My Journey- Introduction
I’m starting a new series (again), called My Journey. Here, we venture through every rating block (200-300, 300-400, etc) I’ve gone through, with games and tips so that you yourself can climb the rating ladder yourself!
I originally came up with this idea because so many people kept asking me: “How did you get to 1500?” So of course I politely answered them, giving tips like “I played opening I felt comfortable playing,” “I’ve always been naturally good at endgames” (it’s true!), and ”Also just drilled in lots of tactics and started reading some books, Simple Chess is one I recommend, helps with understanding positional concepts for the first time”. (Note: not actual quotes, but similar).
But does that really help anybody? Maybe mentioning Simple Chess, as some have found that helpful, but other than that it’s the same blabber that they themselves would tell a 600, so why would it help?
What would really help is if I actually took the time to tell them exactly what I did and how I did it. Welcome to My Journey.
Table of Contents
I can’t show you what this series would be like without an example, so here’s one. My first ever game, with a much higher elo than I deserve. Might I say, the perfect “how to lose at chess” game. Usually my games showcase themes to help you reach that next rating, so I guess this shows how to reach 200 elo, my lowest point.
Obviously, that is how we don’t want to be playing. Usually, I might explain some common themes, also show some puzzles, but with one game there’s not much to show. Instead, it’s time to answer some possible questions about what this series is going to look like.
How many games will you show every blog?
It really depends on the blog, but I think I’m aiming for around 5 games each blog. The thing is, sometimes I don’t have as many games in some sections as others. I know that I went from 1000 to 1100 really quickly, so there might be less games or the games won’t be as ideal. On the other hand, going from 1400 to 1500 (or especially 1500 to hopefully 1600) took a while, so I may include more games- especially because more advanced concepts need to be explained.
How often will these blogs be coming out?
I think I plan for these to come out monthly (including another in June), but I’m also a part of BlogChamps, where I’d like to write blogs that aren’t a part of this series. Depending on how far I advance, I might now have much time on my hands to write and annotate, but I will try my best.
How advanced will your thinking be, even in the lower level blogs?
Good question. I am going to try to keep my thinking on the level of the intended audience. For example, as a 500 defending a mate threat actively isn’t the main goal, and just defending the mate threat might earn an !, because that’s the goal at this level. But the 1400-1500 blog, we will encourage trying to defend more actively if possible, since passivity is harmful at this level. This isn’t giving lower-rated players a “bad foundation”, it’s helping them understand things more and more so they can progress. You can’t defend actively until you learn how to defend.
Do you use the computer to help you analyze these games?
Nope! All of these games have to be at a level the audience can understand, and the computer can be very harsh. It’s all done by myself! And if I miss something, well, I guess that’s the reality of being a 1500.
How many of these blogs will you have?
Well, I’m currently in the 1500s, so that means: 200-300, -400, -500, -600, -700, -800, -900, -1000, “The Fall” (see more in next question), -1100, -1200, -1300, -1400, -1500. That makes a total of 15 blogs. Of course, if this takes me over a year to write those, I sure do hope I’m not still 1500. So this number will keep going up, and if I do increase, I’ll make sure to write about those too.
What the heck is “The Fall”?
Without trying to spoil to much, basically one day I lost over 100 elo in one day. I had reached 1000 not too much before that, and it was really disheartening. I took a very long break before one day coming back- and that’s where part 2 of the series begins.
Will you only be showing wins to show what to do, or will you also include losses to show what not to do?
Another good question. I plan to mainly show wins, but of course I can’t not show losses. I will include at least 1 loss as the first game of the blog to show what things are like when you get to this level, and how mistakes are taken advantage of (or in lower levels, possible lack thereof).
Will I enjoy these blog?
I hope, otherwise I’m wasting my time =P
Well, I hope you’re as exited as I am for this new series! I’m really trying to just make things a bit easier for lower rated players. There’s a lot of resources out there, but they don’t really show everything a player needs to know or go deep enough.
Another thing: a lot of people are visual learners, and they need to see concepts in action, need to see what these ideas look like in games. Not master games where ideas are deep and much above their heads, but games at their level, against their kind of mistakes, where they see how these concepts affect people like them.
Thanks for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it and are ready for the upcoming series! Good luck chessers!
