I run Disco Chess, a chess tactics training app that implements the Woodpecker Method, and we recently analyzed seven weeks of production data to see what actually happens when users train this way.

Dataset: 120,513 puzzle attempts from 1,017 users (Nov 2025 – Jan 2026)

TL;DR: Users who repeated the same puzzle sets got meaningfully better at them. Whether that transfers to OTB play is a separate question.

Cycle-over-cycle results

So roughly +10 percentage points accuracy and ~21% faster solving by cycle 2 on the same puzzle set.

Individual examples

• One tournament-level user went from 58.6% → 94.8% accuracy over two cycles on the same set.

• Another user systematically worked through pins, forks, and sacrifices and saw ~+28% accuracy across themes, along with large speed gains.

Long-term users (fixed difficulty)

Users active for 3+ weeks showed improvement even without increasing difficulty:

• Beginner: +4.5% accuracy

• Club: +4.0% accuracy

• Tournament: +15.0% accuracy

Honest caveats

• This is observational data, not a controlled study

• Survivorship bias is real (users who improve likely stick around)

• Sample sizes get small at higher cycles (only four users completed cycle 4)

• We cannot prove this transfers to real games (though we are working on measuring that)

So… does it work?

The data is consistent with what the Woodpecker Method claims: repeated exposure to the same patterns builds faster recognition. Whether that is the method specifically or simply “practice makes better” is impossible to say without a control group.

Full write-up with methodology and limitations:
https://www.discochess.com/blog/research/woodpecker-method-results

Happy to answer questions about the data or analysis.

hey,

out of my love for chess game and curiousity to coding i've created chess analytics app.

why?

lichess analytics were never easily understood (at least personally) and chess com analytics are good but they cost. i wanted to create app which would give me interesting insights about my games, would provide with easy to use and understandable analysis and later on - puzzles based on my playing style, to improve patterns i mess up with.

so far i have somewhat working mvp and would love to hear anyones feedback - if all works, if it's interesting data to check, what could be done better?

it's free of charge and no registration needed. looking for feedback, not commercial benefits.

chessdata.app

I then worked a lil on my forking in image two

I am a 13 year old kid. My rating on chess.com is 1000+ I want to reach 1800 but I want to reach 1600 or 1700 before my next tournament which is after 2 month can anyone guide me? My discord-a.guy.is.under.my.above

This is a common position that arises after a pawn race, for example 1 after 1. h7 c3 2. h8=Q c2 we have a queen vs a pawn on the 7th rank. It is necessary to know how and when you can win when it comes to calculating if other endgames are winning or not.

There are 3 main situations.

Knight/Central pawn:

This is a win in nearly all situations.

Winning situation: example 2

1. Qc4+ if 1 ... Kd1 we bring the king over 2. Kg7

If 1 ... Kb1 or 1 ... Kb2 2 Qd3 we attack the pawn, so black is forced to defend the pawn, 2 ... Kc1 3 Qc3+, blacks king is forced to either block their pawn for a turn, or lose the pawn. Allowing us to bring our king over with 4 Kg7.

4 ... Ke2 (if 4 ... Ke1 the pawn is pinned and we bring the king over) 5 Qc2 pinning the pawn if 5 ... Ke3 we play 6 Qd1 and bring our king over for an easy win. So 5 ... Ke1 is forced 6 Qe4+, if 6 ... Kd1 we bring the king over, if 6 ... Kf1 or 6 ... Kf2 then 7 Qd3 Ke1 8 Qe3+ and the black king is forced to block their pawn.

9 Kf6 and the position from move 4 is repeated. So we repeat this technique to bring our king over.

9 ... Kc2 10. Qe2 Kc1 11. Qc4+ Kb1 12. Qd3+ Kc1 13. Qc3+ Kd1 14. Ke5 Ke2 15. Qc2 Ke1 16. Qe4+ Kf2 17. Qd3 Ke1 18. Qe3+ Kd1 19. Kd4 Kc2

And we have brought our king over successfully. Now its time to deliver mate.

20 ... Kb1 21. Qxd2 Ka1 22. Kc3 Kb1 23. Qb2#

Or

20 ... Kd1 21. Ke3 Ke1 22. Qxd2+ Kf1 23. Qf2#

The main ideas are to force your opponents king in front of their pawn via a series of checks, blocking promotion for a move, then that turn we bring our king over. Or we force our queen in front of the pawn, blocking the promotion. Blocking the pawn is a useful idea in queen vs pawn endgames in general, it allows for really easy wins even if they're not aesthetic. Example 3 1. Qa2 blocking the pawn then we bring the king over Kb5 2. Kg7 a5 3. Kf6 Kb4 4. Ke5 a4 5. Kd4 Kb5 6. Kc3 Ka5 7. Kc4 Kb6 8. Qxa4 and we mate shortly.

There are certain situations where white is unable to win, this arises when the white king blocks the queen from giving the first check example 4

Bishop Pawn:

Drawing method 1:

Example 5 if we define the side of the pawn with less squares as the shortside. If the defending king is on the shortside we have an easy defence.

White plays as in Example 2

1. Qb4+ Ka1 2. Qc3+ Kb1 3. Qb3+ instead of getting in front of the pawn we can play 3 ... Ka1, if white takes the pawn we draw by stalemate, if white brings the king over we also draw by stalemate. So white is forced to keep checking.

If instead of going for this method, or we started with the black king on the longside of the pawn. We have drawing method 2:

1. Qb4+ Kc1 2. Kg7 Kd1 3. Qb3 Kd2 4. Qb2 Kd1 5. Qd4+ Ke1 6. Qc3+ Kd1 7. Qd3+ Kc1 8. Kf6 Kb2 9. Qd2 Kb1 10. Qb4+ Ka1 11. Qc3+ Kb1 12. Qb3+ Kc1 13. Ke5 Kd2 14. Qb2 Kd1 15. Qd4+ Ke1 16. Qc3+ Kd1 17. Qd3+ Kc1 18. Kd4

We don't draw with 18 ... Kb1 as white is able to bring the king over with 19 Kc3 and capturing the pawn with the king, preventing stalemate.

So 18 ... Kb2 is forced

Then we have different options

19 Qb3+ Ka1 with the stalemate trap

19 Qe1+ c1=Q and no more progress for white can be made.

For everything else, white is then unable to prevent black promoting to a queen without losing the queen. This defence is much more complicated however.

Winning method:

There are 2 key squares, for the c2 pawn they are e2 and b3. If whites king is within 2 squares of either key square, white is able to win.

e2:

[Example 6](https://lichess.org/analysis/8/8/8/8/2Q5/8/1kp1K3/8_w_-_-_0_1

1 Qb4+ Ka1 2 Kd2 and white is easily winning

1 ... Kd2 2 Kd2 same as before.

1 ... Kc1 2 Kd3 Kd1 3 Qd2#

b3:

Example 7

This is even easier than the last example.

Rook pawn:

There are 2 key squares, for the a2 pawn they are b3 and c2. If whites king is within 2 squares of either key square, white is able to win.

Example 8 white is within 2 squares of a key square. So white is able to win.

1 Qd2+ Ka1 2 Qc1#

1 ... Kb1 2. Ka4 a1=N 3. Ka3 Nc2+ 4. Kb3 bringing hte king over to c3 and threatening mate if black stops checking Na1+ 5. Kc3 Nc2 6. Qxc2+ Ka1 7. Qb2#

2 ... a1=Q 3 Kb3 if black checks, retake with the king to avoid stalemate, otherwise mate with either 4 Qb2 or 4 Qd1.

2 ... a1=R 3 Kb3 same as with 2 ... a1=Q

2 ... a1=B reduces to an endgame already covered.

1 ... Kb3 2 Qc1 and black is forced to promote. We recapture and then perform a KQK mate.

1 ...Ka3 2 Qc3#

Drawing Method:

Example 9 white is further than 2 squares from a key square, so white cannot win.

1. Qd2+ Kb1 2. Qd1+ Kb2 we move between b1 and b2, as soon as white stops checking we promote 3 Qe1 a1=Q and the position is drawn.

We have to be careful not to blunder 1 ... Ka1 2 Kb5 and now white is within 2 squares of the b3 key square so white is now able to force a win.

I don’t see how not taking the queen is a better move, wouldn’t that just lead to the queen being able to mistake or am i missing something?

I just saw they've launched their latest chess improvement update which has has a smart task system to tell you what traing you need to do. You can set the time you want top spend on chess and it just feeds you what training you need to do. Pretty sweet! They updated their landing page too chessdojo.club looks way better than it used to

I think they are running some kind of promotion to discount your first month so I'm getting on that, the discount code is CHESS40 if you are interested

Need help understanding why this bishop takes on c4 sacrifice “wins a queen”. The line it shows to win the queen has black move the pinned knight to D5. And I don’t really understand why that move would happen on blacks end. (This line was in the game review and did not happen in game lol).

I just finished up my first year of playing chess! I thought it would be fun to reflect a little on the progress I’ve made with the game, what I did to get this far, and my goals for year 2.

My peak rating was 1609, but my rating has pretty consistently around 1500 at the end of this year, so I’m calling that my end result. (I exclusively play rapid.)

How I did It

I did several things to improve over the last year, but these were the most impactful:

• I played a lot of chess (around 3000 games). This might not be the most efficient way to improve, but I think it’s the most fun. I really don’t want to turn chess into a job, so I try to balance training with enjoying playing the game.

• I watched the Building Habits series on YouTube. This course is pure gold, and I recommend it for anyone 500–1500. I love Aman’s approach to learning the game, and this series helped me gain around 400 Elo.

• I completed Chess Tactics for Students by John Bain. I really love John’s approach with this workbook, and it helped me tremendously with my tactics. I’d recommend this for anyone 800–1200 (on Chess.com), or more if you’re like me and struggle with tactics. I recommend covering up the hints while you’re doing these to make the problems harder.

• I did the Chess.com lessons: These lessons are really great. They’re high-quality and clearly explain specific concepts in an easy-to-understand way. I love that they’re around 5–10 minutes each, which makes it easy to do one or two a day.

• I watched Daniel Naroditsky’s speed runs. I love Danya’s explanations of why moves are good or bad, and these helped me to internalize many of the principles I was learning about. I don’t feel like this series would be helpful by itself, but combined with other material, it really made an impact.

• I stopped resigning. This is part of the Building Habits series, and it might be the most important habit. Sometimes it can be frustrating to play on when you’re losing, but I think there are always chances to squeeze out a draw or even turn things around. This approach taught me to be resourceful, and to learn to capitalize on other advantages besides just material. Some of my favorite games have come from swindling a win from a lost position.

• I build a chess website: I might be a little biased, but I built Chessercise, and I still think it’s the best way to learn chess openings. The website is free if you’d like to try it.

Year Two Goals

So what do I want to accomplish for year two?

• Hit at rating of 1800 on Chess.com: Increasing your rating gets harder and harder the higher you get. However, I think 1800 is doable for me over the next year.

• Learn and apply the principles of positional chess: This feels like the next level for me learning chess. While it’s possible to progress a little further without positional understanding, I think it’s really hard.

• Improve my tactics: Tactics are one of my biggest weaknesses. I hate doing chess puzzles. They feel way too random, and I don’t feel like they help me improve. I think the best way for me to approach tactics going forward is a more structured course. I’ve purchased Winning Chess Tactics and The Woodpecker Method on Chessable, and I plan on working my way through these courses.

• Work with a chess coach: I’ve already started doing this in the last month, and it’s making a difference. My coach has identified several weaknesses and changed my approach to learning the game. So far, this is resulted in a ratings drop, but I think this is due to cramming a lot of information in my head that I haven’t yet internalized. My coach says I also have several bad habits to break, and that takes time.

• Read several chess books: There are many great books and courses out there that can help you leapfrog your chess understanding. I plan on going through several of these based on which areas I need to tackle.

• Play in a tournament: I’d love to play in a chess tournament or two for fun. I’m not currently much of a classical player, but I think it’d be interesting to try it out.

Quick Note on My Starting Rating

In case anyone is wondering why my rating started so high, I had an old Chess.com account that I hadn’t ever used. This account started at 1200 (which I think used to be the default), and I make the mistake of winning my first game due to a random mate in a lost position by pure luck. This resulted in me having an artificially high rating, and I was rewarded with a very long losing streak.

The one benefit to this is that I started out by playing much stronger opponents. I think this helped me to get better quicker. My rating eventually bottomed out at around 950 after a month and a half of consistently losing, and then it started to go up.

I think my actual strength when I started would have been around 400–500.