Getting better at age 60?

WOW! what a lot of positive input in this thread! I was going to say... but it seems everything I wanted to add has already been said.
Go for it

@Atharv911 said in #18:

People here are very ancient, like fossils, because I am gonna be 11 this year

@borninthesixties
Just remember, all of us "fossils" were your age once. If you're lucky, you too will be a fossil some day. And believe me, it will happen faster than you would ever think possible!

I remember – from the height of my 60 years old I remember my 11 years old: these people who were this age (my age or +) seemed so old to me as if out of my time – and I had this great chance to arrive here and now AND in the world of chess – in this world of chess we are all free in words and play on the chessboard whether we are children or "old" - in my opinion you Tell the truth, both of you: your words are touching.

I wish everyone exciting adventures on the chessboard

@coderunner86 said in #1:

However, should I even somewhat seriously try to get better?

As already said above numerous times, yes.

My opinion about adult improvement differs from that of the majority of players. I don't think kids are dramatically better at picking it up, I think they are vastly less distracted. When Mom and Dad take care of everything, you can focus on meaningless stuff. When you're responsible for your own life, family, job, etc, spending all your time playing chess isn't often possible. That's what I think really differentiates the old from the young in this respect.

Check out Vasyl Ivanchuck's performance lately. He's tearing it up at age 56. He's undefeated in 3 consecutive tournaments and had a 3250 performance in that time. As well as picking up 39.7pts of rating and gained 75 spots on the live ratings list during this MONTH. Not too shabby for an old guy.

https://2700chess.com/?per-page=100

https://2700chess.com/players/ivanchuk_vasyl

@coderunner86 said in #4:

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Would you have a book recommendation then for somebody like me?

<snip>

The Zurich 1953 International Chess Tournament written by David Bronstein is very well known for having clear explanations that are well written.

I only suggest this, that older adults need clear explanations rather than diagrams and analysis, because it is a preference of mine that seems to have worked. I really have no evidence to support this claim, but it makes sense to me.

Approach it how i do. Chess and other complex games help stave off dementia. Maybe we never play above 1900. But as long as I still remember to wear pants in public when I'm 80 it is worth it.

Now if I'd just give up pizza and ice cream......

1. Be patient to move a piece so not to blunder. Forget Blitz and Bullet.
2. Play limited openings
3. Spend time learning to make better positional decisions.
4. Work on endgames more. But I.... No, do more.
5. Puzzles. And more puzzles. Create your own puzzles. So you can have familiarity of the middlegame positions you get in your limited openings.
6. Don't try to memorize 30 moves in 20 variations. We are not 16. We could seizure trying.

Yes it is possible to improve at 60.

I will turn to 63 very soon and have gone from 1200 to 1600 in rapid games in the last 2 years.

It implies to study, do puzzles, play games, try to fix your mistakes and many many hours.

In my case, I am closer to 70 than 60. I played very little (but some!) chess in the past 20+ years, because for most of that I was living in another country. Learning a new career, a new language, starting a new family, saving for and buying a new home, etc. But I have played some, during my occasional returns to Canada. I can see certain aspects of my game are far off what they were. Especially in sharp tactical operations. But I can also sit down with a book (or e-book now) and focus long enough and hard enough to get something. Is it enough to get my rating back over 2000, perhaps to stay? I don't think so. I'm just not competitive enough. But it's enough to get close again, to get into that higher A-class domain. And I think I could be happy with that.

I would not play limited opening. I do not have openings i really never plyed before, but from time to time i manage one i forgot i have played before ;-)
Playing something quite unknown from time to time helps you to get or stay bit flexible. I do not need to mention that really important games needs a more conventional approach, do i?

Lichess has an excellent practice and study sections under Learn. Skim through some endgames under practice recommended. Find some pet openings suiting your style under study section.

I use to play asymmetrical and now with all the expert players, it's easier to play in a symmetrical way without being 100% symmetrical. If an expert plays well and it's good for them, than chances are it will be good for me. If i cannot see the mistake, than it's plenty good.