Since I last played in the five hour marathons at the Reno Chess Club (see here for my rather whiny farewell) most of my chess activity has consisted of blitz on FICS. While I've certainly gotten some satisfaction and enjoyment from these games, I've also gotten into some pretty bad habits.
As James Stripes writes in this post at his excellent Chess Skills blog, "Blitz and rapid chess involve a lot of smoke and mirrors, while standard chess is a quest for truth." I have seen that in the evolution (devolution?) of my "style" over the last months; I developed the typical blitzer's habits of playing trap chess and "hope chess," always pushing forward and doing very little consolidation, rarely playing for an "edge" or going for a superior endgame. I have had some nice artistic successes, learned a lot about the openings...and hung a lot of pieces.
Last night I had a good winning streak, ran my blitz rating up to a reasonably respectable 1377, and having a desire to get back to the "quest for truth" have decided to play only 15 0 or longer (the minimum for standard rated games) for the present. My FICS rating at that is 1686, and I figure I could get that quite a bit higher by playing serious, real chess.
Meanwhile, I've gone to a couple of meetings of the Juneau Chess Club, which is a laid-back affair for two hours at the library, once a week. There are several pretty decent tournament players in my town, in the 1400-1600 USCF range, so I'm going to get busy organizing a "stimulus package" and start playing rated games again. Game in 90 minutes to be the maximum, if I have my druthers. There are also several tournaments a year up in Anchorage and starting next summer I expect to have the time and money to travel to something in the "Lower 48."
So right now I'm headed off to get back to "real chess," because I've gotten a bit shallow, and hope is not a plan.
Showing posts with label Progress Report. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Progress Report. Show all posts
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
A Clear-Eyed Analysis of My Shortcomings
The time has come for a reality check.
Liquid Egg Product had a thought-provoking post a few days ago, How bad do I want it?:
Right now, I’m 1600-ish, the same as 10 years ago without putting effort into improvement. What would happen if I tried? Does the thought of “maybe there’s an Expert somewhere in here” motivate me enough to work?
More likely, the “I’m sufficiently skilled so most people can’t dismiss me; that’s good enough” win out (again).
This is something to be considered seriously; I'm pretty confident I could just play a tournament game most weeks at the Reno Chess Club, play a few blitz games at FICS when I have the time, and still have a lot of fun with chess while maintaining my rating at approximately its current level. Hell, I have a 1600 USCF floor, so I could go to the club and play gambits and weird, wild openings all the time, move fast and get the game over with in a couple of hours and go home to a good night's rest. As everyone who's tried it knows, to maximize your score in tournament play you've got to be willing to sit and sit and sit, grinding out tiny edges for a win or grimly defending lost positions with chances, you've got to use most or all of your clock time and be willing to play out the full five hours (at my club) if necessary.
Sometimes, it's a lot more like work than playing a game.
Drunknknite makes some great points:
I am REALLY tired of players who will blame a loss on one move or even worse, the opening. Sentences like "Well I blundered and then the game's pretty much over." really mean 'and then I pretty much stopped playing'. "I messed up the opening" means 'He surprised me and I stopped playing chess and watched him beat me'. A won position does not equal a win. No one loses when they deserve to win. Every point is earned. If you are not willing to own up to mistakes then you will never correct them and your development as a player will be severely stunted. Everyone makes mistakes, that's part of the game.
Okay, accept the fact that if you really enjoy playing tournament chess (and I do) then it's a titanic struggle, with yourself and your fatigue and your personal weaknesses as well as with an opponent that would like to (symbolically) chop off your head. I believe I've improved that part of the equation lately, in that I'm trying hard, I'm not being lazy at the board, never saying "The hell with it, let's just get this over with!" after a long, grinding struggle (admit it, you've said this to yourself at least once in your life if you play long games!).
Away from the board, I've fallen down on the job.
For the last two months of 2007 I had a Plan (thanks dk, for the gentle prodding), I was posting weekly on my working of the Plan, then I fell down on the job once I got back to playing in tournaments every week. Besides the sins of omission, there have also been sins of commission; I have gone back to playing occasional blitz sessions at FICS (the horror, the horror). I've been scattershotting around, solving occasional tactical diagrams sitting on the john, playing over the games of my rivals on their blogs and worst of all, for the last six weeks not analyzing and posting each tournament game as promised.
Making a plan and sticking to it has never been one of my strong points, which is too bad since it is probably the most important factor in long-term success; "studies prove" and all that. I've fallen back into old habit-patterns.
So, this is a decision point, right here, right now--do I just go "chess for fun" and play around and enjoy it and not worry too much about improvement? Or do I get back to writing down and posting my plan, staying with it, striving to rise through the ranks despite any and all challenges, setbacks and disappointments?
Ad astra per aspera!
Despite my laziness, my other failings and shortcomings, the weaknesses of the flesh, I'm still up for having written goals and plans, and reporting progress here. Look for an update every Tuesday.
Improvement (to the stars!) is a long (rough) road. There's probably nothing I can do to drastically increase my chances to win my game this Thursday except to get physically prepared, play over a few games and do some tactical exercises just to get in the flow. It's how much better I can get six months, a year, two years out that will pay off the steady, consistent work.
I have 3-5 hours, most weeks, to study and a game at the Reno Chess Club to put it into practice. This 8-10 hours of chess a week is a precious resource, not to be squandered.
After careful consideration, I'm going to (with an average of four hours/week) spend:
1) Two hours of analyzing my own games, getting into the backlog of the last six weeks and posting them here, then once caught up, analyzing the current week's game or an older one I never looked at when it was played.
2) One hour looking at two master games (30 minutes each) in openings I play, trying to "guess the move." As little as it is, this at least touches on all phases of the game.
3) One hour of tactics study, starting with the 203 positions not grouped by theme (in other words, no clues) in Neishtadt's Test Your Tactical Ability. I'm going to go through them, writing the lines in pencil, not looking at the answers in the back until I've worked through all 203. Besides tactics, this will train patience, perseverance and "backbone." I need all three.
I'm also going to use a board and pieces rather than the computer where possible--at this point, I'm still playing my serious games the old fashioned way, and I've rarely studied without the computer recently. Seeing and feeling the pieces can only help when real game time comes. I rarely have a chance to use them at home, but I'm going to devote two lunch hours to study per week, and that is a nice opportunity to find peace and quiet and work with the "real thing."
I've got my score sheets, board and set and books with me today.
Reports here next Tuesday.
Excelsior!
Liquid Egg Product had a thought-provoking post a few days ago, How bad do I want it?:
Right now, I’m 1600-ish, the same as 10 years ago without putting effort into improvement. What would happen if I tried? Does the thought of “maybe there’s an Expert somewhere in here” motivate me enough to work?
More likely, the “I’m sufficiently skilled so most people can’t dismiss me; that’s good enough” win out (again).
This is something to be considered seriously; I'm pretty confident I could just play a tournament game most weeks at the Reno Chess Club, play a few blitz games at FICS when I have the time, and still have a lot of fun with chess while maintaining my rating at approximately its current level. Hell, I have a 1600 USCF floor, so I could go to the club and play gambits and weird, wild openings all the time, move fast and get the game over with in a couple of hours and go home to a good night's rest. As everyone who's tried it knows, to maximize your score in tournament play you've got to be willing to sit and sit and sit, grinding out tiny edges for a win or grimly defending lost positions with chances, you've got to use most or all of your clock time and be willing to play out the full five hours (at my club) if necessary.
Sometimes, it's a lot more like work than playing a game.
Drunknknite makes some great points:
I am REALLY tired of players who will blame a loss on one move or even worse, the opening. Sentences like "Well I blundered and then the game's pretty much over." really mean 'and then I pretty much stopped playing'. "I messed up the opening" means 'He surprised me and I stopped playing chess and watched him beat me'. A won position does not equal a win. No one loses when they deserve to win. Every point is earned. If you are not willing to own up to mistakes then you will never correct them and your development as a player will be severely stunted. Everyone makes mistakes, that's part of the game.
Okay, accept the fact that if you really enjoy playing tournament chess (and I do) then it's a titanic struggle, with yourself and your fatigue and your personal weaknesses as well as with an opponent that would like to (symbolically) chop off your head. I believe I've improved that part of the equation lately, in that I'm trying hard, I'm not being lazy at the board, never saying "The hell with it, let's just get this over with!" after a long, grinding struggle (admit it, you've said this to yourself at least once in your life if you play long games!).
Away from the board, I've fallen down on the job.
For the last two months of 2007 I had a Plan (thanks dk, for the gentle prodding), I was posting weekly on my working of the Plan, then I fell down on the job once I got back to playing in tournaments every week. Besides the sins of omission, there have also been sins of commission; I have gone back to playing occasional blitz sessions at FICS (the horror, the horror). I've been scattershotting around, solving occasional tactical diagrams sitting on the john, playing over the games of my rivals on their blogs and worst of all, for the last six weeks not analyzing and posting each tournament game as promised.
Making a plan and sticking to it has never been one of my strong points, which is too bad since it is probably the most important factor in long-term success; "studies prove" and all that. I've fallen back into old habit-patterns.
So, this is a decision point, right here, right now--do I just go "chess for fun" and play around and enjoy it and not worry too much about improvement? Or do I get back to writing down and posting my plan, staying with it, striving to rise through the ranks despite any and all challenges, setbacks and disappointments?
Ad astra per aspera!
Despite my laziness, my other failings and shortcomings, the weaknesses of the flesh, I'm still up for having written goals and plans, and reporting progress here. Look for an update every Tuesday.
Improvement (to the stars!) is a long (rough) road. There's probably nothing I can do to drastically increase my chances to win my game this Thursday except to get physically prepared, play over a few games and do some tactical exercises just to get in the flow. It's how much better I can get six months, a year, two years out that will pay off the steady, consistent work.
I have 3-5 hours, most weeks, to study and a game at the Reno Chess Club to put it into practice. This 8-10 hours of chess a week is a precious resource, not to be squandered.
After careful consideration, I'm going to (with an average of four hours/week) spend:
1) Two hours of analyzing my own games, getting into the backlog of the last six weeks and posting them here, then once caught up, analyzing the current week's game or an older one I never looked at when it was played.
2) One hour looking at two master games (30 minutes each) in openings I play, trying to "guess the move." As little as it is, this at least touches on all phases of the game.
3) One hour of tactics study, starting with the 203 positions not grouped by theme (in other words, no clues) in Neishtadt's Test Your Tactical Ability. I'm going to go through them, writing the lines in pencil, not looking at the answers in the back until I've worked through all 203. Besides tactics, this will train patience, perseverance and "backbone." I need all three.
I'm also going to use a board and pieces rather than the computer where possible--at this point, I'm still playing my serious games the old fashioned way, and I've rarely studied without the computer recently. Seeing and feeling the pieces can only help when real game time comes. I rarely have a chance to use them at home, but I'm going to devote two lunch hours to study per week, and that is a nice opportunity to find peace and quiet and work with the "real thing."
I've got my score sheets, board and set and books with me today.
Reports here next Tuesday.
Excelsior!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Goodbye, Hello
Goodbye 2007, hello 2008!
I'm declaring a holiday; I'm going to play some blitz tonight on FICS! Hopefully I'll catch some people who've been drinking and really increase the old rating. Ha!
Anyway, in lieu of a formal Progress Report Week 7 and all that blah, blah, I'll just say that I finally get to play serious chess starting Jan. 10 in the Reno CC Class B Ch. and I'm so excited I feel like a kid again, waiting for the last week of school to be over and summer vacation to begin. Yeah!
I did do some Chess Tempo this week and that's good, but I have realized that my recent study program has been valuable but a little too confining. I don't have the percentages for the whole week with me right now, but the rating dropped from 1801 to 1764--horrors! Actually, since the point for me was to stay sharp for tournament play I'm not going to freak out about it, I think it's done its job.
While I'll keep up the Chess Tempo in the new year, I'm switching over to more time working with my new ChessDB program and reviewing and analyzing my own games and brushing up on my openings, but only by playing through complete master games in those openings trying to "guess the move," for both sides. This is an interesting idea that I saw when working with Secrets of a Grandpatzer--instead of taking the winning side and "being Tal" or whoever, guess the move for both sides as soon as you're out of your opening "book", taking no more than 15-20 minutes per game. I'll give it a try soon with the DB.
The good news for you, Dear Reader, is that I plan to make this blog somewhat less about "me, me, me" in 2008, and more about other's chess lives and topics of wider interest; I'll still inflict all my tournament games, and some study progress reports, upon you from time to time.
Enough!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
I'm declaring a holiday; I'm going to play some blitz tonight on FICS! Hopefully I'll catch some people who've been drinking and really increase the old rating. Ha!
Anyway, in lieu of a formal Progress Report Week 7 and all that blah, blah, I'll just say that I finally get to play serious chess starting Jan. 10 in the Reno CC Class B Ch. and I'm so excited I feel like a kid again, waiting for the last week of school to be over and summer vacation to begin. Yeah!
I did do some Chess Tempo this week and that's good, but I have realized that my recent study program has been valuable but a little too confining. I don't have the percentages for the whole week with me right now, but the rating dropped from 1801 to 1764--horrors! Actually, since the point for me was to stay sharp for tournament play I'm not going to freak out about it, I think it's done its job.
While I'll keep up the Chess Tempo in the new year, I'm switching over to more time working with my new ChessDB program and reviewing and analyzing my own games and brushing up on my openings, but only by playing through complete master games in those openings trying to "guess the move," for both sides. This is an interesting idea that I saw when working with Secrets of a Grandpatzer--instead of taking the winning side and "being Tal" or whoever, guess the move for both sides as soon as you're out of your opening "book", taking no more than 15-20 minutes per game. I'll give it a try soon with the DB.
The good news for you, Dear Reader, is that I plan to make this blog somewhat less about "me, me, me" in 2008, and more about other's chess lives and topics of wider interest; I'll still inflict all my tournament games, and some study progress reports, upon you from time to time.
Enough!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Progress Report, Week 6
(Here was Week 5, Grade B)
Like many of you, Dear Readers, the Christmas holidays and associated travel, shopping and other indignities interfered with training this week; all that aside, I did have a good Christmas and managed to improve a little more at Chess Tempo, + 40 -12 and rating now 1801 (1738). At 76.9 percent I'm creeping toward the percentage I should be hitting. I can only aspire to the heights reached by fellow Reno Chess Club member Soapstone (E. Hong) who is now in the top ten at the site in Standard rating at 2101, 82.85 percent for over 2000 attempts.
Also got in two 15 5 games at FICS (where I'm RLP)and won both against 1700-1800 rated opposition to bump my Standard rating up from 1690 to 1745. And once again, no blitz was involved in the making of this motion picture. Again, I was amazed at how much better I played at 15 5 than at 3 0 or even 2 5. No blitz is paying off.
Did some very brief reading in odd moments in the Gallagher book on Tal, but no board work, so a little, partial credit there.
And now, a word about my next big project; I have downloaded ChessDB to my new computer and will (apparently) be able to extract games from the FICS files, so I can present them here. An even more exciting prospect is inputting a database of all the games (700+, I think) that I have in a big cardboard box in my closet, representing my whole career of tournament play 1981 to the present. In the pile I have a few wins over Experts, a bunch of instructive and amusing (for you, Dear Reader) losses and plenty of stories to go with the games. Blog fodder for years to come! (YIKES).
Oh yeah, for this week's study program, I'll give myself another grade of B.
Like many of you, Dear Readers, the Christmas holidays and associated travel, shopping and other indignities interfered with training this week; all that aside, I did have a good Christmas and managed to improve a little more at Chess Tempo, + 40 -12 and rating now 1801 (1738). At 76.9 percent I'm creeping toward the percentage I should be hitting. I can only aspire to the heights reached by fellow Reno Chess Club member Soapstone (E. Hong) who is now in the top ten at the site in Standard rating at 2101, 82.85 percent for over 2000 attempts.
Also got in two 15 5 games at FICS (where I'm RLP)and won both against 1700-1800 rated opposition to bump my Standard rating up from 1690 to 1745. And once again, no blitz was involved in the making of this motion picture. Again, I was amazed at how much better I played at 15 5 than at 3 0 or even 2 5. No blitz is paying off.
Did some very brief reading in odd moments in the Gallagher book on Tal, but no board work, so a little, partial credit there.
And now, a word about my next big project; I have downloaded ChessDB to my new computer and will (apparently) be able to extract games from the FICS files, so I can present them here. An even more exciting prospect is inputting a database of all the games (700+, I think) that I have in a big cardboard box in my closet, representing my whole career of tournament play 1981 to the present. In the pile I have a few wins over Experts, a bunch of instructive and amusing (for you, Dear Reader) losses and plenty of stories to go with the games. Blog fodder for years to come! (YIKES).
Oh yeah, for this week's study program, I'll give myself another grade of B.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Progress Report, Week 5
Here was last week (Grade: C-)
Some better work this week, despite the ubiquitous holiday distractions and time-stealers that I'm sure most of you are also experiencing! Promising and delivering these reports has had a good effect on my study habits, since I'm aware that my Vast Readership will be watching. Also, Liquid Egg Product threatens to sic Singaporean cops with canes on me if I break the no blitz promise...yeah, that's motivation.
So let's start with the good news: No Blitz this week! Played two 15 0 games on FICS with a 1627, won both in pretty good style, standard rating there now 1690 (1631). Did I mention no blitz?
Over at Chess Tempo (rpearson) I went +57 -19 for exactly 75 percent, not as high a percentage as I need to get to, but a decent improvement over last week. Also, I spotted at least two "duals" that I got docked for, when my solution led to the same position, but no big deal. Chess Tempo rating (standard) 1738 (1673); decent progress there.
I even got into the Joe Gallagher book on Tal that I mentioned back at the beginning of this program, even if only for a few minutes, so that's a tiny bit of progress, too. Here's a funny position from the introduction that I thought you'd enjoy, from the game Tal-Petrosian, USSR Team Ch. 1974:
One might reasonably ask how an all-time great like Petrosian ended up in this position after 18 moves; looks more like Morphy-NN, offhand game, London 1858 does it not? Tigran, didn't they teach you back at the Pioneer's Palace in Tblisi to develop the queenside?
Ha, anyway Tal finished the game efficiently with 19. Neg5+! hxg5 20. Nxg5+ Kg8 21. Qf4 Nd7 22. Rxd7! Bxd7 23. Bxf7+ 1-0.
Now wasn't that easy?
I'm giving myself a B for the week on sticking to the program--next week, Chess Tempo percentage must rise significantly!
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!
Some better work this week, despite the ubiquitous holiday distractions and time-stealers that I'm sure most of you are also experiencing! Promising and delivering these reports has had a good effect on my study habits, since I'm aware that my Vast Readership will be watching. Also, Liquid Egg Product threatens to sic Singaporean cops with canes on me if I break the no blitz promise...yeah, that's motivation.
So let's start with the good news: No Blitz this week! Played two 15 0 games on FICS with a 1627, won both in pretty good style, standard rating there now 1690 (1631). Did I mention no blitz?
Over at Chess Tempo (rpearson) I went +57 -19 for exactly 75 percent, not as high a percentage as I need to get to, but a decent improvement over last week. Also, I spotted at least two "duals" that I got docked for, when my solution led to the same position, but no big deal. Chess Tempo rating (standard) 1738 (1673); decent progress there.
I even got into the Joe Gallagher book on Tal that I mentioned back at the beginning of this program, even if only for a few minutes, so that's a tiny bit of progress, too. Here's a funny position from the introduction that I thought you'd enjoy, from the game Tal-Petrosian, USSR Team Ch. 1974:
One might reasonably ask how an all-time great like Petrosian ended up in this position after 18 moves; looks more like Morphy-NN, offhand game, London 1858 does it not? Tigran, didn't they teach you back at the Pioneer's Palace in Tblisi to develop the queenside?
Ha, anyway Tal finished the game efficiently with 19. Neg5+! hxg5 20. Nxg5+ Kg8 21. Qf4 Nd7 22. Rxd7! Bxd7 23. Bxf7+ 1-0.
Now wasn't that easy?
I'm giving myself a B for the week on sticking to the program--next week, Chess Tempo percentage must rise significantly!
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Progress Report, Week 4
(Compare Week 3)
Most of my chess activity this week consisted of Chess Tempo (where I'm rpearson if you're interested): +98 -47, 1673 (1652)--NOT good enough! 67.6 %, while my competition at the Reno Chess Club like Soapstone is hitting 79 % with rating around 2000. That's where I need to be.
I did get in a couple of 15 minute games on FICS with a good fighting draw against a 1670 and an unfortunate loss against an 1856 (I was a pawn up). Standard Rating there now 1631 (1645). I also played 9 blitz games (majority 2 5) and dropped most of them--the difference in quality between blitz and the 15 0 or 15 5 games is simply enormous. Blitz isn't doing me any good in improvement and even that small number was basically a waste of time, though I sometimes use the excuse that I only have "a few minutes," but sorry sucker, you should be doing Chess Tempo problems in that time! Okay, at least there was a lot less blitz than last week; if I was a smoker I could say that I went from a pack a day to half a pack, I suppose.
I'm a little bummed that I probably won't be playing any OTB at the Reno Chess Club until January, in the Class B Ch.--so I better get back to strictly tactical study and longer games.
Overall grade for Week 4 considering real life and all that rot: C-.
Most of my chess activity this week consisted of Chess Tempo (where I'm rpearson if you're interested): +98 -47, 1673 (1652)--NOT good enough! 67.6 %, while my competition at the Reno Chess Club like Soapstone is hitting 79 % with rating around 2000. That's where I need to be.
I did get in a couple of 15 minute games on FICS with a good fighting draw against a 1670 and an unfortunate loss against an 1856 (I was a pawn up). Standard Rating there now 1631 (1645). I also played 9 blitz games (majority 2 5) and dropped most of them--the difference in quality between blitz and the 15 0 or 15 5 games is simply enormous. Blitz isn't doing me any good in improvement and even that small number was basically a waste of time, though I sometimes use the excuse that I only have "a few minutes," but sorry sucker, you should be doing Chess Tempo problems in that time! Okay, at least there was a lot less blitz than last week; if I was a smoker I could say that I went from a pack a day to half a pack, I suppose.
I'm a little bummed that I probably won't be playing any OTB at the Reno Chess Club until January, in the Class B Ch.--so I better get back to strictly tactical study and longer games.
Overall grade for Week 4 considering real life and all that rot: C-.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Progress Report, Week 3
Concentrated on Chess Tempo this week--+56 -25, 1652 (1563), better than last week but still not nearly what I'm capable of--with no time limits I should be getting a lot higher percentage, like 90+. I'm really going to concentrate hard, ignore distractions and take whatever time is necessary.
Played one 15 5 game at FICS and had a very good and interesting game with someone rated 1767, which I eventually lost, so my standard rating is now 1645P (1677P).
And...okay, okay, I did play some blitz over at FICS, maybe 20 games and got my rating back over 1300, which does wonders for my ego (heh).
I know, my Plan said No blitz. In italics.
I can quit the crack cocaine of chess anytime.
Yeah, sure, we'll see next week...
Played one 15 5 game at FICS and had a very good and interesting game with someone rated 1767, which I eventually lost, so my standard rating is now 1645P (1677P).
And...okay, okay, I did play some blitz over at FICS, maybe 20 games and got my rating back over 1300, which does wonders for my ego (heh).
I know, my Plan said No blitz. In italics.
I can quit the crack cocaine of chess anytime.
Yeah, sure, we'll see next week...
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Progress Report--Week 1
(See The Plan for the outline of the weekly schedule. In brief...)
Most 5-hour weekly blocks to consist of:
1 hour FICS, 2 game@15/5 weekly.
1 hour Aagard's Excelling at Chess Calculation, working through each chapter solving the examples from diagrams, then when text completed, the 100 exercises, maximum 10 minutes per exercise then if not solved review answer, until all 100 can be solved on sight (this may extend beyond this current 60-day Plan).
1 hour Chess Tactics Server for solving under clock pressure, but striving for 90 percent accuracy, not rating. Session stats to be recorded and reported here.
1 hour Chess Tempo, non-timed (standard), striving for 95 percent.
1 hour games from The Magic of Mikhail Tal, 2 games a week at 30 min. per, to use real board, find creative and strong tactics, and have fun! Note positions where I don't find Tal's move and put some of them up here for reinforcement and your enjoyment.
Normally I'm from the School of No Excuses, but what with the disappearance of my computer some modification of the schedule was required this week. So, unadorned, here are the chess study activities and grades for Nov. 13-20.
Online play (FICS)--Obtained a new computer Sunday and downloaded new client, spent time setting up, 2 games at 3 3 to test it (violation of no blitz!), +1 -1, FICS blitz rating up to 1272 (1265). No 15/5 games. Time n/a. Grade: D (excused).
Excelling at Chess Calculation (book)--Due to no computer, spent additional time with book. Time 1:45. Positions 33 (practiced finding best continuation, following from diagrams through some long variations; valuable). Grade: A.
Chess Tactics Server: Time 0.0. Grade: F.
Chess Tempo: Time 45 min. Correct 21, Incorrect 11. 65.6 percent. Rating 1648 (1716P). Grade: D.
Tal Book: Time 0.0. Grade: F.
Total study time this week: +-3.0 hours. Grade: D- (excused to D).
Most 5-hour weekly blocks to consist of:
1 hour FICS, 2 game@15/5 weekly.
1 hour Aagard's Excelling at Chess Calculation, working through each chapter solving the examples from diagrams, then when text completed, the 100 exercises, maximum 10 minutes per exercise then if not solved review answer, until all 100 can be solved on sight (this may extend beyond this current 60-day Plan).
1 hour Chess Tactics Server for solving under clock pressure, but striving for 90 percent accuracy, not rating. Session stats to be recorded and reported here.
1 hour Chess Tempo, non-timed (standard), striving for 95 percent.
1 hour games from The Magic of Mikhail Tal, 2 games a week at 30 min. per, to use real board, find creative and strong tactics, and have fun! Note positions where I don't find Tal's move and put some of them up here for reinforcement and your enjoyment.
Normally I'm from the School of No Excuses, but what with the disappearance of my computer some modification of the schedule was required this week. So, unadorned, here are the chess study activities and grades for Nov. 13-20.
Online play (FICS)--Obtained a new computer Sunday and downloaded new client, spent time setting up, 2 games at 3 3 to test it (violation of no blitz!), +1 -1, FICS blitz rating up to 1272 (1265). No 15/5 games. Time n/a. Grade: D (excused).
Excelling at Chess Calculation (book)--Due to no computer, spent additional time with book. Time 1:45. Positions 33 (practiced finding best continuation, following from diagrams through some long variations; valuable). Grade: A.
Chess Tactics Server: Time 0.0. Grade: F.
Chess Tempo: Time 45 min. Correct 21, Incorrect 11. 65.6 percent. Rating 1648 (1716P). Grade: D.
Tal Book: Time 0.0. Grade: F.
Total study time this week: +-3.0 hours. Grade: D- (excused to D).
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