
Experimenting with blogging
I've just reached a new ratings high, and so I think I will take a break and try blogging for a while, because if I keep playing games I am bound to plummet back to my real rating fairly quickly.
Incidentally, there is definitely an intimidation effect in the rating system. The vast majority of players play much worse against a player who is significantly higher-rated than them ... and "the vast majority" includes me, I can assure you!
I have no idea how to overcome the psychological block in the last paragraph. But I do have a few useful tips on blitz chess which I would like to share in the upcoming posts.