Beyond 2000

No, I am not posting about the TV show from the 80s. I am making my first announcement to the world about my newly set goal to get past the 'magical' 2000 rating limit. I am currently rated about 1600 (depending on time control). I have never actually played a 'real' OTB game, and also never a longer game than 30 min. So honestly, I don't know my current rating, but it should be somewhere between 1600 and 1700. My ambition is to reach the 2000 goal before I turn 40, which is in little less than 4 years. I will have about 6 hours available for training each week, which provides a total available training time of roughly 1200 hrs.

Ok, some may think that 4 years is a long time. But for those of you who have kids and wives and dogs and other stuff know that a shorter time-span is just not feasible. And turning 40 is associated with some kind of crisis (so I've heard), so why not aim to have something positive to look for?

My strategy is simple. I have a number of good chess books, covering openings, strategy, tactics and what have you. I also have the Chessmaster program, which I find useful in terms of instructional 'walkthroughs', puzzles and other training resources. I also plan to join a local chess club. My plan is to use these resources, play a lot of games and analyze my own mistakes.

I will write new posts once a week to document my progress. Please feel free to comment. Encouraging words are worth gold stars. 

/Nietsoj