The 10-Habit Chess Improvement System

Stop studying chess randomly.
Build a system that tells you exactly what to work on next.

This is a practical course for serious chess players. You'll learn how to turn your games into lessons, your lessons into training, and your training into long-term progress.

✅ 25 video lessons on 10 habits that improve your chess
✅ Templates that turn each game into a lesson, a drill, and your next goal
✅ Taught by an International Master
✅ Designed for ambitious players roughly 1200+
✅ Launch offer: use the code TENHABITS at checkout

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Most chess study never turns into improvement

You play a game. You run the engine. You spot a blunder. You sigh and you move on. The next day you're back to a random video or a fresh batch of puzzles. Then you play again and make a mistake that feels strangely familiar.

No, it's not a problem with effort. You're putting in the hours. The hours just aren't connected to your actual games. Each piece of training is fine on its own. But nothing links them. That's the gap this course fixes.

A stronger improvement process

The 10-Habit Chess Improvement System (10HCIS) is built around one idea: your serious games should tell you what to work on next.

Right now, all sorts of things decide what you study: your mood, the latest video in your feed, the latest opening course. None of that should decide your training.

You stop asking "What should I study today?" and start asking "What did my last serious game show me?"

The course turns that idea into a loop you run after every serious game:

Play a serious game → review it → pull out one lesson → set one drill → take one goal into your next game.

Then repeat.

What you'll walk away with

By the end of this course, you won't be guessing what to study anymore.
You'll walk away:

knowing how to review a game before using the engine
spotting the one lesson worth keeping from each game
turning each mistake into a drill that targets it
recognising recurring weaknesses across games
choosing your next drill on purpose
learning from every game you play and review

Picture your next serious game. You play it. Then you sit down and review it properly, and instead of stopping at "I blundered," you pull out one clear lesson. You turn that lesson into a drill that fits the exact mistake you made. You take one goal into your next game, and you watch it change how you play.

That's not a one-time fix. It's a loop you run again and again, and it leaves your chess a little sharper each time.

You'll have the confidence of always knowing what to work on next, backed by a record of what you've done.

The 10-Habit Chess Improvement System

Introduction
2 lessons
1. Why most players don’t improve and what the real goal should be
2. How the 10-habit system works and how to use this course
Habit 1 - Play serious games
2 lessons
1. 1.1. Why serious games matter and what counts as one
2. 1.2. Common mistakes and how to set up your next serious games
Habit 2 - Use a simple thinking process
2 lessons
1. 2.1. Why most players think too randomly
2. 2.2. How to use the process in your games
Habit 3 - Review one game, extract one lesson
2 lessons
1. 3.1. Why most game reviews fail, and what a good review is
2. 3.2. How to review one game and extract one lesson
Habit 4 - Set one targeted drill
2 lessons
1. 4.1. From lesson to drill
2. 4.2. How to set the right drill
Habit 5 - Take one clear goal into your next game
2 lessons
1. 5.1. Why results-based thinking holds players back
2. 5.2. How to set a clear goal
Habit 6 - Train tactics that match your needs
2 lessons
1. 6.1. Why random puzzle solving is not enough
2. 6.2. How to set a clear goal
Habit 7 - Plant opening seeds
2 lessons
1. 7.1. Why opening study usually goes wrong
2. 7.2. How to plant and grow your opening seeds
Habit 8 - Steal from stronger players
2 lessons
1. 8.1. Why you need stronger models
2. 8.2. Do your first stealing session
Habit 9 - Build your personal chess library
2 lessons
1. 9.1. Why your learning keeps disappearing
2. 9.2. How to build your personal chess library
Habit 10 - Build confidence through evidence
2 lessons
1. 10.1. What confidence really is and where it should come from
2. 10.2. Build your weekly evidence system
Next steps: make the system your own
2 lessons
1. 11.1. Start with the smallest useful version
2. 11.2. Keep the loop alive after the course
Thank you and what’s next
1 lesson
1. 12. Thank you and what’s next

What you get

✅ 25 focused video lessons, so you can start applying the system immediately

✅ The complete 10-Habit improvement framework, so you know exactly what to work on

✅ The 10-Habit Chess Improvement Toolkit, with practical templates, checklists and trackers, so you're never guessing how to review, drill or set goals

✅ The 30-Day Implementation Plan, so you know exactly what to do each week from Day 1

✅ A full worked example: how to turn a loss into a training plan, worked through on one of my own games so you can see every step

✅ A repeatable process for reviewing your games and deciding what to train next

✅ Lifetime access, with all future updates included

This course is for you if…

✅ You're roughly 1200+ and serious about long-term improvement

✅ You play serious games but don't know how to learn from them

✅ Your reviews usually stop at "I blundered" or "I missed a tactic"

✅ You solve tactics but still miss simple chances in real games

✅ You study openings but your prep falls apart when your opponent deviates

✅ You start training plans that fade after a few weeks

✅ You lose confidence after bad games, even when you're trying hard

This course isn't for you if…

❌ You're a complete beginner still learning how the pieces move

❌ You want opening traps, shortcuts, or rating promises

❌ You only want more content to watch

❌ You're not willing to play serious games and review them

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What makes this course different

Most chess courses are about adding more: more openings, more tactics, more endgames. They treat improvement like a knowledge problem.

10HCIS focuses on the process. You'll spend months applying it to your own games, using what you already know and learning more with each one you play.

If you've watched plenty of chess content and still feel stuck, the issue is rarely how much you've studied. It's how little of it connects to your games.

Where this system comes from

I'm Junta Ikeda, an International Master, chess coach and writer. My weekly newsletter on chess improvement is read by over 2,300 players.

I've competed for 25 years and coached for 15, with players across many ages and levels. In all that time, I keep seeing the same problem. Serious players aren't lazy, and they're not stuck because they can't improve. They study in a way that never builds a clear feedback loop. They collect information but don't turn their own games into lessons. They find mistakes but don't turn them into training. They want confidence but only feel it when their rating goes up.

This course is my fix for that. It's a practical way to connect your games, reviews, lessons, drills and habits into one system you can repeat and keep growing from.

Join serious chess improvers building a stronger game

I really enjoyed 10HCIS. Compared with many other chess courses I have taken, this one felt much more polished, focused and thoughtfully designed. Some courses can feel unnecessarily long or contain only a few useful ideas spread across hours of material. Here, the videos are bite-sized and straight to the point, while still being packed with practical knowledge. Almost every video and every minute felt like a goldmine.

The production quality is excellent. The video, audio, editing, visuals and overall presentation all feel professional, which makes the course enjoyable and easy to follow. The Japanese ideas and wisdom woven throughout the course gave it a distinctive perspective on discipline, habits, reflection and long-term mastery.

Having finished the course, I feel motivated and inspired to put the system into practice. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who wants a clear, organised and sustainable approach to improving at chess.

Satra - Course student

Every lesson is clear, concise and straight to the point. If you are a serious chess improver, The 10-Habit Chess Improvement System will help you find ways to fix your weaknesses, optimise your training and ultimately coach yourself to real improvement. Highly recommended.

Chee Seng - Peak FIDE 1813, Australia

Got back to 1200 after 3 months! I can only think it was thanks to Junta’s game analysis tips. I used to rely on engines that were stronger than GMs, but I’m winning more games now that I’m reviewing what my feeble brain is doing! I still had these abilities inside my small brain! I’m shocked! Thank you!!

Shige - Course student, 2025

I was stuck on blitz but followed Junta’s advice to focus on rapid and analyse my games, and my rating shot up. Too effective??? Analysed games like Junta recommended, Rapid 1600→1800. Got lazy with analysing, 1800→1700 that really shows the quality of the method.

Remen - Course student, 2025

Join at the launch price

$139 during launch | $30 off the regular $169.
One payment, lifetime access, and every update I add later.
* To get the discount, use the code TENHABITS at checkout.
Launch price ends Friday 24 July at 11:59 pm AEST.

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FAQs

Who is this course for?

I'm a busy adult. Can I do this with limited time?

How is this different from working with a coach?

Do I need paid chess tools?

Will this course improve my rating?

What format is the course in?

How long is the course?

How much does the course cost?

What's the refund policy?

Ready to stop guessing?

You know the feeling after a rough game. You close your laptop or you walk out of the tournament hall, and the same question follows you the whole way home: "what do I even work on now?"

For most players, that question never gets a real answer. They go back to random puzzles, another video, an opening course, and hope it all adds up to something.

The 10-Habit system gives you the answer, every time. And it comes straight from your own games. You'll finish each serious game knowing exactly what it showed you, and exactly what to do about it before you play the next one.

I've spent 25 years playing this game and 15 years coaching it, and I built this for the player I see most often: someone who works hard, improves slowly, and has started to wonder if the problem is them. It isn't! You've just never had a system.

With these 10 habits, you'll be able to work on chess with clarity and confidence.

JOIN NOW