Deblunder study notebook
Stuck at the same chess rating? Find what is holding you back
If your rating has stopped moving, more games and more random puzzles rarely fix it. Look at a sample of your own games in one time control, find the cause that repeats, train that cause for a few weeks and check whether it appears less often.
First, check that the plateau is real
Ratings move up and down with normal variation. Lichess documents that it uses the Glicko-2 system, which tracks both a rating and how uncertain it is. A few weeks around the same number can be noise, especially if you play few games or switch between time controls.
Look at one time control at a time. A blitz rating and a rapid rating measure different skills under different clocks, and mixing them hides the trend. If one time control has been flat for months with a steady number of games, you have a real plateau worth diagnosing.
Where are the points actually lost?
Take your last 10 to 30 games in that time control, losses and draws first. For each one, find the moment the evaluation fell decisively. Note the phase (opening, middlegame, endgame), the clock situation and the type of decision.
Patterns usually appear quickly: pieces left undefended after a capture, checks not considered, winning positions not converted, time trouble in every long game. One or two causes explain most lost points far more often than a broad lack of knowledge.
Pick one cause and train it for real
Choose the cause that repeats most in decisive moments. Then train positions where that exact cause happened in your games. Generic material on the same theme helps, but your own positions carry the context in which you actually fail.
Keep sessions short and regular: a few positions per day, with mistakes coming back for review after some days. Before each move in your next games, add one specific check linked to that cause, such as 'what does this piece stop defending or blocking if it moves?'
Play games that let you use the training
Very fast games leave no time to apply a new check. If your plateau is in blitz, include some rapid games where you practice the habit consciously, then bring it back to faster games. Review each new game for the trained cause specifically.
Opening study can help when you repeatedly lose in the first moves, but it is rarely the main cause of a long plateau below master level. Let your own games decide where study time goes.
Measure the cause, not only the rating
Rating reacts slowly and depends on opponents. A faster signal is the frequency of the trained cause in new games of the same time control: is it appearing less? Count it with the sample size in view, and be careful with small samples.
Deblunder is built around this loop. It diagnoses recurring causes in your Chess.com, Lichess or PGN games, trains them with your own positions, and shows whether those causes appear less in later games, without mixing time controls or promising rating gains.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my chess rating not improving?
Usually because one or two recurring causes keep costing points, and general study does not target them. Diagnose a sample of your own games in one time control and train the cause that repeats in decisive moments.
Should I play more games to break a plateau?
More games alone often repeat the same mistakes. Playing is necessary, but pair it with a review of each game for the specific cause you are training.
How long until I see results?
It varies by player and time invested, and no honest tool can guarantee rating gains. Track whether the trained cause appears less in new games over several weeks; rating changes tend to follow more slowly.