Let the games begin!

As I Understand the position

GrizwoldZed’s report on chess activities

Issue No 2

12/31/2024

The Chess.com Daily Game chess tournament starts tonight! I still haven’t received pairings from my group yet.  I wonder when that will be?

 In the meantime, I am continuing to train and developing a suitable plan for study.  This tournament will mark the beginning of refocusing my efforts personal improvement in chess. 

25 years ago, I studied about two hours a day and upped that to five hours two weeks before entering the tournament.  I studied alone because I lived alone.  Things changed when I met someone and got married.  Suddenly, I had a family.  I had to limit my time to less than five hours a week. 

I carried a puzzle book with me everywhere I went.  My wife couldn’t understand why I spent time studying for so long.  And why I only played chess once every three months when I went to a tournament far away and only played five or six games, each lasting five hours.  And why did I have so many chess books?  The list goes on. 

Finally, she encouraged me to find a chess club somewhere.  So, I located three very good ones in the Boston area.  Happily, one was located only 20 minutes away.  They had all ranges of talent from beginner to grandmaster.  The had more than three hundred members and hosted a monthly tournament with cash prizes.  I was back on track and improving once again.  Then Covid hit.

Somehow, I discovered Chess.com in 2021 and began playing again.  I still studied from my chess books (numbering more than 300 volumes) perhaps five hours a week.  And now, since upgrading to diamond, I am discovering the amazing resources available to me.  And so, I sit here, writing this blog waiting for the tournament to begin.  Good luck to all, and I’ll CyaL8r.