APRIL 4, 2016

DAY # 593;  85^th Week

HOURS. 6.8  hours

“A TURN FOR THE WORSE”.   I’d Love to say that last week was an opportunity to tie our shoelaces and really do some great Workouts.

It didn’t.

DISTRACTED!   And my program really went poorly this week.  I will do better this week.

MARCH 28

MARCH28, 2016

DAY # 592;  84^th Week

HOURS. 11.8 hours

RATING (gain):  1446 (0)

 

“something Different”.   We have used our blog as an opportunity to say (as I see it), things I have learned of chess, to express ideas that inspire me, to focus on an important idea, or to philosophize in a place less contentious and argumentative than the Chess.com Forums.

With apologies to however reads this; the point of this blog will be to document progress, and a failings in my whole improvement program is a certain amount of accountability.  Yes.  I keep track of my progress, but there’s not a weekly evaluation of what is working and what is not.  MY blog will become the place for us to summarize what I need to do- to give place to goals, and to inspire me to evaluate and change.

“We continue to Motivated by something that happened Just over a week ago…”  so after a lengthy back and forth pm at chess.com.  I Played on SATURDAY MARCH 19, the strong player; International Master Trener $40 in certain loss to gain insight into my game and to see at a longer Time Control that I normally play if I could keep up with a talented and strong Human player…

The results were embarrassing, No HUMILIATING.  Basically I barely got a game- after a brief amount of Theory in a French opening I thought I knew somewhat well- I ended up take a poison pawn and losing both a piece and a defender.  White invades and quickly wins; when my passive defense fails to see a Mate in 1!   I knew I was Tactically bad at times, and had a tendency to blunder- but this game proved I need to Deeply work on seeing big threats,and keeping all my pieces Safe.  You can’t play an interesting game with a very strong player, if you Give him your pieces, and allow him a quick mate….

I’ve Decided To approach this by looking towards my Chess Activities, and setting Goals that I think will help.  By reaching for consistency in my program- I can work on increasing my tactical Good sense- and strive to study/play my tendency to blunder. 

ACTIVITES that will help me Blunder less and Win more!  (As of Saturday Night)

1).  Memorize a Blunder Pledge ,establishing what is good thought process. and do so Three times a week…..                                              Not achieved.  2 times

2)   Go over Tactics Puzzles.  Stay sharp on what is a Definitive move in a chess game.  25 puzzles a Time and Four times a week….        Not achieved.  3 times and 88total

3)   Play Titans (hi Level).  To work towards making less Material Losing moves;  3 games- 3 times a week….                                            Not achieved.  1 times and 2total

4) Play Live Games.  to play human and equal competition, please play 12 Live games on at least 3 separate times.                                        (mostly) achieved!  3 times/ 8games

We are Clearly Concentrating on Live games (especially at FICS where I want to get a solid rating)- but are doing Very poorly on Titans.

THE WEEKS distractions!  Per this calendar Date, NOW is that time when we should be catching Calico ( a very pretty FISH that also goes by the ugly name “crappie”), like crazy.  As one of my oldest and most avid hobby (perhaps even more than chess, itself)- fishing remains Important to me- when the fish are biting!

Oc. What do I say, when my normally very effective fishing trips becomes dismally uneffective?  And that each fishing trip is a more than normal drive that takes lots of time away from chess.

I can really only say, that a certain amoun of tolerance is needed. Its Good that I can have a study program this time of year- and Better that’s its actually Not that Bad. Time wise we are above our average effort.  And as said, still meeting some of our goals.

We are doing very little Book Learning.  Book Learning on things like Positional chess and Endgames have always been a little harder for me.  Tactical puzzles squeeze into small units of time well- require no set up of a board, can be easily paused when someone needs my attention at home, and are very straitforward to understand.

On the Other end of the spectrum Annotated games are nearly an opposite – so its not suprising that I find it hard to obsess on this kind of study.

But “Book Learning “ has a bery peculiar function in chess.  While it may seem that Blunders and tactics explain many games- “technique” and “Positional understanding” underly every move of a game, and create something of a Potential Energy of ones chess strength.   With good book learning- blunders become less disastrous,  the point of openings and the concepts of the endgame become clear, and straitforward and you can effortlessly prevail, in what another players struggles at.

In short, its important and I know it!  I just need to make Time for it- and if I continue to put it last on a list I never complete, I don’t need to ask why I see no serious rating improvement.   We had no book learning last week- and need to change it.  Even if it occurs weekly this is an deep investment that will someday pay off.

We need to more thorough track Blunders!  How often do they occur in our games?  How frequently are we making them in tactical .  We don’t know & we haven’t been doing enough due diligence to find out.

But I believe improvement will be more incremental than revolutionary- so we need to work on this. 

SUMMARY  in this coming week, I want to make improvement in both of these topics with a solid session of book learning, and a better understanding of how often blunders are happening in our game.    

OUT OF SHAPE & Losing

A couple weeks Back, I got a Bad flu!

You know the kind of flu that sends you strait to bed for hours at a time….

Anyways… I did quite playing chess for a few days-

But I’ve been struggling to get better (bronchitis)- and it all begs the Question:

Should I be Giving up on chess, while I am hacking and coughing; and Struggling to get enough Sleep?

NO!

I’m a fervent believer that getting good at chess (as an adult) is a long term project; where you may slug along for quite a long time not quite conquering your weaknesses, --- failing to similar issues of fuzzy calculation, tactical blindness, and a poor judge of what is and isn’t a sound attack…. But in all that, your slowly developing a web of experiences, and athletic strengthening of your focus,  a slowly developing “repertoire” of dashing tactics – All THAT matters…..    and as for the LOSING?

• LOSING IS A TEST OF CHARACTER:  I’ve often thought that LOSING was something that divided the COMMITTED PLAYERS from those who just had whims or those that just like the feeling of BEING BETTER than the opponent.
• LOSING A HARD FOUGHT GAME SHOWS US WHERE OUR EARNEST THINKING FAILS:  If we work to play SLOWLY and CAREFULLY outright blunders and Oversights DIMINISH.  Instead more fundamental errors APPEAR.  Places where we become PARALYZED or slowly INVADED & INFILTRATED.  
• OFTEN, LOSING imparts a small PYCHOLOGICAL ADVANTAGE.  When one is prepared to lose but determined to fight for it- they sometimes can find smaller errors that their more confident opponent will miss.  Again this is all how you view your situation.  Some people do really poorly when they feel like they are not winning- but if you can get beyond this mindset….
• LOSING teaches us to be patient, and humble in our thoughts.   Losing can teach us the IMPORTANT principle of LOOKING FOR WEAKNESSES in OUR MOVES.   I’m convinced that personally I don’t do NEARLY enough thinking about how a MOVE might lose.

MY SYSTEM of Chess improvement

My blog has been pretty quiet!  Apologies (sort of)  truth is… its not so easy to keep up at the blog- and some winter illness has made my prioritize my efforts.

I was reading among the ‘Advertising’ of GM Smirnov… While his self- promotion (and High prices!) is kind of a turn off… he published an very interesting interview with a student.  One of the things the student said, I think rings Very True, about Chess improvement. And is worth Emphasizing (and reiterating)…

ANY CHESS IMPROVEMENT PLAN THAT WORKS NEEDS TO BE PERSONAL, It needs to be a Sincere adoption of what the Chess Student really believes Works..  because More than anything Chess Improvement is a matter of a REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE of our thought patterns.   If we are to shore up weaknesses- we must start seeing that 2+2=4.   BASICALLY WE’VE SPENT ALL OUR DAYS, SEEING IT AS 5.

…. There’s Irony in GM Smirnov- man who HAS the SYSTEM (“YOURS FOR $99.99!”)- Iterating the truth of the importance of a personal approach to chess improvement.

In Short, you can buy What you want to buy; but it doesn’t do any good to Passively Browse the Material.   IF YOU GOING TO LEARN IT, YOU MUST BECOME THE BIGGEST PROPONENT OF YOUR APPROACH TO CHESS IMPROVEMENT.  So what’s My Angle?   What my Current and Personal approach and how to further Evolve in this game?....

….. “IF YOU GET AN ADVANTAGE HOLD IT!”….   So you Might ask (and Should really)- What is Your approach to Chess Improvement?  What is the Current Situation.   Realizing that the core of a Good Program is optimism and Determination-   My deal is that its important to understand whats Going well, and Build from that.

And what recent games Have REALLY emphasized is the Importance of Holding ON to a AN ADVANTAGE.  Theoretically, Advantages come from bad moves from the Opponent- but practically- One has to Find it, play it! and HOLD IT!!

It’s the holding on- that difficult!  The Equilibrium of a position is that often in seizing an advantage (and by that I often meaning gaining material)- things get out of place, less active and the opponent can gains some chances. 

Even In  Good moments less than forced check mate, allow the opponent the opportunity to try to throw chaos and problems in your plans.

SO you Must Work hard to make sure You’re snuffing out the Opponents chances. This involves

           

• UNDERSTAND your Opponent Advantages (and seek to destroy any future counterplay!)
• MAKE EXCHANGES Forceful!  Weakish offers of exchange are almost an insult to the Opponents Intelligence!  (yet how many players comfortably ahead make them. Like How DENSE do you think the opponent is).
• PRESS for Game Ending Play BUT
• DON”T be Wild, DON’T Gamble…
• Its better to have a firm, resolute and bulletproof plan- than any no Plan or A WILD ‘ALL OR NOTHING’ kind  of play*
• Take time in simple spots to Carefully assess the plan (too Many chess players only try to deal with rigors of calculation After things have become Undone)…. But the problem, then, is that often they are all USING MASSIVE amounts of time- when there is in fact, play has become forced.   Big Thinks in forced play that is caused by a misplayed variations- is actually “AGONALYSIS” that is often More Harmful than Helpful.  Instead…
• WHEN THINGS go wrong- the first calculation should be “Is there A reason to calculate deeply right Now”
• The Magic Rule is ….” If your UP on material- Play As safe as you can Without blunting the beauty of any tactical Victories- IF your IN TROUBLE, Gamble”!

The ‘Magic Rule” IMHO, then is the PRIME REASON why Holding the advantage is so Instructive.

IF your HAVE an advantage; you Have the time and ability to deeply assess your Opponents play.   as Important as it is To find your own 2+2=4.  Chess is a Battle of Minds!  You have to Learn to “set up” your opponent to fail.

Deeply understanding how to do this, is to deeply understand the nature of chess advantages itself….

EVOLUTION AS A CHESS PLAYER

One Last Point about this!  Its not Clear to the beginner that one player Can (and should!) Set up his Opponent to Fail!  (Instead it is usually thought of as a race between both sides to the winning blow).   This INABILITY OF A WEAKER CHESS PLAYER TO PREVENT THE OPPONENT FROM SUCCEEDING IS A MARK OF A PATZER.  (one of the reason why strong players get so little out a chess game from the beginner as well….)

By Working on understanding how to ruin the opponent’s game under the Best of Conditions (when your ahead)—  Your Working on how to understand HOW To do that – All the Time- and how to go Head to Head against a strong player.

I Am NOT Quitting chess!

Ok this might seem bizarre to some of you.  Nearly always lurking on chess.com, playing 16 correspondance games and part of two small but active chess.com groups… and Yet a poorly worded email and the lack recently of Live chess.com- had my coach quite concerned.  It ‘sounded’ (from the email) that I didn’t intend to play chess – against people again – possibly for good!

I quickly assured him that this was wrong, very wrong.   I’m not necessarily having great success right now in my chess training program.  But I’m still feeling strong and active;  working through puzzles, (trying to) meticulously working through my 16 games, and recently more than anything.  Reviewing Old Games!  I’ve got to try to quit making similar mistakes—and If I must keep on making the same weary game losing mistakes—I can at least be aware what I struggle with most.

Nevertheless.. there really has been a lack of games recently.  This wasn’t intentional.  But a number of times in the last few months have I had nagging doubts that I should be playing live (am I thinking well enough?  Will I blunder a lot??)- and yes, I’ve lost rating.

Perhaps this Rating Game is getting to even me!   You see its actually a great secret that many chess players don’t seem to realize…

Improving in this game doesn’t Always or Consistently lead to Rating gains. 

Rating even when you are playing constantly ; comes at its own time and place.  Rating gain as well, is an indication that you have worked out a limited habit; whether that is playing too blindly to tactics- or too unaware of a positional problem.   But the point is that THEY are many chess topics to learn;  and many are not as critical to your chess results.

BUT I DON’T WANT TO GO OVER THE ‘RATING GAME’ in this blog.   Most of those that are most caught up with rating; don’t read my blog and wouldn’t/couldn’t be persuaded to change there mind anyway.   ISN’T A sky High Rating Proof that you are talented and smart at chess?! (ahem-no!)

INSTEAD.  I wanted to reiterate the need for LIVE games-   WHY CAN’T WE JUST ‘STUDY’ CHESS?

1. WELL first,  game review excluded,  you tend to lose the perspective of a game as a narrative a clash of ideas.  And THAT is a big problem.   Losing your ability to make long term plans, and juggle positional realities while remaining sharp to tactical threats and opportunities will make you MUCH weaker, when you do go back into the game…

2. PUZZLES are exceptional positions with unique and “vetted” significance.  IN a puzzle, its ALWAYS worth completely exploring the outlandish and un-natural.  In the game, though, most of the time chess play is a matter of attentively playing by watching your control of squares and lines.      You don’t need to (and shouldn’t) meticulously go through zillions of variations (this is OUR advantage over a computer by the way).   Its important to realize most positions don’t HAVE a ‘right’ answer.  only moves that are good, weak, or some kind of mistake.

3. FUN!  Ok this might seem off; I mean chess is- is it not?- fun! Well. if you feel that way strongly you probably haven’t been avidly playing deep endgame theory- or staring at chess tactics for 2 hours strait.   While those activities can be plenty obsessing;  they are draining, hard work.  In fact, this is what holds back a great many talented chess player.  but for those of us that have the determination to put in the effort- you need to recharge with quick, shorter efforts.

4. THE WHOLE GAME.  playing the whole game regularly keeps one from getting too narrow a focus.  And too hung up on things that Really aren’t as important.  It’s also a good indication of where you stand.  This latter fact is why it pairs so well to game review.  If you’re reviewing what you just played- your working on understanding where you are at. 

5. THOUGHT PROCESS.  this I think is the most important skill to learn.  It is Not enough to be able to recite chess principles or to do long calculations.  Instead the most important skill is to be able to do a little of both and integrate it to a thinking process, in which you keep you pawns and pieces, safe and active.   Alert to opportunity and threats.   An easy way to show HOW important this is,  if you knew, at a given position whether there was a stunning tactical win or an important game-ending flaw—how much easier would it be to get the right move?  In short, we don’t know- not in a real game and however hard we work to develop our abilities to understand and visualize great chess moves—we can only develop a good careful process for seeing them by trying and failing and trying harder.

I WANT to end with this thought.  In the end, as much as I would like to achieve a given rating (actually 2000 if you wanted to know).  Its not important to me.   I need to take joy in what I’m doing- building skills and understanding more chess day by day.   I have no idea what ultimate rating ‘ceiling’ I have…. But I know I have one!  EVERYBODY does. 

I wrote back to my Coach that I am strong player; and I know I am.

I am strong because I am striving.  I am strong because I am studying.   Chess is actually really delightfully unpredictable.   Exploring chess’s hidden insights is no small task, and no quick accomplishment.

Above all else “I’m not dead yet”.  And I think until I am, there is always the chance that I gain continue to grow as a chess player

Knowing the Unknowable!

Shall I study Openings or Tactics?   What about Endgames and Annotated Grandmaster games…

How long will it take me to get to 1500? 1800?  What about Gm???

What is the best response to 1.d4?  what about 1.e4??  should I even have a repertoire!?

Ah Such frequent questions on places like chess.com.  Indeed the post reveal a nearly insatiable thirst for insights, into improving ratings, study programs, chess openings, along with sprinkles of generic “what is the best chess book for a college student” (like being a college student has anything to do with it.

I communed with the spirit of capablanca*… read each and every word of the Kmoch’s venerable book “pawn power”**, and consulted my favorite eight ball***

 

  …. Satisfied?

Ok SO is that a great insightful blog post?  Well “the signs point to Yes”.

The Problem with these questions (and many more) is that they are Simply Unanswerable.   And really, truly, we need to get over asking Unanswerable questions.

Instead the cure for all these broad whim questions is to…

TRY OUR BEST

… EVALUATE RESULTS

    ….. IF it AIN’T WORKING – change it, or try something new.

And that goes for ANY BOOK, ANY OPENING, ANY STUDY PROGRAM,  and many MANY VAGUE, BROAD, CONTROVERSIAL QUESTIONS asked on the Internet

Ohh and by the way  HAVE PATIENCE and PERSISTANCE-  THEY BOTH GO A LOOONG WAY IN CHESS. 

Can you really be a strong chess player without both- I know Probably unknowable-  BUT…. “the signs point to YES”.

* by the way, I didn’t do any of these things, but If I had- do you really think I would obsess about these kinds of open ended vague questions. NO way!  I would want to Improve my game- Espacially if Capablanca was willing to give me good tips from beyond the grave….

An experiment with Chess.com Groups...

A new experience and an Experiment.  As long time readers now I have always been a wordy kind of guy.  I like sharing what I am doing and reading what others have been doing.  I also like the idea of doing THAT, preferably, with friends.   This is In the description of a good chess club – and I’m sure that if I could get to a OTB chess club, regularly  I’d enjoy playing and chatting with people.  Especially if I could find likeminded people that like to talk about what they are studying…

But I’m strictly digital- and limited to just certain times (late pm) when I have time.   so this is the reason, why I felt that the group “Socrates unlimited” might be an opportunity for me.  The founder, a guy called ‘quantum butterfly’  was an engaging kind of guy that set up a club and stressed engaging activities.  I joined determine to make this an experiment- could I engage the group and pick up instructive experiences- or would it be more of a distraction, or would it utterly fail with little content?

So I Began to participate (after a minor delay with a work trip)- and impressed with the content and sharing within the club.

And really I just began to truly appreciate it when there was shocking news…

“Quantum Butterfly” was Banned!  Of course this was hard.  He was the founder, his content disappeared and I wondered if without him, anyone could /would take up the role and continue the group.  The most active guy in the group, Alvin, did in fact step up. He took charge and Created lots of content.  He picked me, and another younger member- simply_simon, as admin.  Assistants to watch over group activities and look for new members.   Again we were doing relatively well and were going over positions, playing matches- had started a group game against a chess computer and a vote game against another group.

When , shockingly, simply_simon was banned!  This was 2 days ago.

Let me say that I think all experienced all the stages of Grief that day and felt shocked, surprised and that I couldn’t believe it.  simply_simon was a talkative yet low rated player, really just a beginner by his tentative online rating.  I went looking for answers and found someone that was in the know, and gave me access to some of his games…

So What does a Perfect game look like when you play a low rated guy?  Not particularly mind-boogling, and I say this because simon’s match game was a perfect match to a strong chess computers #1 move.   If you playing a 1300- and you have a 3000 rated engine behind you…. The strong moves don’t have to be too startling.  Some development and a PC’s inhuman ability to foresee every possible consequence.

I next learned that Simply_simon wasn’t who he seemed.  He was in fact the groups founder; QB. Chess.com had overwhelming proof of this- as simply_simon was created the very day after QB was banned.

Some thoughts on this Experience…

A)  Engine Cheating is NOT a victimless offense.   To those that see chess as a mere game or as an odd way to trashtalk to a total stranger,  But those that Love the Game take their Result seriously.   They put heart and the head in the game as it sits in the board; and take responsibility for their blunders and errors.  If they start disastrously losing to an equally rated player, they feel that they are fairly beaten by a chess player of similar skills.  It is a grave insult to play against another claming a reasonable rating – and then go deceitfully giving out moves that  much stronger and also Not yours.  You have lied, and deeply mocked your opponent.  .  He now has no fair fight against you.  Would it be fair for a boxer to grab a brick and get a clean, easy knockout.?  You have called you opponent Dumb- and are claiming that his errors are easy to Defeat- when it is really You that have had the failure of intelligence. 

When you are part of a TEAM and are striving support them in a challenge against other groups- you embrace another kind of experience.  If we are on the same team, your win in mine- we celebrate! If there is loses and rough games.  The team gets together, and works to boost morale and offer to help each other.   Any serious chessplayer understands the sting of defeat- and understands that one cannot always win.   But by cheating- you have given us a very different defeat.  If you can’t lose when you use a 3000 rated PC for help- you can’t win either.  It becomes a black mark against the group!.  In short, you have betrayed the trust of the whole group.  

B) Don’t be naive, and don’t be reluctant to step up.  I think coming into the group, I very much wanted to participate- but I wanted no part of administration.   The point of this experiment I thought was that as a mere member, I could interact with all the other, without necessarily taking charge of anything.  Once QB left, the group floundered and my thought was that there was another who could take charge- again why get involved?

I was naïve to think the QB wouldn’t try to get back with his old group. I realize Now that it wasn’t a matter of Ego.  The group needed Help! 

It needed defended and it needs more people that want to talk and intereact.  Yes I could do some (most?) of this on the outside.   But as a member of administration- I have the ability to work with the my co-leader to deal with problems.   Fixing problems is a fine price to pay for good analysis, friendly assistance, and thoughtful feedback.

C) I greatly appreciate the other very vocal and active member of our group; Alvin.  His energy and level of commitment is very inspiring to me.  I lack consistency and struggle to do chess activities.   As a study partner he is a great help.  And other people have become more involved as well.  Perhaps, losing one of our most active members (Twice), will encourage those that haven’t committed to be active.  Equally true it has spurred Alvin and I to be much more aware of Cheating, and need to engage and find people that have genuine wish to improve in chess.

I'm not Suppose to Excel at Chess

I’m 42- with kids- without tournament experiences and without any plans of future tournament (Club) experiences. ….

If I asked online, whether I could become Good At chess- at my age- with my experiences… I might get a Few optimistic posts (mainly from people that hope to do what I’m trying to do), but the response would be a guarded.

If I asked further if there was any chance I could get to be as good at chess as a 1600 ELO chess player in Standard Time control.  I might get a Maybe.   If I asked if I could get to an 1800- I might get a “its possible”.  Lastly, If I asked – If I could get to be a 2000 or higher, perhaps the truth would come out.

“look, you don’t understand, people online they are not playing their best- this is just half tries & blitz games.  If you want to get to an expert or better- you almost certainly HALF to play in OTB chess tournaments.  That’s the place to prove your strength.”

Any Las Vegas odds man would bet against me!

Of course I haven’t actually asked this- but I don’t have to.  Lots of people have asked about whether they can become a master.   The ‘regular’ posters, usually assume the OP is young.  And they have encouraging but guarded answers.   Some good thoughts come out of threads like this- but the normal answers are worn out.

MOST people Quit Before they Have a good try… and most Adults don’t make enough effort- to really qualify As a good Try.

This is of course discouraging. But in a way it paints a true picture of what kind of mountain I’m trying to climb.   It also puts the question to “What AM I trying to achieve anyway”?  

Frankly Said, I would like to Excel at chess, and (just as frankly) This means USCF expert. 2000+.   The Fact that I am not trying to improve my USCF rating  misses the point.  “I will Find a way” is the important thought.

First I want to Really Improve in chess- In ALL time controls here at chess.com.  and Later I will find a way to get to USCF tournaments. 

MOTIVATION.   Its been lagging recently.  I don’t mean to be stuck on the big effort to get to 1200 blitz- but now that is done, for some reason I find myself a little Lazy.   A few other things have become a distraction.

YET 1200 Blitz is NOT where I want to stop.  In fact, I don’t want to stop, at all!  but I find myself drawn more into chess.com forum than more legitamite training efforts.  I feel a little slow, tired and fatigued.  Some more days than ever.

In Short, NOW is the Time to show determination.  Now is a time to draw resources from within.  And Now Is the Time to remind myself of how big and exciting the broader goal really is.  I have to start showing more time spent on tactic puzzles, game review, and careful readings from some of my chess book.

“The only universal approach to winning is diligence.”

Justs99171

I apologize if I’ve made this particular blog somewhat unreadable.  I remind myself, that my own personal ramblings aren’t great literature.

(On chess.com, we usually suffer the patzer’s to write because there comments are brief.)

Instead, a blog is a way of documenting your thoughts, and I need more motivation.

Back to the Place I was Before

I can’t help feel like this week has been the end of a party…  the goal was set, the race was run, I burst through the finish line- in time. Victory!

And now a calm, a break after night after night playing hardcore blitz…

Its not that what I want to do next is unimportant or actually Easy.  But it’s a different thing to tackle a challenge where the goal is clear- and progress- as obvious as running around a track. The exact time and distance is clear.

My next goal is to deepen my chess.  Much more analysis, more time thinking about careful endgames and the struggle to deeply understand complex middle-games…   So, we must return to the place we were before…

But it was handy & very useful to have such instant feedback to my chess improvements…  how does one live without it?

Thoughts?  Of course, I have thoughts. Thats the whole point of the blog.  And moreover, I can imagine someone having this concern…. I think they need to realize..

• FIRST in chess, if we are to really understand it (and get truly strong); we must Build up our Patience.   If you look at Grandmaster level chess- you will see how patient and determined you must really be… two incredibly strong chess players staring at a unclear position- with no apparent strong moves on the board;  staring, gazing, pacing, and grimacing- striving to pierce the tactics that could be… and definitely patiently waiting for the perfect moment to strike.   Like a predator that sits for many hours, in the shadows waiting for the definitive moment to make his move. 

• We must Have Faith in our methods.   This is not an easy idea- but its SO important, there’s no quick proof that going over a morphy game has any immediate cure to my game- and no instant change that comes over one when he has solved a thousand tactics puzzles…  Looking over my games feels embarrassing- Especially the losses.  But there’s really no better more instructive fix than to look over games, and strive once again to see all my mistakes- vowing to not repeat them, yet knowing I probably will.

• I’m convinced Rating Gains (Any rating gains) Are much more gradual than they appear.  We have our good days- and win several (many) games – getting to a Peak!  But disappointedly falter. (especially if we are seeking equal opposition)

The Next low point seems depressing but look more closely- is this low point above the last one?!   We can see a Truer rating gain – by a gradual increase in our Lowest Rating of the Week.   The point is not to be crushed and upset by our loses and falling rating.  Of course we must lose. And when we lose we will lose rating.  (We left Blitz on a High point and so I know it doesn’t Accurately reflect where I’m at in blitz).

·        Lastly, we Must realize that rating is only a index of Performance and NOT playing strength.  Playing strength is quite hard to measure.  But in some ways, we can take a Common sense approach to increasing our playing strength…  we see tactics easier (and miss them less in a game)?  if so, we’ve definitely increased playing strength.   We hang pieces less often, and look more carefully for threats?  What about being more thoughtful about carefully consider how exchanges and maneuvering effects the mobility of our pieces??  How about studying the EndGame???

In short,  the Party is Over.  And the blitz was fast paced and exhilarating- but the broad challenge of increasing my tactical accuracy, of really seeing through complexity in the middlegame and working on Winning the endgame- this is all Better addressed through thoughtful patient work with my Coach and the several thought-provoking books I have collected over the last little while.

My big goals might include Being able to follow and understand modern Gm chess, and being able to play blindfold chess.  and these goals is every bit as important to me as a Sky-High rating. 

Interestingly, all three goals is better served by thoughtful study than incessant blitz.  (though some blitz can and will be part of this study)…

How I gained 193 Rating points of Chess.com Blitz in 18 days!

(this will be both posted to the chess.com forum and My own blogspot blog.  Irregardless of its usefulness to others- it represented a huge effort from me- and I think I gained important insight not only to blitz but also to OTB chess.)

First and foremost, I don’t want to debate the usefulness (or uselessness) of obsessing on Blitz chess.  I want to make it clear, that these are 10 minute game and that time control is definitely faster than I naturally play chess- does not stop one from making general plans (on the opponents time especially), and to a point making accurate calculations.  10:0 is not bullet chess and rapid mouse skills and instant pattern recognition, while handy, is not required!

I also want to make it clear, that I am not trying to be boastful with what is probably a pretty common achievement.  Lots of people gained 200 points , after their blitz score has the chance to settle and if they put in a  modest amount of chess improvement.  Its nothing extraordinary or epic… its simply personally satisfying- and I think some people that stagnate in these levels would do well to carefully read my observations and make small changes in the way that they play Blitz….

THERE.  Now most of my future competition has now  stopped reading- tl;dr. and we can get to the some of the observations I had.   These ‘observations’ are common things I see and I will group them into things to do and things NOT to do….

IF YOU WANT to be good at Blitz--- then DON’T

• Don’t RESIGN. Hardly ever!  My own experience is that in Blitz, it can be hard to convert winning material to a win (the winning side is quite prone to premature and unsound attacks), that tricky sudden checkmate threats can be very effective, and that baring all of THAT the opponent still has to completely beat you before his clock goes to nothing.

The idea that the next game will be better, because you won’t make SO many mistakes is Naïve!  Mistakes tend to come in bunches (see next point). So if you still feel like you’ve got chessic determination- you should TRY to surprise your opponent who is lulled by his winning position. 

IF YOU DO resign, STOP playing for the night.  You’ve been beaten, your determination to win is spent and youre not seeing good moves and important threats- tomarrow night WILL be better.

• Don’t Play On and on, when you are Losing!  This is a huge mistake I see a heck of a lot!  The point is you are losing for a reason.  Your tired, your distracted… your only kidding yourself to think that it won’t be the same next game,  Though, an important qualification--You can’t give up the moment you lose a game! see Next point.  Some games go bad, and you need to persevere.

But the Point is to determine where the occasional bad game threatens to become a massive Rating retreat.  

One mental Mistake I was making was thinking that if I fell behind a few games I had to play on and on to Catch up.   This is Almost like a gambling disease, where a compulsive loser plays deeper and deeper into his checkbook to try to get back his fortune.  “Know when to fold em” is what the lyrics say, and a good blitz chessplayer- knows that when you are shedding points It is time to quit

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• Don’t Spend lots of time looking for the Best move, or playing complicated ones… The Advice to look for a Better move (once you find a good strategic/tactical move) is REALLY bad in blitz.  Instead, blitz is about NOT missing blunders, simplifying pieces and positions once you get ahead. And Being Just as careful in long chess about NOT giving the opponents easy tactical opportunities. If your behind in blitz you must quickly make the decision to hold against the opponent or ignore him looking for a sudden attack and checkmate; he isn’t expecting.   You can make rather simple quick moves and see if he makes the BAD mistake of SLOWING down to grind you down. If he can’t force a checkmate- you might be able to win Yet on Time!

This must be all done on a rapid assessment of the position.  Spend HIS time asking the same question he will be- Can the opponent force a checkmate with his extra peice?  Basically, if you Can’t find a hanging piece or win an easy tactic- you should try to have less time in the endgame and avoid losing! If you have a strong enough time advantage in a long Game, the game can SHOCKINGLY allow you to win AFTER the opponent has promoted queens and simply doesn’t have time to find the win – in a WON position…

IF YOU WANT to be good at Blitz--- then DO

• First, AND FOREMOST…. BE under-Rated!  Yes, I know- OF COURSE- you are under-rated, but bear with me.  You are probably under-rated if you’ve done lots of tactical puzzles and noticed that you can solve more of them and quicker.  (solving Simple puzzles quick is VERY important in blitz).   You Are also probably under-rated if you’ve gone up in other time controls and not blitz.

You SHOULD not be routinely playing blitz to look for improvements in chess ANYWAY.  You need time to work on having a better thought process- But once you’ve achieved improvements in OTB or chess.com STD- then playing blitz makes more sense.  You are UNDERRATED and know only need to master the fine art of blitz….

• Warm up BEFORE playing any game online.  I like playing a lowish level of chess titans.  If I am Sharp I can beat level 6 pretty easily and without dragging our the game and being very slow.   Its  a Great indicator whether I am In the mood.  Pick a challenging level thats you can definitely beat when you are playing good chess.  This is a nice way to warm up, and get a feel for how its going to go tonight.  I tried chess puzzles, but I think that a midlevel chess playing program is a much more accurate indicator. 

• Play LOTS of game.  I’ve already warned you about NOT losing game after game… but you need to realize that you should still put in the time into the game- and that Means MORE games.  A single loss is NOT decisive.  Play with determination ! Play Game after Game- UNTIL you come to the end of a Winning streak (End at the first losing game)! or You begin a losing streak.  The point here is to stop when you’ve gained rating - your ahead, and before you’ve lost much ground! 

• Know your openings- and Play the Same Openings as much as possible – given a certain sequence of moves- after you’ve played many games against people you get a very Good idea what your typical Opponent will play.  The knowledge is Far, far more important than GM theory.  The players that you are playing against think they are clearly good moves.  So they are Natural!  Do they commonly create strategic or tactical advantages??  Know YOUR traps thoughout your repertoire!  Just picking up the occasional win from a trap is a big deal in blitz and can make a steady rise.

• Mostly and Lastly,  Seriously work on seeing the SIMPLE stuff ALL the time.  SPEND time looking at previous Games – how are you winning and losing?  Is Time a big issue in your games? what about tactics- do you routinely lose pieces?

When you Review games do so rapidly- looking for hanging pieces, simple tactics, and check mates.   Do so for all your moves- then your opponent moves- then Redo making your own moves…  do you repetitively give away pieces?

Hanging pieces, threats, and simple piece/pawn safety should be your obsession…

LET ME end by Saying that  I think Chess Blitz can be Played two ways…

IN the first way you play aggressively, looking towards your opponents weaknesses.  Attackers (in Bltiz) have a BIG advantage… the opponent has to defend while at the same time- not fall badly behind on time.   If you play aggressively and seize the Attack- your time versus the opponent becomes less important.  You are pushing the opponent to panic and blunder- and it CAN work.   Often, opponents that feel stressed and attacked, just Resign.   This is the Chessy way to play it. ( you aim to win on attack and not time).

In the Second way you play more cautiously  – not being aggressive.  Sometimes you cede the center, but you carefully watch for threatening play (to squash it) and you make very sure your playing faster than your opponent.  If your defensive enough your opponent starts running out of time.  he might try an unsound attack. Either way your work to win on time.  Hypermodern black openings often work very well for this strategy.   This is the Bullet way to play it ( you aim to win on time and seeing your opponents big blunders).

SO WHAT is the Best for Blitz!?  NEITHER. The trick is to be able to do both.  The Whole Point of Blitz IS to be able to FLEXIBLY change your thinking speed without being inconsistent with important things- like looking for loose pieces and seeing serious threats.