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A few things helped me suddenly improve from a long 1800 USCF plateau to over 2000 while I was in my forties, but one was using spaced repetition on all of the exercises in Johan Hellsten's Mastering Chess Strategy and Mastering Endgame Strategy (I did it by hand but these days they're on Chessable). It hugely decreased the time I spent at sea in the middlegame and early endgame.

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Those are some of my favorite books!

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Great post. This is essentially the idea behind Techniques of Positional Play. It was originally a Russian book that roughly translated to ‘45 Strategic Receptions.’ I find myself thinking about the ideas in this book often in middlegame positions where I’m looking for a plan. Of course, there’s an endless sea of ideas that fit this character which is why saving those positions and drilling them is a good idea.

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Just a comment on "priyome" word meaning in Russian. In this context it can be translated as "a device, method, way to do something, gimmick". And other translations (like "reception", "acceptance", etc.) are just completely different words which are spelt the same in Russian. They are basically homonyms, like, say, "bat" in English (it can be either an animal or a thing to hit a ball, that's two different words).

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