A Lazy Saturday
#1000ELO #bloglovers #blogchamps #chess-for-me #the-art-of-war #mattoscacco #blitzstream #fianchetto #winning-feeling #checkmate-or-die #suggestions #diary #my-progress
Hi!
I spent Saturday at home, checking blogs and stuff, and I already have too many topics I would like to discuss, so better put everything in a post again!
OK, I also had some of the thoughts in other days of this long week end, October 3rd is Unification Day and a public holiday here in Germany, but the most of the stuff comes from Saturday. 
BLOG LOVERS
I just started a club for blog lovers. The aim of it is having there people that write blogs that have not a lot of visibility otherwise. The All Blogs page is often spammed with empty posts done for getting the 10 post achievement, or for reasons I do not want to investigate further, and posts that would deserve some attention get lost. I generated a picture with an image generator, if you can provide me better pictures for the club I would be immensely grateful! Yet I find the current picture nice. Not perfect, but nice!
It would be great to get there people that love to read blogs, and also some people who write blogs. A place to share ideas on how to improve, to give suggestions and similar things.
Check the club out, and feel free to promote there (or under this post) your favourite and not so popular blog!
https://www.chess.com/club/blog-lovers
Do you have any suggestions on how to improve the club?
I also have another club for committed learners, yet I have problems to give it a direction as well. Any suggestions is welcome there as well. I do not link it, maybe I will keep a whole section for it in another post.
BLOGCHAMPS
I submitted my blog to blogchamps. I can submit a post per week, until I get eliminated, that could also be at week 2. Wish me luck!
Let me know if you like my last post better than this one, I still have to submit one till the 7th of October. Or you can also tell me to please write something better, I still have some days to do it!
I think there will be other seasons, so you can also apply next time!
Here you can check the posts that are submitted for the first week!
https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/season-1-qualifiers-blog-submissions
WHAT IS CHESS FOR ME?
Reading blogs made me think about that. I was so soaked in this new world, that did not really think what chess meant for me. I am simply going forward, and feel like it is the right thing to do. Do you know, when something clicks? It happened to me other times in life, like when I started learning a language. Some don't click, some do, for no more good reasons that others had. That's why I know Russian better than Greek and Arabic. 
But I stopped anyway and started thinking about the meaning of chess for me.
I do not see it that much like war like the most of the people, or at least, not like a classical conflict, but you will read more about it in the next paragraph.
I think it is also a great way to escape from reality, and yet keeping the brain active.
It is a wonderful way to know people with the same passion, and I will never get tired of saying that I never found people so eager to show what they know, not even in the polyglot environment.
I still do not see it as a form of art as @Renate-Irene does, for example here, but we will see! I think this would be wonderful, sometimes I grasp the magic behind it for a moment, but not so deeply.
And what is chess for you?
THE ART OF WAR
By reading the last blog post by @sunny29990 I came to a very interesting reflection, where I put my view on chess, on the best way of doing war (avoiding it), and on karate. I am too lazy and will copy my comment here:
I have to admit, I am too much of a peaceful person. I see chess as a way to clarify my mind, to know my opponent, but not as war, even if it is in the end. Or maybe in the kind of war where in the end you avoid the fight as much as possible, like the one described in the Sun Tzu "The Art of War", that is in the end a book about knowing you, your troops, the enemy, the territory and all around. A book full of wisdom. Maybe it's time to read it again.
Also about karate, the only martial art I did and should probably restart (or find another one that fits me at the current moment). I've never been into sparring and more into kata, the beautiful and magic figures where you set up movements for the fight, when you face imaginary opponents, where you focus your energy but nobody is there. The highest form of training and the one where nobody gets harmed.
This is probably how I see martial arts, and probably chess as well. As a way of using our head to learn strategy, form, discipline, strength, in a way that does not harm anybody. A safe ground to try things out. And grow.
A must read if you do not know the Art of War: http://classics.mit.edu/Tzu/artwar.html
This book is used often in management courses, but I think it can be applied in each and every field of life, and chess is no exception!
MATTOSCACCO AND BLITZSTREAM - MOVE BY MOVE
Sorry, this content is for people that understand Italian, but it would be great if you could recommend any video where some games are explained in an easy way move by move in whatever language, English of course is better but any language is welcome since I think people from all over the world could be reading this post.
I saw this video yesterday. Bocelli VS Karpov. I know, Bocelli is not a GM, yet he played solidly. And the game featured Caro-Kann defense, that is my main defense. And in the same channel, I saw another game commented step by step, where several useful concepts are explained in one place, Duda VS Firouzja, another game featuring the Caro-Kann.
Another channel where games are explained move by move is the one of Blitzstream, where Kevin Bordi explains all his moves in the jeux pedagogiques, instructive games. This time in French.
Knowing more than one language must have some advantages also in the chess world!
CHOOSING THE RIGHT TIME CONTROL, PLAYING TILL THE VERY END
Has it ever happened to you that during a 60 minute games somebody told you to hurry because it was too late in their part of the world? Did anybody force them to send a 60 minute challenge while they were falling asleep? Is it unrespectful to tell them to play blitz next time?
I am a slow player. I will use the most of the available time in most of my games.
I got a draw in the last game (despite the many bad bad bad mistakes) because I endured till the end. I know that it is easier to get stalemated when the opponent goes for the second queen.
I told @amon_chess to check how to checkmate with king and queen only, he would have mated me without risking the stalemate. If I see my opponent doing something that can be easily solved, I tell them. He almost got me and his ELO is pretty lower than mine, so... deep respect!
BLOG FORMAT
I am now writing usually once a week (apart from today, because I gathered too many topics to talk about). Would you rather read shorter posts on a daily or almost daily basis, or find it nice as it is, that I write when I gather quite some things to discuss? Or... no matter how I do it, any way I feel comfortable with is fine?
FIANCHETTO
I think it is the first time I win a long time control game thanks to a fianchettoed bishop. https://www.chess.com/game/live/58434571679
I fianchettoed a bit more in the past, when I was attempting to do the Pirc and the Czech Defense on a regular basis. It did not work out very well, I could not control well the diagonal and often lost both the bishop and the rook behind it. It looks like I have improved a bit. My opponent was not the strongest (he has not played much online) yet... a small victory, compared to how bad I was with it.
HAPPY END
Some days you win a game, have time for another one, but feel a bit blue and decide to keep your victory feeling for the whole day. What if you have some more time to devote to chess? Oh, I am so good at finding other things to do. You can study, watch a video, read a blog, write a blog, open that club that you wanted to open but did not open yet...
What about you? Do you also refrain from playing another game if you get a victory to feel more energetic? What do you do if you have some more time for chess?
DAILY GAMES
I decided to limit to 8 daily games and accept only maximum a new game per day (with some exceptions, but hey, life is made of exceptions). So, if you challenge me and I am not accepting your challenge straight away, just know you are in the queue. Nothing personal!
CHECKMATE OR DIE
I have downloaded the app quite some time ago, yet it was close to unplayable. King and queen looked almost the same, you could not repeat old levels. They had recently a major redesign, pieces look now normal, you can repeat levels, and I think it is cool to learn checkmate patterns. Around level 30 it gets too fast, but it is also a good practice for a slow player like me to do something absolutely fast every now and then.
Funny note: I think one of the zombies looks a little bit like Hikaru, I could not recognize the others, let me know if you recognize any of them.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chess.checkmate
SUGGESTIONS
I am sharing ideas and thoughts with quite some people, and got suggested some books/courses on chessable:
- Keep it simple for Black - Christof Sielecki
Based on Caro-Kann and Queen's Gambit Declined - The Complete Chess Swindler - David Smerdon
How to draw or win some almost lost games - The British Grand Prix Attack - Simon Williams
A technique to defeat the Sicilian Defense
I think I will keep this section at the end of every post, with chess resources people suggest me. Maybe I shoul also add non-chess related suggested resources. So... Here it is!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/96596.Younger_Next_Year
If you want to say yours about any of the suggestions, or see your suggestion featured in the next post, it's your chance to leave a comment!
