just hoping that your opponent misses the threats and bake a blunder.

Read more about winning chess games quickly in this article.

2. Rushing Through Moves

• The Problem: One of the worst habits players develop is moving too quickly. In games where there’s plenty of time, players still rush decisions, often leading to unnecessary mistakes or missed tactics. Once this habit takes hold, it becomes hard to break.
• The Solution: Slowing down and practicing mindful chess is key. Before making any move, take the time to assess the board and think about the implications. Building the discipline to ask yourself critical questions before acting—like “What is my opponent trying to do?”—will help curb impulsiveness. If you had been taught from the start to slow down and fully understand each position, you’d save yourself from countless blunders.

3. Ignoring Opponent’s Threats

• The Problem: Many players become overly focused on their own plans, ignoring their opponent’s threats and intentions. This leads to tunnel vision, where simple tactical ideas or traps are missed, and games slip away.
• The Solution: Train yourself to always be aware of your opponent’s ideas. After each of their moves, pause and think: “What does this move do? What threats am I missing?” If this habit had been ingrained early on, you’d naturally consider your opponent’s plans as much as your own. It’s never too late to build this habit; it just takes extra work to overcome the neglect of earlier practice.

4. Failing to Develop Pieces Properly

• The Problem: Many players fail to properly develop their pieces in the opening, a habit that can result in disorganized and cramped positions. Instead of following fundamental principles, they move a few pieces repeatedly or focus too much on a single plan.
• The Solution: Stick to basic opening principles: develop your knights and bishops early, castle your king to safety, and coordinate your pieces. If this had been emphasized from the start, you’d naturally open games with a strong, balanced position. Breaking the habit now will take focused effort, but it’s possible with disciplined practice.

5. Underestimating Pawn Structure

• The Problem: Pawn structure often gets overlooked by newer players, resulting in long-term weaknesses like doubled or isolated pawns. Poor pawn structure is difficult to repair and can be a liability throughout the game.
• The Solution: Prioritize learning about pawn structure early on. Had you been taught this concept from the beginning, you’d instinctively value it during games. Now, fixing this oversight involves studying common pawn structures and understanding how they affect both strategy and tactics. It’s not too late to rebuild this skill, but it will take dedication.

6. Overvaluing Material Over Position

• The Problem: Players often become fixated on material gain, prioritizing capturing pieces and pawns over positional advantage. This materialistic approach leads to losing games despite having an edge in pieces.
• The Solution: Learn to evaluate positions holistically. Material is only one aspect of the game—factors like piece activity, king safety, and pawn structure often outweigh small material gains. Had you been taught from the outset to balance material considerations with positional understanding, your games would flow more strategically. Now, shifting your mindset will require practice, but it’s a critical step toward improvement.

7. Ignoring the Endgame Study

• The Problem: Many players neglect endgame study, mistakenly believing that material advantage alone will win the game. This leaves them vulnerable to turning winning positions into draws or losses.
• The Solution: Early education on endgame principles—like king activity, opposition, and pawn promotion—would have set you up for success. To break this bad habit now, focus on studying key endgame concepts and practicing common endgame scenarios. The more you understand endgames, the better you’ll be at converting winning positions or defending tough ones.

8. Not Analyzing Past Games

• The Problem: Without analyzing previous games, players fail to learn from their mistakes and end up repeating them. This can result in a plateau where bad habits go uncorrected.
• The Solution: Reviewing games is crucial for growth. If you’d been taught early on to reflect on your moves and understand where things went wrong, bad habits wouldn’t be so deeply ingrained. Now, making game analysis part of your routine can help you identify recurring errors and eliminate them with more conscious practice.

9. Relying Too Much on Memorized Openings

• The Problem: Memorizing opening lines without understanding the underlying principles is a bad habit that leaves players vulnerable in the middlegame. This over-reliance on openings can lead to stagnation in overall chess understanding.
• The Solution: Instead of just memorizing moves, focus on understanding the principles behind them. Had this approach been part of your foundational training, your game would be more flexible. Now, it’s time to unlearn dependency on memorized moves and start thinking more critically about positions.

Conclusion: It’s Never Too Late to Break Bad Habits

While it would have been ideal to learn the right way from the start, the reality is that many of us develop bad habits in chess. The silver lining is that with the right mindset and focused effort, you can break these habits, even if it takes more work than it would have initially.

Chess is a game of continuous growth and learning, and by addressing these bad habits now, you can unlock your full potential as a player. It’s never too late to correct course, and the improvements you make today will shape the future of your chess journey.