(NOTE: I am traveling this coming week and will have to postpone week 9 for a week.)
Daily Rating: 1195 +27 from last week (new high of 1205)
Blitz Rating: 867 + 9 from last week
Rapid 15/10: ------------------
Puzzles: 2131 +56 from last week 75% accuracy (new high of 2135)
Daily games went pretty well. Won a game against a player rated 1356 after I lost a knight in the opening phase. I think my opponent got a bit hubris playing against someone rated 170 points below their rating and did not see some of the traps I set. On a few other games that finished up, my analysis was a bit incomplete despite having as much time as I wanted, so I need to work on a more methodical analysis when I play. Overall, I was mostly satisfied with my play despite that.
Blitz games were up and down. I missed free pieces and blundered a couple of won games into losses. The most common mistake was improper evaluation of exchanges and playing losing exchanges. On the positive side, I felt more comfortable with the 5/5 time constraint and losses did not seem to affect subsequent games very much. It is good to not get into a tizzy because of a lost game.
Puzzles went well this week. I did a pretty good job of following calculations through to a concrete end and not moving until I was sure that I solved the puzzle. I had 2 days of 100% success. I hope to make my calculation more methodical as I work through future puzzles.
Positive Outcomes This Past Week:
1. Continued with pretty good plan ideas that incorporated basic chess principles, eg center control, piece development and king safety.
2. More comfortable with the blitz time control, seeing overall board control ideas sooner and clearer.
To Work On:
Same as last week: Work on more concrete, methodical evaluation of moves, paying attention to what my opponent's might be trying.
Week 8 - Blitz 5/5 Nov. 22-28, 2021
(NOTE: I am traveling this coming week and will have to postpone week 9 for a week.)
Daily Rating: 1195 +27 from last week (new high of 1205)
Blitz Rating: 867 + 9 from last week
Rapid 15/10: ------------------
Puzzles: 2131 +56 from last week 75% accuracy (new high of 2135)
Daily games went pretty well. Won a game against a player rated 1356 after I lost a knight in the opening phase. I think my opponent got a bit hubris playing against someone rated 170 points below their rating and did not see some of the traps I set. On a few other games that finished up, my analysis was a bit incomplete despite having as much time as I wanted, so I need to work on a more methodical analysis when I play. Overall, I was mostly satisfied with my play despite that.
Blitz games were up and down. I missed free pieces and blundered a couple of won games into losses. The most common mistake was improper evaluation of exchanges and playing losing exchanges. On the positive side, I felt more comfortable with the 5/5 time constraint and losses did not seem to affect subsequent games very much. It is good to not get into a tizzy because of a lost game.
Puzzles went well this week. I did a pretty good job of following calculations through to a concrete end and not moving until I was sure that I solved the puzzle. I had 2 days of 100% success. I hope to make my calculation more methodical as I work through future puzzles.
Positive Outcomes This Past Week:
1. Continued with pretty good plan ideas that incorporated basic chess principles, eg center control, piece development and king safety.
2. More comfortable with the blitz time control, seeing overall board control ideas sooner and clearer.
To Work On:
Same as last week: Work on more concrete, methodical evaluation of moves, paying attention to what my opponent's might be trying.