Earl's Chess Blog

Rating Update: From 1112 to 1131

2007-05-21T12:58:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I played three games in a tournament in the town of B., which is a couple of hours away from home. I always enjoy going to these tournaments, usually held two or three times each year. The very first tournament I ever entered was there, in the summer of 2005, almost two years ago. I guess I have a fondness for the tournament there for that reason. I have learned a lot since then, but my rating shows there is so much more yet to learn.

This past weekend's tournament was small. There were only ten players entered in the tournament, so the tournament was changed from a quad to a three-round Swiss tournament.

I lost my first game, but my opponent was rated around 1700. So that loss doesn't really affect my own rating. The next two games I won, but both opponents were rated below me, so again that doesn't make for any dramatic improvement.

The overall result was a rise in my rating from 1112 to 1131.

I need to study more--and play more tournaments!--if I am going to have any chance of reaching my goal of 1400.

Rating Update: From 1084 to 1112

2007-05-01T09:23:00.000-06:00

The local chess club held an April Swiss tournament, consisting of four games on the last four successive Sundays of the month.

I was quite disappointed in my play. I finished with 1.5 out of the possible 4.0 points. In all four games, I was playing opponents who were rated higher than me. So the one positive aspect of the tournament is that my rating went up a bit: from 1084 to 1112, according to the U.S. Chess Federation's rating calculation.

Still, I feel I've got a serious problem that requires solving. In three of the four games, I made blunders--the exact kind of blunders that I have been working so hard on removing from my play. Clearly, I'm not disciplined enough in adhering to my system.

I've thought long and hard about this and I've come up with two steps for improvement. Firstly, I want to fine-tune my system so that it includes an explicit check for five specific things: hanging pieces, checks, forks, skewers, and pins. Secondly, I need to practice playing this way at home, to choreograph my brain and hands to play using my blunder check system.

I'll begin working on this tonight.

I joined SchemingMind.com

2007-04-06T09:44:00.000-06:00

Besides chess, another of my interests is Sherlock Holmes. I belong to a local scion society; we meet once a month to discuss a Holmes story or topic. Russ, a close friend and fellow member of the group, had sent me a note telling me about an online chess site called SchemingMind.com. He thought it would be interesting to me because of its link between chess and Sherlock Holmes.

The connection is from the short story called "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman" in which Sherlock Holmes states: "Amberley excelled at chess—one mark, Watson, of a scheming mind."

So a couple of days ago, I went to SchemingMind.com, checked out the site, and joined. Membership is free. I've currently got two games going there.

Rating Update: From 1085 to 1066 to 1083

2007-03-14T13:49:00.000-06:00

Since my previous entry in this blog, I've seen the results of my last two tournaments posted to the U.S. Chess Federation ratings page.

My poor play in the February 25th tournament in B---- dropped me from 1085 to 1066.

My results in the February tournament at the local chess club, in which I scored only 1.0 out of 4, were disappointing. However, all four opponents in that four-round tournament were rated higher than me, sometimes by several hundred points. So the USCF rating calculation moved me back up to 1083. As a result, the month of February was pretty much a wash as far as my hopes of rating improvement went.

I won't be playing any tournament games in the month of March. Some vacation plans prevent me from the March competition at the local club. So I'll be spending some time working on my chess studies: openings, tactics, and end games.

Hopefully, in April I will show some improvement.

Round Three in the February Tournament

2007-03-02T22:59:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday, I played Carlos L. in the third round of the February tourament at my local chess club. I played adequately, with no great blunders of which I am currently aware. (I haven't had time yet to run the moves through Fritz's blunder check routines.)

Carlos and I were rated about the same, I believe. In the upcoming fourth round, I should be faced with someone two or three hundred points above me. I look forward to seeing how I do there.

Poor Play on Saturday

2007-02-25T23:41:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I drove a couple of hours to a town having a chess tournament. I played 3 games, each G60, in the lower-level quad. I was quite disappointed in my play. I won my first game. In my second game, I had a won game, but gave my opponent a stalemate. And in my third game, I again had an advantage, but blundered away what I think should have been a won game.

I got into time trouble in each of the three games, which definitely contributed to my blunders. I've got to figure out a pace that is appropriate for these G60 games.

Lots of Chess This Weekend

2007-02-23T09:29:00.000-06:00

Over the last two Sundays, I have lost my first two games in the February tournament at the local chess club. Both of my opponents were rated several hundred points more than me, but I still began each game with plans for a win. So I was disappointed in my losses.

My play, I believe, is improving--just not enough yet to beat opponents rated in the 1400's and 1700's (as were these two players). I need to keep studying: perhaps in a few months, I will be able to do better at that level.

Tomorrow (Saturday), I drive to the town of B----, to enter a tournament consisting of a quad of G60 games. And then on Sunday evening, I will play round three in the local tournament. So I will have a total of four USCF-rated games this weekend. Lots of chess!

Rating Update: From 932 to 1085

2007-02-08T15:21:00.000-06:00

When I began this blog on January 1st, my USCF rating was 932. I just checked my rating at www.uschess.org and am pleased with the latest updates. My success last month in the January Quad at the local chess club--winning 2.5 out of 3--has boosted my rating up to 1085. It's the first time that I've been over a thousand.

A significant part of the increase, I suspect, was due to my draw with an opponent rated above 1400.

My goal, for the coming year, is to get to that point: 1400.

Super Bowl Sunday

2007-02-05T21:40:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I played the third round of my local chess club's January quad. Because the game was scheduled for Sunday evening, my opponent contacted the tournament director and then me to see about rescheduling the chess game at a time that wouldn't interfere with watching the Super Bowl. I was amenable. So we met Sunday at noon at the local public library and played our game there.

I did a consistent job of using my "dot" technique to avoid blunders. We both played carefully but aggressively. I had to fend off a direct attack from my opponent on my King, but was able to do so. That gave me the tempo to double my Rooks and Queen as well on an file occupied by a backward pawn belonging to my opponent. It fell victim to the three-major-piece battery and after a tough middle game fight, I had a pawn advantage that I was able to promote to a Queen. That soon won the game.

This game gave me 2.5 points out of 3 for the quad, winning me $50. Even more importantly, I should see a rise in my USCF rating once the results are sent in.

The real goal of this blog is to document my efforts to improve my rating. I'm actually more pleased about my recent improvement in consistent and careful play than in winning the fifty bucks.

On the other hand, fifty dollars will buy me Fritz 10!

Slower Than Planned Progress

2007-02-02T10:24:00.000-06:00

I haven't made an entry here in a couple of weeks; life (outside chess) has kept me a bit busy. But I have been making progress on my self-assigned studies--just not as rapidly as I had hoped.

I am physically documenting my chess studies by typing them up. And that is consuming a little more time than I had originally thought. Yes, the documentation slows up the process of learning, but I think will prove valuable in knowledge retention. In addition, my notes will provide me study material for the future.

The bulk of what I am documenting elsewhere is my opening repertoire. I've considered placing my repertoire on this blog, but since my goal for the coming year is to improve my USCF rating, I think I will keep my repertoire confidential. At this time, a couple of my chess friends know I am writing this blog. To improve my rating, I have to win games. No need to give my friends and opponents a leg up on beating me!

However, I will be recording some of my other studies here. I am about half-way complete with working out all the lines involved with the mating combination for Bishop and Knight versus lone King once the position of Figure 5 in Reuben Fine's Basic Chess Endings has been reached. That is one of my studies that I plan on discussing here soon.

So, more to come!

A Draw

2007-01-22T23:21:00.000-06:00

Sunday was round two of the January Quad at the local chess club. I played against a young man named Abe. His rating is several hundred points above me, but I have played him twice before: a loss and a draw were the results.

Again, we played to a draw. I had the very slightest of advantages going into the endgame, but was unable to pull off a win. The game was 30/90 with SD60; that is, the first 30 moves have to be made within 90 minutes, then 60 more minutes to finish the game. I was in time pressure at the end of the first time period; in fact, I made my 30th move with a minute on the clock.

But for some reason, I was unable to relax even having safely entered the second time period. I continued to feel time pressure. My opponent soon had fifteen minutes more than I did, and here we were going into what I saw as a complicated endgame. I became a bit frazzled. In fact, the day after the game, while going over my scoresheet, I found three errors I had made in recording! Jeez, that's terrible!

Anyway, I'm not sure what I learned in this game. I think I need to work on how to handle pressure, but not quite sure how.

Homework Assignment #1

2007-01-18T14:45:00.000-06:00

An ice storm caused round two of the January chess tournament to be postponed, so I didn't play on Sunday.

Instead, this week I've been working--rather haphazardly--on learning a few more moves of the various openings that I want to add to my repertoire.

One of the purposes of this blog is to remove some of the haphazardness of my chess knowledge. I think I'm going to give myself a week's assignment here and see how much progress I've made seven days from now.

So here's what I want to have done by, say, January 25th:

1. Write up my first two moves as White, no matter what Black responds.

2. Write up my first two moves as Black, no matter what White opens with.

3. Memorize the mating pattern for Knight and Bishop versus lone King, once having reached the position in Diagram #5 in Reuben Fine's Basic Chess Endings.

This is a fairly modest amount of work. I want to make steady, sustainable progress, so I'll start off with what seems to me to be a manageable homework assignment.

My Chess Study Plan

2007-01-11T14:41:00.000-06:00

For almost anything worth doing, you have to have a plan.

I started this blog a week and a half ago with the intention of using it as a way of monitoring my chess improvement studies. It would be useful, I think, to describe what is my actual plan for chess study.

I've read enough from other people's online accounts of chess study programs to know that there are more than a few formal plans out there in the world. For example, there is Michael de la Maza's "Rapid Chess Improvement" study plan. There are rants for and against. There is the Chess Tactics Server, which is used religiously by some players to improve their tactical skills. And there are myriad books and DVD's, all claiming their own particular methods and insight. I suspect that all these programs work, to some degree.

But I'm going to go my own way here and try something a bit different. I will have no chess coach, no "16-step program," no high-tech computer system requirements. Mine will be a slower approach and somewhat self-guided. It will be centered around a concept that I have long believed: to understand something, you need to write about it.

Parts of my plan are well-known chess truisms; for example: "tactics, tactics, tactics." However, my way of studying tactics might be slightly different from those using the Chess Tactics Server. What my plan will definitely include will be an incremental building up of layers of knowledge and practice. For example, if I can now play a strong line of the Sicilian Najdorf, say, seven moves deep without having to analyze, then a month or two from now, I want to be able to play it eight moves deep. The key for me will be understanding; I think it will be better for me in the long run to take the time to understand why that eighth move is the best, rather than just memorizing the line. I want to know the why of the opening, not just the how.

Anyway, here's my current plan (version 1.0, so to speak!):

1. Reduce the blunders I make. I plan to study blunder avoidance by practicing my playing choreography. I use the word "choreography" because I want there to be some "muscle memory" in my manner of playing, as if it's an old and familiar ritual. I plan to practice playing at home with my "dot" method of move recording (see my blog entry of January 8, 2007 entitled Blunder Avoidance). I want to be able to look at my scoresheets from now on and know that if there isn't a dot in front of my move that means that either it was part of a memorized opening or that I was in time pressure. Blunder reduction is listed first because nothing takes the fun out of chess quicker than making a stupid move in what otherwise might be a close, hard-fought game. I don't mind losing when I've been out-played by a superior opponent. However, I loathe giving a game away with a doofus blunder.

2. Be prepared for any opening. I want to memorize the first three moves I should make against any possible opening my opponent might throw at me. At this time, I don't want to go any deeper than three moves on openings that would be rarely encountered or inherently flawed. However, for at least three moves, I want to be on auto-pilot.

3. Prepare a strong opening repertoire. Beginning players are often warned against an overemphasis of studying openings instead of practicing tactics. I think this is wise advice, which I will ignore to some extent. To get to the point where tactics become useful, I have to survive the opening and get to the middle game. Thus, I want to develop a solid opening repertoire over the next year. In the immediate future, I will try to concentrate on the lines that I most frequently encounter in strong play: Sicilian, Ruy Lopez, French, Petroff's--just those would make a good beginning study plan. I will add others as I make progress. I plan this to be a slow, methodical, and incremental area of study. I will write down my repertoire and the analysis and rationalization behind each move. (Forgive me if I don't fully share my repertoire notes with you on this blog, but I'm sure you will understand! Call them state secrets!)

4. Study tactics. OK, there it is. Tactics, tactics, tactics. It's the area of study upon which everyone agrees. However, I'm going to pursue this study in my own way. What I plan is to use an actual over-the-board chess set when studying the tactics. I've never been totally convinced that looking at a chess diagram on the computer exercises the same mental "vision" as looking at a real chessboard. So for me, no Chess Tactics Server, no computer programs, no DVD's. I will probably start off with some problem books and sit down at my chess table, set up the problem, and solve it there. This is probably the most experimental aspect of my study plan ideas. I do think it will be less efficient in terms of time, but hopefully will prove to be a solid way of tactical practice for a person most interested in OTB play and improvement.

5. Study endings. At this time, I know little about endings. I can do the very basic endings: Queen against lone King, Rook against lone King, and two Bishops against lone King. I have in the past studied the Bishop and Knight against lone King ending, but it is too complex for me to currently claim for my ending repertoire. There's a whole world of ending theory out there that I have never tackled. I plan on treating endings like openings: a repertoire to build up so that I will go in "automatic mode" when faced with a familiar ending.

6. Study the classic games of the past. Chess has its own history, its own literature, myths and legends. It has characteristics of both science and art. This aspect of my study should be the most enjoyable part of my plan. As long as chess remains beautiful and interesting, then my time studying it will be well-spent.

And that's my plan! The goal: to improve my USCF rating by two or three hundred points within a year. This blog will track my plan and my progress over the next year.

Blunder Avoidance

2007-01-08T15:27:00.000-06:00

Yesterday evening, I went to our local chess club and entered the first tournament of the new year: a three-round quad. In last night's first round, I played against Peter T. and won. I was pleased with my play, mainly because I didn't commit any fatal blunders, as so often I do. I played carefully and got an advantage in the middle game when I was able to pounce on a mistake by Peter that allowed me to skewer his Queen and Rook with my Bishop. I held firm after that and was able to carry that advantage to the end for the point.

In fact, last night's game was the first time in which I tried a new technique to help avoid blunders on my part. Here's how it came about:

A couple of months ago, I was playing a lunch hour game of chess with Afsar, a friend at work. I had a slight advantage and should have been able to win the game. But then I made a bozo move allowing his Bishop to skewer my Rook and King. I should have seen it, but didn't.

This problem happens too frequently with me. And nothing is more frustrating! Manners required that I confine myself to a polite but wan smile as I toppled my King and offered Afsar a congratulatory handshake. But inside of me, there was weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth!

After that game, I went back to my office and vowed that I was going to find some way of reducing my blunders. I googled online for phrases like "avoiding blunders" and "blunder avoidance" and the like. (The results from searches like those will keep you busy for quite awhile.) A lot of the search results were someone trying to sell me a book, to which normally I'm quite open. However, what I was looking for was a habit, or a routine, or a way of thinking that would keep me from making those damnable blunders.

And finally, I came across some notes from a player who was trying to accomplish the same thing as me. His solution was this:

Once you have analyzed the position and decided on your best move, then reach over to the scoresheet and mark a dot down for your move. In your mind, say: "That dot is my move, and now the chessboard reflects that move." Make the move in your mind; see it on the board. Then put yourself in your opponent's position. What will he do? What are his immediate options? What pieces can he take? What checks can he make? What, if anything, have you missed?

If, after this mental exercise, you still like your move, then make it on the board and write it down on the scoresheet next to the dot.

I really liked this idea. It was simple, but I could see how it performed a lot of useful things.

First, by its very nature, it would slow down my play and keep me from rushing into moves. Rushed moves from the excitement of immediate ideas often seem to be my downfall.

Second, it solves the problem arising from the USCF's recent rule change requiring that the move be made before being recorded on the scoresheet. In the past, many people have been taught to write the move down before making it. Those players will have to change their routine. This "dot" routine is a safe substitution.

Third and, I think, most important, by using the "dot" as the mental equivalent of the move upon which I have decided, I can concentrate on what are the immediate replies my opponent can make. After making the dot, I shouldn't be thinking about what this move does for me two or three moves down the line, but what immediate replies are available to my opponent. There's where the blunders should be caught!

Anyway, last night's game against Peter was the first time I tried this routine. I truly believe it helped.

Tom Rose's article on prepared openings

2007-01-03T09:49:00.000-06:00

James, a friend at work, sent me a link to this online article, Points for Free – Prepared Lines in the Opening, in which chess columnist Tom Rose discusses the merits of intensive study of openings. The article argues that one's time is probably better spent at studying tactics and endgames, but that it is tremendous fun when you win a game straight out of the opening!

Interestingly, Rose has a whole series of articles on chessville.com. The index of the articles can be found here: Rose's Rants. Most of the subjects about which Tom Rose writes concern methods of study for chess improvement. I will definitely be taking a further look at these articles.

Chess Bookends

2007-01-02T13:42:00.000-06:00

One of my Christmas presents was a set of chess bookends, given to me by my wife, Joni. They are made of brass and quite heavy--the way bookends are supposed to be.

Since I plan on including images of chessboard layouts on this blog, I need to figure out how to post pictures. I'll try that now. So, here (hopefully) is a photograph of the bookends.

For the photograph, I posed some books that represent my specific problem areas in chess. That is: openings, the middlegame, and endings!

(Did I leave anything out?)

New Year's Resolutions

2007-01-01T16:10:00.000-06:00

January 1st is a time of new resolutions. This first post will mark the start of my efforts to improve my chess game and to increase my United States Chess Federation rating.

I am rather a beginner at being serious about chess. At this time, I have only 26 rated games to my name--just enough to move me out of a provisional status with USCF to my current rating of 932. It's not a very impressive rating; on the other hand, it gives me hope that a year of hard study will provide significant improvement.

I have always felt that one of the best ways to learn is to write. Hence, this journal of my chess studies. I hope that one year from now, I will be able to look back and say, I've learned a lot, improved significantly, and had fun writing about the beautiful game of chess!