My Path to FM - Week 2
To see the plan click - here.
This was a busy non-chess week for me. I still managed to get lots done though.
Tactics
I managed to climb from 2021 to 2056. At one point I had made 2070something but I failed three in a row trying to rush my tactics one day so I could go out for a bit. That was pretty stupid, but at least I'm trending up. I went 30/35 on the week.
Here's one I failed:
Openings
I didn't do a whole lot of opening work. I did play a bunch of blitz using the Caro Kann and compared my games to my chessbase file. I discovered that a lot of players use the same lines. For example:
Practical Play
I got a training game in this week! It was a 60/0 game, which is the first time I played at that time control. I played something unusual and got a pretty good game, but took a pretty risky position and blundered and lost. Disappointing, but losing happens sometimes...
I guess that's about it.
For week three I'd like to play a little better in my training game. I should probably stick to my real repertoire. I'll also be more careful about when I do my tactics. Still, I feel some small progress is being made each week. I'm seeing the board with more clarity when I do my tactical puzzles. I hit an all time high blitz rating on chess.com of 2261. If any titled players are interested in a training game this Thursday or Friday, please let me know! 60/0 was too short for me, but I'd be willing to do anything between 45/45 and 90/30.
Tty next week!
Matt
Ps- A bunch of people have asked me my chesstempo handle... it's also ih8sens.
"The ability to work hard for days on end without losing focus is a talent. The ability to keep absorbing new information after many hours of study is a talent." - Garry Kasparov