I'm still here.
I took a break from posting. I haven't even really looked at my fourth round game and that was supposed to be my next post so it will be a little while. Maybe tonight actually, but I'm not sure. After posting my first three games my life got a little busy. I used the weekend to make up on the snowboarding I missed during the tournament. But I wasn't giving up on chess. Quite the contrary...
I met for the fourth time with my coach on Saturday. The first two times were just him feeling me out and then the next two times I wanted to look at endings and I also showed him my games from the Far West. So we looked at them and I got a lot of ideas from him. It wasn't just him giving me advice and lines and finding good moves. It was more his evaluation of my attitude at the board and my approach to the game. Then when we were doing endings I got a little embarassed by my lack of knowledge in such simple positions as Lucena and Philidor.
So since then I've been working on those positions a lot. And I realized these positions are fairly easy. I've just never taken the time to really learn them. Not just learn the principles, I know those, learn the positions. Just like I know my openings. It's good to know the themes, but there are a few key positions and I should know them, know how to get into them, know how to win and draw them. In my sleep. I'm starting to see why these positions are important. After all getting a won ending is the goal of chess. What if I ended up in a won R+P ending and I couldn't convert? That's not the way to beat a master.
But there's more. I used to study all three phases of the game at a time. I think that during these periods I learned the most. I recommended it to chessloser and Vern at the tournament because I think it is a key element in my success. When I encountered these positions, I went over them, but I didn't learn them. Whereas when I encountered problems in the opening I looked to solve them completely, really learn them. And whereas when I found interesting middlegames I would look for numerous examples of the theme. In the ending I got lazy. I couldn't build the necessary motivation to learn these endings really well. So I stopped studying the ending. And now I have ok endgame knowledge that is a poor complement to my strong opening and middlegame. I can't help thinking how many endings I've avoided because 'rook endings are drawish'. I don't even know what a won rook endgame looks like.
So what's the point of all this? Study endings right. Well yeah, but there's more. When we used to run the mile in PE I used to sprint the last 100-200 yards as hard as I could because I knew I had the strength in me to do it and that was the end. Right now I'm 180 points away from that magic 2200 number. Also this is my first club championship so I thought: what better way to squash the doubt that I am the best player at the Reno Chess Club than to win the championship and make master the same year? So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to win the club championship and sprint to the master title this year. Period.
Since I've hired a coach, it would be a waste of time to not study as hard as I can. If I lean on him for support then I will get nowhere, but if I take his suggestions to heart and learn the positions he wants me to then he can help me move forward.
When I have found determination to study in the past I have achieved strong gains very quickly. Usually I have the knowledge to outplay my rating first, then my play comes second. That's how it has to go again. I have been focused on improving my play but it is time to turn back to knowledge and just learn as much as I can over the coming months.
I knew I had expert in me, so I slowed my studies and just kept winning til I got it. But now it's time to really prove myself. Everything up until now has just been leading up to this push. This final push. I've known I was capable of being a master since I was very young. Time to push myself hard and prove it to everybody else. Catch me if you can.
I met for the fourth time with my coach on Saturday. The first two times were just him feeling me out and then the next two times I wanted to look at endings and I also showed him my games from the Far West. So we looked at them and I got a lot of ideas from him. It wasn't just him giving me advice and lines and finding good moves. It was more his evaluation of my attitude at the board and my approach to the game. Then when we were doing endings I got a little embarassed by my lack of knowledge in such simple positions as Lucena and Philidor.
So since then I've been working on those positions a lot. And I realized these positions are fairly easy. I've just never taken the time to really learn them. Not just learn the principles, I know those, learn the positions. Just like I know my openings. It's good to know the themes, but there are a few key positions and I should know them, know how to get into them, know how to win and draw them. In my sleep. I'm starting to see why these positions are important. After all getting a won ending is the goal of chess. What if I ended up in a won R+P ending and I couldn't convert? That's not the way to beat a master.
But there's more. I used to study all three phases of the game at a time. I think that during these periods I learned the most. I recommended it to chessloser and Vern at the tournament because I think it is a key element in my success. When I encountered these positions, I went over them, but I didn't learn them. Whereas when I encountered problems in the opening I looked to solve them completely, really learn them. And whereas when I found interesting middlegames I would look for numerous examples of the theme. In the ending I got lazy. I couldn't build the necessary motivation to learn these endings really well. So I stopped studying the ending. And now I have ok endgame knowledge that is a poor complement to my strong opening and middlegame. I can't help thinking how many endings I've avoided because 'rook endings are drawish'. I don't even know what a won rook endgame looks like.
So what's the point of all this? Study endings right. Well yeah, but there's more. When we used to run the mile in PE I used to sprint the last 100-200 yards as hard as I could because I knew I had the strength in me to do it and that was the end. Right now I'm 180 points away from that magic 2200 number. Also this is my first club championship so I thought: what better way to squash the doubt that I am the best player at the Reno Chess Club than to win the championship and make master the same year? So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to win the club championship and sprint to the master title this year. Period.
Since I've hired a coach, it would be a waste of time to not study as hard as I can. If I lean on him for support then I will get nowhere, but if I take his suggestions to heart and learn the positions he wants me to then he can help me move forward.
When I have found determination to study in the past I have achieved strong gains very quickly. Usually I have the knowledge to outplay my rating first, then my play comes second. That's how it has to go again. I have been focused on improving my play but it is time to turn back to knowledge and just learn as much as I can over the coming months.
I knew I had expert in me, so I slowed my studies and just kept winning til I got it. But now it's time to really prove myself. Everything up until now has just been leading up to this push. This final push. I've known I was capable of being a master since I was very young. Time to push myself hard and prove it to everybody else. Catch me if you can.
masegui - your english is fine! how's the chess in brazil?
chessaholic - of late my dedication has been waning, but with this milestone dangling in front of me I REALLY WANT IT.
chessloser - i'm just going to try and tackle one 200 point climb at a time, but thanks for the encouragement