Time for a New Blog: 2000 Achieved
Dear chess friends,
I finally made it to 2000 after scoring 4.0/5 in my most recent event, the Greg Knutson Memorial in Madison, WI. I'll start with some statistics, looking back at my journey thus far. I started playing tournament chess in late October of 2010 so it's been almost 7 years since then. I took a one year break from June, 2015 to June, 2016 so it effectively took me just under 6 years to get here. Honestly, with more discipline and more regular play in tournaments I should have gotten to this rating in about four years, but life gets in the way sometimes. I have only played 29 classical rated tournaments up to this point (which is surprisingly low and something I hope to change in the future). In the aforementioned tournament, I went from 1989-2005 so now the next leg of my adventure begins: The Road to 2200! For this I will begin a new blog, which I aspire to upkeep more regularly and in a way that makes the content edifying and interesting for my readers.
What are my goals going forward? In general, I would like to reach 2200+ USCF as soon as possible. I initially had wanted to get there by the end of 2018, but based on how frequently I play in tournaments this is simply not very realistic. I think if I play an event twice every three months at least I may be able to get there some time in 2019 if I structure by study optimally and stay disciplined. How will I get there? I plan on doing much more work on concrete endgames and calculation, as I continue to fine-tune my opening repertoire for master level competition. I also definitely need to work on my physical well-being, as this is a major detriment to my progress at the moment. I have recently gotten back into taking regular walks and will eventually get back into biking or jogging on top of daily calisthenics. It will be difficult to manage this on top of my personal chess study and all of my chess coaching responsibilities, but I want it and am willing to put in the time and effort.
Now that I've reflected on the past and projected into the future, I think I owe the readers some of the more interesting moments from my last tournament. Below are some of the critical moments from my games at the Greg Knutson Memorial in puzzle format. I hope you enjoy!
Black to move and win.
