My 1500 elo ratign interview

If you had it to do all over again, looking back, now that you know, what would you do differently to get from your beginning chess strength :    

1. Well if I had to do it all over again, I think that You should be playing in tournaments and competitive chess at an older age like 10 to 14 years old but be a chess player for fun at the age of 5 to10 for a succesful career. It will help your ratign alot.

Are you self taught in chess or did you get lessons from a master ?

I was taught by someone hwo already knew how to play chess but she was not a master I learned the "en passant" by my self and all the other thigns like castlign and the other openigns by myself. 

What do you think are the primary ingredients in a chessplayer ?

I think that the primary ingredients in a chess player is 35% talent and 20% how bad you want to succeed and 45% hard work.

How do you train nowadays ? 

I train by dooign visual exersises (10) : http://www.andkon.com/arcade/puzzle/chessminefields/

and tactics at chess.com and at http://chesstempo.com/

I also play 5 to 15 games per day ( 15 games for a big day )

I also do calculation exersises: http://chess-skills.com/chess-calculation/chess-calculation-technique/ this will eplaine to you how to use this trainign (on the same sight)

and sometimes I do my chess IQ at :http://danheisman.home.comcast.net/~danheisman/Articles/Exercises.html

and sometime I do my coordination exercises : http://www.2dplay.com/crazy-chess/crazy-chess-play.htm

 What is your favorite chess game ?

My favourite chess game is : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn3gzrZzmr0

How much time do you devote to chess ?

I devote about 2 hours and 30 minutes on school days and 3hours and 30 minutes on weekends.

 Whats your favroite part of a chess game ?

My favourite part of a chess game is the opening because it is where that you can decide what you want to do with your game.  It is decision time ! 

How do you deal with the stress and strain of chess sometimes ?

Well, the stress and strain of chess can be very anoying at some times. What I do to get rid of this is listen to musique or just keep away from chess, oyu know just something to change your ideas form your stress.

 Whats your favorite chess book/video ?

My favourite chess book is "the mammoth book of chess" and I call ot the bible of chess . I highly recomend this book it has everythign that you can imagine in chess in a book ( tactics chess advice chess history recomended chess openings and strategies and  official FIDE trainign methods and more. My favourite chess film is " Searchign for Bobby Fisher" it has been inspired by a true story " ( GM Josh Weitzkein's story )

Other than chess what hobbies do you have ?

My other hobbies are : Badminton, Guitar, Runign,                              and Musique ( Dubstep ).

What do you ask yourself before making a move in general ?(thinking process)

Befor I make a move, I make sure that the oponent has no threats against me, and then, if he has no threats, it is the perfect time to force moves or cause a threat. It is always good to have a to do list in your mind wile you play chess. Try to accomplish this list. It is also good to have multiple wars on the board so if you are loosign in one war you can go hardcore in another war on the board. So that is what I think about before I do a move. I try to accomplish while it is my chance or my time to do so.  

What was the best advice given to you in chess ?

The best advice that has been given to me in chess is how to stop a loosign streak by Alexandra Kosteniuk (Women world Chess champion) I asked her how to stop a loosign streak and she rote a message to me that said : To stop a loosign streak, you must believe in yourself. I once went to a tournament and I lost 5 games in a row, it was so painful. And then I was confident that I was goign to win the next round. The next round was against       GM Nigel Short, he was the tournament favourite ! But I believed in myself because all of Russia thought that I could have a win ! And then I belived in myself and I won. So you have to belive that you can win the next game because after a huricain ther is always a rainbow ( a winnign streak )  ! 

How do you think technology has impacted chess the most ?

I think that technologie has impacted chess in the way of chess computers like Fritz and Deep blue and other amazign chess engines. The chess engines have realy shoulk the chess world like the Deep Blue vs GM Garry Kasparov match. Many GM think that the chess computers in the future will give advice to humans that is to complicated and the humans wont understand. Here is a video about chess machinery beatign Kramnik and Ivanchuck and Carlsen (very funny) : http://www.youtube.com/watchv=6E5UEdh2g-0

What is he best type of tournament to you ? (Round Robin,Knock Out,Swiss or something else)

My favourite kind of tournament is Swiss because this kind wont kick you out just because you lost your first game and it is very healthy for your ratign and + nobody likes to get kicked out of a tournament and feel like loosers. Chess is for fun ! 

What is or was your favorite type of opposition to play against ? (up 1 section your own section someone 400+ stronger)

My favourite type of position to play against these big shots would be somethign like this : e4,e5,nf3,nf6,nxe5,nxe4, and now black should be careful of qe2,nc5,nc6+, black looses his queen try it on a board. It is very interestign but these big guys are not goign to fall for this nasty useful trick. So try gettign the extra pawn like this : e4,e5,nf3,nf6,nxe5,nxe4,qe2,d6,qxe4,dxe5,qxe5+,qe7,qxe7,bxe7altho that black would have a fair position but you do have your chance for revenge with your logn range withe square bishop.

What are some tools every club/pro player should have to train  with ? 
They certanly have to train with the tactics trainer but they have to make sure that they set the kind of tactics that they have the most trouble with. They also have to follow the           NM Dan Heinsman trainign triangle : Find somethign new , and then analize it , and then you have to try it in a game. It is also good to keep track of your chess IQ if you are getign beter and beter continue what you are dooign. But if you are getign worst change your trainign in a way that you will improve what you are dooign rogn or havign trouble with.

What games do you like to study ? (your own,someone else, the elites) HAVE NO BARRIERS

I like to study the games that I won or losse but not the games that I draw because in the games that I losse, I try to find what I did rogn so I wont do it again the next time and the games that I won I try to find what I did right and I will keep dooign it. Sometimes I study Grandmaster games but just to evaluate the position ( it is very good to know how to evaluate a position because you have to know what you have to change and you also have to know what you need to defend on the board ex: week squares week bishops or nights doubled up pawns ) 

How do you prepare for an opponent ?

I prepare for an oponent like this : I need to studie the oponents games and while dooign this I look for : the openign that he uses most, the traps that he gets caught by the most, and the style that he uses, and also the tactics and stratagies that he uses. I make sure that I train just befor the match and that the information stays fresh in my mind. And like Alexandra Kosteniuk said : Believe in your self ! My sayign would be : Wether you think your are goign to win or that you are goign to lose you are right.

If you could go thru time and play any player (past or present) who & why ?

I would probably go for Bobby fisher while he was around 1972 

at that time chess was less discoverd and analyzed I would show him my analyse about thigns  it would change alot of thigns in the chess world. Chess would be as modern in 1972 !

Whats your favorite website ? (any appropiate)

It would be chess.com for sure because it has all the best trtainign methods in the world ! And plus it is also the #1 chess site in the world. Why go any where else !

whats your favorite time control ? (classical,Rapid,Blitz) why ?

My favourite time controle would be blitz because it keeps chess exitign and in blitz we actualy use the clock not like in standard nobody gets even close to no time left.

whats your top ten rules of thumbs you think about in chess during a game ?

1. Never say OH MAN ! when you blunderd just stay shut and he might get rushed on time and wont see it.

2. In a tournament, never leave the buildign or else you might lose your match on time (even if you have plenty of time left) trust me I learned it the hard way ! 

3. Always play unrated match if you are in a loosign streak and then if you start seeign the rainbow you can start playign rated matches again 

4. If someone forgot to press the buton on the clock after ther move, dont press it for them, just pretend you are thinkign and he will lose on time, unfortunotley its the game 

5.make sure to exercise befor tournaments because chess can be very tirign suprisignly !

6.Make sure to always listen to youself not does GM's that keep telign you what to do. Play for yourself and play thigns that you can handle and understand.

7. If you have a coach or a chess bud make sure that you understand what he is tellign you if you realy want to play it.

8. Befor tournaments make sure to keep a time for slow chess and realy think out every line.

9. Only play lines that you are goign to play dont waste your time on does other lines that you are not goign to end up playign 

10. Make sure that the board is well set up and that the games is fair or else contact a ref. and have fun. 

What else would you like to tell everyone about yourself ?

My wildest dream is to become a chess Grandmaster. My main language is french and I am a six grade student born in 2001 ( 12 years old ) I started playign at the age of 5 years old. And it is still my passion.  

Did you or do you have study/sparring partner you work/worked with? (how strong were they?)

I do have a study partner called Alexandre Walsh and he is around 1250 ratign and his dad wich I also study sometime with has a ratign of 2200. I already had a game with Veseline Topalov in 2006 but I obviousley lost . He gave me a couple tricks.

do you exercise if so what do you do ?

I exercise a litle and this is what I do : Every week I run 200 meters and every monday and thursday I play badminton for 2 hours ( I have a very good badminton trainer ) . And every week I also run 500 meters over my 200 meters so every week I run 700 meters and I have a professional badminton coach. And please note that I am available for coaching on the weekends, if you are interested, please leave me a message.  See you there and perhaps in another blog or forum, see you on the other side !

- Sébastien Lebel ( SebLeb0210 )