I have taken up a different approach to my chess training lately, all due to a comment by Blue Devil Knight: play lots of blitz chess! And I have done just that since my last post. I've lost a lot of games and won a lot of games but most importantly, I've learned from them. I have taken with me some new experiences to longer games (via Chess.com) and have been pretty successful. Things seem more clear on the 64-squared battlefield and my rating has boosted over 50 points since my last post! I havent analyzed any of these games with Fritz yet, but I plan on that as soon as I get the chance. One of the direct responses is a beautiful game which I played on Chess.com; it's completely wild. The position is busted open and the tactics meter is off the charts! Granted my opponent is rated about 100 points lower than myself, he played very well and I consider this one of my best games ever. Without further ado...
Now that we have that over with. I'm done with Circle 1! w00t! It's time to celebrate! I made it this far and it only gets better from here! Here is a picture of my results from Circle 1:
My game has increased substantially since the beginning of my adventures with the Seven Circles. I thought I was a good player before, but my thoughts have changed dramatically since I've been involved with my tactics study. I now see that I was nowhere near as good as I thought I was and that there's always going to be room to improve my game. I have a tournament coming up this Saturday, we'll see just how well my training has paid off thus far. I should be about 90% done with Circle 2 by the time I have to play another tournament (March 29-30) and I'm hoping that my game will have improved by double the amount that it's improved thus far.
In other news, I'm sure most of you have heard the unfortunate news that Samurai Knight is retiring from his position of Secretary. T'was a very sad day for us Knights. However, SK passed the torch to the well respected Tacticus Maximus(Glenn W.) and this in itself is very exciting. SK made a very good choice and I know Tacticus Maximus will hold true to the Knights.
Samurai's retirement has made me rethink everything regarding chess. Is it really worth it to put so much effort into something that hardly gives anything back? I pondered this long and hard and it's difficult for me to really assess the situation. Here I am, working ~30 hours a week, coming home to my pregnant fiancee everynight only to study chess 2-3 hours. What do I get in return? A few good wins on the internet and a USCF rating of 980(so far). Is it really worth it to spend so much time with chess in my current state? I'm about to be a father and shouldn't I be spending more time with my fiancee? Yes, we live together, but I spend the majority of my time either in front of a chess board or in front of the computer studying/playing chess. Isn't this kind of obsession great for those top 100 grandmasters? Who am I kidding, the odds are against me... I'm more than likely never going to reach that stage in chess but that is my goal. I want opinions people. Perhaps I should re-evaluate my position in life and take a breather from chess for awhile. Let me know what you think.
** Here's another game where I slaughtered a cocky player:
Now that we have that over with. I'm done with Circle 1! w00t! It's time to celebrate! I made it this far and it only gets better from here! Here is a picture of my results from Circle 1:
My game has increased substantially since the beginning of my adventures with the Seven Circles. I thought I was a good player before, but my thoughts have changed dramatically since I've been involved with my tactics study. I now see that I was nowhere near as good as I thought I was and that there's always going to be room to improve my game. I have a tournament coming up this Saturday, we'll see just how well my training has paid off thus far. I should be about 90% done with Circle 2 by the time I have to play another tournament (March 29-30) and I'm hoping that my game will have improved by double the amount that it's improved thus far.
In other news, I'm sure most of you have heard the unfortunate news that Samurai Knight is retiring from his position of Secretary. T'was a very sad day for us Knights. However, SK passed the torch to the well respected Tacticus Maximus(Glenn W.) and this in itself is very exciting. SK made a very good choice and I know Tacticus Maximus will hold true to the Knights.
Samurai's retirement has made me rethink everything regarding chess. Is it really worth it to put so much effort into something that hardly gives anything back? I pondered this long and hard and it's difficult for me to really assess the situation. Here I am, working ~30 hours a week, coming home to my pregnant fiancee everynight only to study chess 2-3 hours. What do I get in return? A few good wins on the internet and a USCF rating of 980(so far). Is it really worth it to spend so much time with chess in my current state? I'm about to be a father and shouldn't I be spending more time with my fiancee? Yes, we live together, but I spend the majority of my time either in front of a chess board or in front of the computer studying/playing chess. Isn't this kind of obsession great for those top 100 grandmasters? Who am I kidding, the odds are against me... I'm more than likely never going to reach that stage in chess but that is my goal. I want opinions people. Perhaps I should re-evaluate my position in life and take a breather from chess for awhile. Let me know what you think.
** Here's another game where I slaughtered a cocky player:
3 comments:
Hello :-)
Being a father since a few months, I feel touched by your current interrogations.
I would suggest you talk a little about this issue with your fiancee, and ask her how she feels about your passion for chess. She will very probably need more support when your child is born.
I wish you the very best :-)
I wish I have a better english...
Well, i'm having some problems too since my vacation is over. It's very hard to do this kind of training especially in the latter circles. I lost a bunch of games on chess.com, faced familiar problems, relationship problems, my father is living on other city now and probaly i'll be on my own soon (the rest of family will move too), it took me away 2 weeks of training and I have a very strong tournament this saturday. It's like the New Mexico tournament, covering the entire state and pointing a champion to the country champioship. I'll play the u-20 category, but we have more than a u-20 FM in Brazil... He's a Master and I don't have a FIDE rating! lol! I think that in USA you don't have this kind of problems, but I was keeping money for over a year to play this tournament! And will be a tremendous hear-breaker spend so much money to loose... It's hard, but I love it and I know that if I want, I can become a FM, IM or GM and live on chess, like a coach or player. And I'll do what I can to make it!
If chess doesn't bother your fiancee, keep up the good work! You have the potencial to become a Master! And I wanna match you on a internacional tournament when we become masters ;)
If it bothers her, I suggest to take a little breath, she and the kid will need you the most. But it seens that she supports your passion!
I wish become a father, but it's too early for me.
Good Luck on saturday!
laurent s: Thank you for the kind words! I took your advice and talked to my fiancee about my current position and she completely supports my passion for chess. We have agreed that once this baby is born, I will calm down by extreme margins as far as my chess is concerned. Thank you once again!
sir augusto: You're going to rock at your tournament tomorrow! Good luck against that FM. It's gonna be a tough match that's for sure! I hope we can get some more games in on Chess.com soon! We're still tied! Thanks for wishing me luck for tomorrow and good luck to you as well!
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