My Journey with Chess #3: It's Coming Together

Friends, I'm an adult improver. Don't get discouraged. Challenge yourself.

This is the third post in a series on my journey with chess. I've written about chess in my growing-up years (post #1) and chess with kids and beyond (post #2).  This one will tell my story over the last 2.5 years. 

Volunteering 

I agreed to serve as an extra volunteer with our chess club on our college campus. I started attending meetings, and college students wanted to play (actually, they wanted to beat me, old guy). It turns out their younger minds are excellent at calculation. They don't miss mistakes or blunders. 

I quickly realized I was out of shape. I could feel my heart pounding in my chess as I stared at the board. These students had been using video to improve and hungry for more. I had to decide to be more than an observer and get back to playing.

I tried any number programs and plans. I started working out on Chessable (and I have a 680+ streak going.) I decided that I needed to better at endgames and that openings, which have always been a strength beyond memorizing moves, could be better.

Where Things Stand

Over the last six months, I've built out a repertoire for White and Black, which has helped tremendously in giving me confidence as the game begins.

I work on puzzles some as well, but I can't do long runs of that kind of work. I don't seem to improve.

My rating on chess.com is 1387 in rapid though I've flirted with higher. My daily chess is up to 1631. Given time, I can build good plans. I'm improving as a defender but that's something we all have to keep working at.

I decided to join the USCF, and this weekend I'm at my first over-the-board tournament. I've never played in a rated tournament, but I'm ready to see how it goes.