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The Chess.com Study Plan --Tested

The Chess.com Study Plan --Tested

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Excheqquer
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Week # 3 Day  # 1 Rating 1244 +78 points

I, Excheqquer, an inveterate nonimprover finally decided to put the Chess.com Study plan to the test. These are the Chronicles of my trials.

Yesterday I played Europoort. ( you can look at yesterday's blog for the annotation) It was my 10th win in a row. After the game I looked at Europoort's games, and I saw that he is in the bog, the same impasse that I was in before I began my study program. He has been mired in the 1100's and can't seem to improve. So I shared with him what I am doing. He wrote back to thank me. He was unaware of the Study Plan (said in a whisper with obligatory genuflect) and he would be sure to check it out as he too was tired of not improving.  (Does this remind anyone of the storyline for Pilgrim's Progress happy.png)

The plan for today (and again if you want to find the plan go to learn/articles/study plan) is to continue working on # 4 the Endgame. I will do some puzzles, watch videos, do some visualization and get in a game. 

But first up Puzzles Yesterday I topped the 1900 mark again, so I have reset my puzzles down to under 500. I am firm believer that you have to keep working on the easy puzzles as well. They have to become so ingrained if you are ever going to be able to calculate accurately. 

Puzzles 497 - 808

Visualization; I have a regular chess board on my kitchen table and I spend my time at lunch looking at the pieces imagining the pieces on the board, and remembering which color each square is. e4 is white. h2 is black, which is why the light colored bishop fits in nicely on the light colored g2 in the Catalan opening (h1-g2-f3-e4-d5-c6-b7- a8). c5 of course is black like all Sicilian openings, and g7 is the spot for the black dragon bishop (h8-g7-f6-e5-d4-c3-b2-a1).

I have these videos to watch today.

  • Pawn Endings 2 by FM Steven Zierk
  • King and Pawn Endings: Stage 2 by IM Daniel Rensch -- so excellent and I also ordered  Secrets of Pawn Endings on my Kindle and started reading an excellent addition to Danny's video. I really want to be able to convert on all the king pawn games that should be mine. 
  • Pawn Endings 3 by FM Steven Zierk -- some fabulous insights into how to play your pawns. I've often wanted to know the principle of how to play my pawns when I had a pawn majority.  FM Zierk spells it out. First move the pawn that does not have an opposing pawn. 
  • King and Pawn Endings: Stage 3 by IM Daniel Rensch

No Game today. When I went to play I just felt like I was not in the right mental frame. Quite frankly having a 10 game winning streak is making me nervous, a little gunshy meh.png