FiftyTzent's Rapid & Classical Plan

Week 2 - Day 1

A full week into the plan! I like its structure so far, and the fact that it's pushing me to play more games every day (1 or more!) which is great! Today, as in every Sunday, we play blitz - and this time I had much better results! (To be fair, I played 2 of the games yesterday and 2 more today, in total of 4 - as instructed!)

Results

• Four wins and no losses! Woo-hoo!

Main observations

• Opening:
  • I Played KID in the one game against d4, scrambled a bit in the opening with my knight but eventually got to a good solid position.
  • Played e4-e5 in the other games (as white and as black), played for rapid development of the pieces, focus on the center and a new addition - play d3 before castling to prevent some tricky tactics!
• Tactics:
  • Found a beautiful mate in that KID game after winning the queen -
  • In the other games I took advantage of hanging pieces, tried not to hang mine and play solidly when ahead in material, look for trades and played the endgame well enough to win!
  • Surely missed some tactics that could've won more material, but I tried to focus on simple solid moves.
• Time management:
  • Didn't lose on time in any of the games! Got into low time in some games but picked up the pace, played fast and premoved when necessary to get some extra leeway with the clock.

Key takeaways

• Play good moves fast and with confidence! Try to get into familiar positions and look for ways to induce mistakes. 

Week 2 - Day 2

An OTB game is coming up in two hours, and in the meantime I played the mandatory two 15+10 games, as a warm-up - getting into the chess mindset!

Game 1

Result

• Won by checkmate in 8 moves!

Main observations

• Opening: 
  • Developed my pieces actively, and looked to be primed to attack!
• Tactics:
  • Spotted a beautiful mate in 1!

Key takeaways

• Keep doing it! Develop the pieces on good active squares and look for opportunities!

Game 2

Result

• Draw by repetition in a completely losing position for me

Main observations

• Opening:
  • Standard Ruy Lopez position, developed my pieces well on the standard active squares, until...
• Tactics:
  • I hung my queen on move 10... Completely forgot about the pin on the knight and just took the opposing knight on d5. The problem with this development scheme is that d5 becomes super weak and allows for the white knight to jump in and attack my pinned knight. The move in this position is g5 (g4 if I'm white), even though it pushes a pawn in front of my king, is the only way not to lose it or compromise the king's position completely with the opposing bishop coming to h6.
  • After hanging my queen I tried to make the game as complicated as possible, and even managed to take my opponent's queen right back, being only down a rook.
• Time management:
  • I played faster than my opponent, even deep into the middlegame, which gave me enough time to think of traps and threats.

Key takeaways

• Take a little more time on every move - don't make automatic captures! Don't play blitz in rapid time control!
• When down in material, look to complicate the position and maneuver the pieces to try and attack.

Nice games, FiftyTzent!

Week 2 - Day 3

Overall "meh" 24 hours of chess for me, since I lost the OTB game and lost 2 out of the 3 games I played today. 10+0 is my least favorite time control - it still feels like blitz to me! (FIDE Online Arena actually calls this blitz).

Results

• 1 win, 2 losses
  • I'm on the verge of a 1000 rapid for a week now! Even reached 999 at the start of the day!
• Links:
  • Game 1 - https://www.chess.com/game/live/30202689183
  • Game 2 - https://www.chess.com/game/live/30208170741
  • Game 3 - https://www.chess.com/game/live/30211742775

Main observations

• Opening:
  • Played the KID vs the London, but I'm having trouble navigating the middlegames of the King's Indian - maybe switch to d4-d5 and play Slav-like structures?
  • e4-e5 as white is not that fun for me, I don't like the Italian four knights so I'm trying to play the Spanish four knights, without much success... I'm getting positions I don't really like.
• Tactics:
  • I can find offensive tactics most of the time, but defensive tactics (offense for my opponent) are still an issue...
  • Still missed some important tactics that could've won material in 2-3 moves for me.
• Time management:
  • Again, two losses on time... I'm taking way too long to think, just reiterates the fact that blitz (or games without increment for that matter) are not good for me, I'm not able to play at the best of my abilities like that...

Key takeaways

• Be on the lookout for tactics at all time - never recapture on autopilot!
• Try not to put myself in potential of discovered/double attacks if I can see it beforehand!

Modification ideas

• Openings: switch to Caro-Kann and Slav? I had a coaching session with @AsafGivon on Sunday and he recommended me to play these two openings as black, to go for solid structures with potential.
  I might also pick up the Ruy Lopez as my main weapon against e4-e5 as white, and study it a little better.
• I feel like whenever I play mechanically, trying to stick to the "habits" as cultivated by @Chessbrah in their "Building Habits" series, I lose games! I often time play on autopilot and miss crucial points in the game. I may need to play more deliberately, constantly looking for tactics and ways to improve my position.
• I may replace the three 10+0 games with two 15+10 games to allow myself to think more and actually consolidate my chess knowledge. On the other hand, I'm frequently getting into time trouble in many games I play, so I might need to keep playing them to try and improve on that front...

Week 2 - Day 4

I had a rather busy day today but still managed to sneak in two 15+10 games, with mixed results.

Game 1

Result

• Loss by resignation

Main observations

• Opening:
  • Didn't know what to do against the Ponziani, Bc5 is not the right move - apparently 3...d5 is the move, although it leads to super tricky positions with best play from White.
• Tactics:
  • Atrocious game by me, fell prey to easy tactics, and a premove prevented my from gaining my queen back!
• Time management:
  • Used up almost all of my time (2 minutes left), compared to my opponent dropping only 1 minute from the clock overall!

Key takeaways

• Never premove over 1 minute!
• Stop playing mechanically, instead take the time to consider the threats and how to meet them!

Game 2

Result

• Win by checkmate (with a pawn!)

Main observations

• Opening:
  • Solid chess against the "Dragon", managed to develop my pieces rapidly
• Tactics:
  • Managed to lock the diagonal and harass my opponent's pieces
  • Utilized good pins on the e-file and a-file, and defended my pieces adequately, with developing moves
  • Missed several chances to mate (in 2 and in 1 near the end), eventually found a pretty pawn checkmate
• Time management:
  • Used up almost all of my time - rather slow but calculated play

Key takeaways

• Keep developing solidly to active squares, focus on center play, and try to harass the king and prevent it from castling if possible.

Week 2 - Day 5

Managed to play my three 10+0 games in a blaze, and scored 3/3!

Results

• 3 wins, no losses! Again reached 999 rating! Urghhh one more point!
• Links:
  • https://www.chess.com/game/live/30372007677
  • https://www.chess.com/game/live/30373137357
  • https://www.chess.com/game/live/30387532041

Main observations

• Opening:
  • Played with my active pieces around the center
• Tactics:
  • Spotted some nice forks and tactics, but didn't actually see a mate I could've played had my opponent not resigned in one of the games
• Time management:
  • Paced myself, took some time to calculate but overall used my clock quite well.
  • My opponents resigned pretty early in the game so it didn't have much of an effect.

Key takeaways

• Always look to make more aggressive moves that threaten mate or material!
• Remember the knights guard squares behind them! - Practice knight vision.

Week 2 - Day 6

I wanted to get some more games in, to try to crack the 1000 barrier, so I played two 15+10 games, and fell right back to 980...

Game 1

Main observations

• Opening:
  • Scotch game - I really don't like this opening, it trips me up every time!
• Tactics:
  • Subpar endgame play, giving away pawns, and his knight gave me hell in there.
• Time management:
  
  • Terrible pacing, spending lots of time on moves in the opening, after 17 moves I had 6 minutes remaining, and my opponent had only 30 seconds down... Eventually got low on time, blundered and resigned in the endgame.

Key takeaways

Game 2

Main observations

• Opening:
  • Regular Giuoco Pianissimo, with my opponent cracking out the B+N for R+P trade, giving me the much better game - two more active pieces, center control, my king castled vs the other in the middle
• Tactics:
  • Found a nice tactical sequence in what appears as a brilliant move (!!), sacrificing the knight and attacking his king position with my queen and bishops.
  • I had a very strong attack going, and instead of pressing on I traded everything down to an endgame with R+B+2P vs 2R, giving away my entire advantage.
• Time management:
  
  • I was low on time at the start of the endgame (4 minutes for me vs 11 for my opponent), not enough time to play accurately in the ending

Key takeaways

• When attacking the opponent, don't let up! Look for aggressive moves that will force their hand.

Week 2 - Day 7

The second week of the plan comes to a close with thrilling news - I've finally crossed the 1000 barrier for the first time, after hovering around 990 for a week!

Thanks to one opponent resigning after 5 moves and another quick mate, I finally reached the milestone!

Also had a 60 minute puzzle training, in which I reached 1900 puzzle rating for the first time!

Game 1 

Main observations

• Opening:
  • Got into a good position out of the Ruy Lopez, played the opening quite fine.
• Tactics:
  • Found a trap of a piece!
  • Got tunnel vision and missed a nice winning opportunity in the center instead of settling for trades.
  • Played a nice tactic that won me a pawn in the ending, increasing my material lead.
  • Later blundered my piece advantage!!
  • Fell for a skewer that loses a pawn instead of blocking with my own rook, got my king unable to move a settled for a draw.
• Time management:
  • Played relatively fast and paced myself, didn't have time trouble in the ending.

Key takeaways

• Near the ending, look to be active with the rooks and penetrate the enemy position (6th-7th ranks).
• Don't allow pieces to be captured for free! Opposing kings near a piece is not good!

Game 2

Main observations

• Opening:
  • Messed up my advantage but wasn't punished for it since my opponent resigned...
• Tactics:
  • Got lazy and didn't calculate a tactical sequence that would've let to me winning out of the gate!

Key takeaways

• Don't be lazy and calculate tactics!

Game 3

Main observations

• Opening:
  • Transposed into Italian, then went and attacked the pinned knight!
• Tactics:
  • The Chessbrah "Building Habits" series paid off! A common sequence in these openings is attacking the knight, sliding the bishop to h3/h6 and getting in there with the queen! Mate after 12 moves!

Key takeaways

• Attack pinned pieces! Always look for aggressive moves!

Other thoughts

• So far, I'm scoring 60% with white (which is great) and 39% with black (which is quite awful)... I think I'm going to try @AsafGivon's recommendation and play the Caro-Slav complex from now on as black, and see where this takes me!
• After a month and a half in the circles method I feel myself a little bit more aware of 1-2 move tactics in my games, mostly offensively though. I'm still having trouble with defense and I'm getting myself into obvious forks every now and then - got to sharpen those tactics!

Congratulations on breaking the 1000 barrier, but never play with a rating goal in mind : it will distract you from what's happening on the board. Just try and play good chess, and the rating will (eventually) follow

Congratulations, FiftyTzent! You're in the four-digit club now

Thank you! You're absolutely right. I've read somewhere that rating in chess is what's called a "lag measure", which only indicates where you've been, not where you're going. It's hard not to fall for the trap of playing for the rating, but I'll do my best  

Thanks @Implay, I appreciate it!

I think the only thing holding me back is the fact that I'm not playing enough games, so that will be my goal from now on. Let's go!

Week 3 - Day 1

Another blitz day, and my performance has been shaky thus far. Tried playing the Caro-Kann and the Slav for a game, and I mishandled the opening a little bit, but it was mostly the mistakes in the middlegame that crushed it for me.

Results

• 1 win, 3 losses
• Links:
  • https://www.chess.com/game/live/30620347679
  • https://www.chess.com/game/live/30622799969
  • https://www.chess.com/game/live/30623404707
  • https://www.chess.com/game/live/30625123573

Main observations

• Opening:
  • In my Caro-Kann game I played the opening fine, but made crucial errors in the middlegame and dissipated my advantage and got me losing.
  • I didn't play well against the London, I need to work on a good line against it. Used to play the King's Indian for a while, but now that I'm switching to the Slav complex, I need to figure out a weapon against that.
•  Tactics:
  • Hung way too many pieces and pawns in those games, aside from my only win today - in which my opponent took a piece but got mated.
  • I find myself struggling in equal endgames, I somehow find a way to lose some pawns or a piece in those positions trying too hard to push for an attack.
  • Super hard in blitz to stick to the "checks, captures, threats" mantra, because I don't have time!
• Time management:
  • When playing blitz I keep hanging pawns left and right (and sometimes even pieces), 5 minutes is way too little time for me to find good moves consistently - I'm not there yet...
  • Also most of my opponents are playing lightning fast! I don't know what to do against it, I always end up in time trouble.

Key takeaways

• I'll admit it's very hard to extract meaningful takeaways from these games other than to review my openings and be alert to not hang pieces... That's the only thing I need to do!

Week 3 - Day 2

Yesterday after publishing the post I participated in a U1050 rapid tournament hosted by @ChessDojo, scored 3/4 and first place!! Really proud of myself on that

And since I didn't have time to play rapid games today (other than an OTB game I played in the evening), I will analyze my rapid games from the tournament here:

Game 1

Main observations

• Opening:
  • Classic Italian position, attacking the pinned knight on f6 and moving the bishop to h6
• Tactics:
  • As soon as the knight was removed and the king position compromised, I diverted all resources to the kingside in an attempt to deliver mate!
• Time management:
  • Not an issue, paced myself and took time to calculate tactics that will result in mate!

Key takeaways

• In Italian positions, try attacking the pinned knight and go for the attack on the king!

Game 2

Main observations

• Opening:
  • King's Indian against the London (as per usual), got to a fairly equal position out of the opening.
• Tactics:
  • Got a little careless and opened up my king to an attack, which led to a nasty fork I missed...
• Time management:
  • Lower on time than my opponent, but eventually resigned in a lost position.

Key takeaways

• Maybe I shouldn't have resigned, and rather made him win the game - but I got embarrassed since that exact blunder moment was featured on stream
• Learn an attacking strategy with the King's Indian vs the London!

Game 3

Main observations

• Opening:
  • Not the best scheme vs the Modern, lost a pawn in the opening.
• Tactics:
  • Eventually found a nice skewer to win material!
  • Turns out my opponent just gave away a piece hoping for a queen-king fork which was adequately defended... that led to me being up a rook in the endgame.
• Time management:
  • Got very low on time but found good moves quickly, kept myself in the game and my opponent eventually resigned.

Key takeaways

• Always look for possible tactics and keep the pieces (and pawns) defending one another.

Game 4

Main observations

• Opening:
  • King's Indian vs a start of a London, that immediately went for my fianchetto bishop.
• Tactics:
  • Got myself into a very weird pawn structure that could have been my downfall.
  • Set up a nice trap in the ending, apparently "hanging" a pawn in an equal endgame exchange for a mate in 1!
• Time management:
  • Lower on time than my opponent, but wasn't a big factor since the endgame came about fairly quickly.

Key takeaways

• Look to improve piece placement whenever possible (that includes the king).
• Prevent the opponent from castling if possible!

Week 3 - Day 3

Managed to play my mandatory 15+10 games, going up little by little!

Game 1

Main observations

• Opening:
  • Facing the Pirc again in some sort of way.
• Tactics:
  • Missed some tactical shots with my advanced pawn - could've won a piece instead of losing a pawn for no reason...
  • I had a win in the endgame! Instead I traded my knight for his bishop and it was a dead draw.
• Time management:
  • I was considerably lower on time than my opponent

Key takeaways

• Find a good system against the Pirc.
• Don't always trade pieces if unnecessary! In the endgame it's actually an asset to have a minor piece.

Game 2

Main observations

• Opening:
  • Italian Four Knights, sort of (with Bd6 by my opponent, shutting in the d-pawn and the c8 bishop).
• Tactics:
  • The same attacking pattern, actually helped by my opponent completely hemmed in by his own pieces!
• Time management:
  • Non-issue!

Key takeaways

• Just keep doing it! in the words of Paul Rudd: "60% of the time, it works - every time!"

Week 3 - End of week

The week ended without much chess activity, life got busier and I couldn't get myself  in a good playing shape.

I played in a rapid OTB tournament on Friday, losing 3 out of 3 and forfeiting the last game. I was really out of focus, got myself in bad positions out of several openings and just walked into traps, getting in time trouble and losing on time in all three games.

On Saturday I played the first round of the ChessGoals classical, and resigned in a relatively balanced position on move 17 due to bad focus again (bothersome personal issues).

Too bad life gets in the way of my chess endeavors, and I really think psychology is my weakest link in my chess playing. Often times I struggle to get myself to shut the world out, calm myself and completely focus on the game and finding the best move, without berating myself on earlier mistakes. I'm playing with a lot of emotion, attaching high stakes to almost every game I play, especially OTB.

Week 4 - Day 1

New week! Let's play!

TODO: Fill up the points

Game 1

Main observations

• Opening:
  • I don't like the Sicilian very much. That's why I started out playing the London, mainly to avoid the Sicilian... The book "My First Chess Opening Repertoire for White" suggests using the Grand Prix Attack against the Sicilian, which I might learn
• Tactics:
  •  
• Time management:
  •  
• Endgame:
  •  

Key takeaways

Game 2

Main observations

• Opening:
  •  
• Tactics:
  •  
• Time management:
  •  
• Endgame:
  
  •  

Key takeaways

Week 4 - Summary

I played 7 rapid games total this week, with 5 wins and 2 losses. I have been unable to consistently stick to the plan, but overall I'm quite happy with my progress. Just today I managed to update my personal best rating with a win over an ~1100!

As my life is about to get busier with me starting a new job soon, I'll try to stick to playing at least one 15+10 game every day, just to keep myself sharp and continue to progress with my games, and hopefully my rating will go up!

I know I should analyze my games thoroughly after I complete them, but this has been my Achilles heel the past weeks - I'm just too lazy... (as evident in my day 1 post LOL)
Should definitely try and discipline myself to do it more consistently!

Week 5 - Summary

Played 6 rapid games (15+10) this week - aimed for one a day but couldn't get one on Saturday. Anyway, the results are astounding! 6 wins and no losses! Reached an all-time high with 1079 rating!

I'm still a bit lazy when it comes to game analysis, I only go through the key moments using the Game Review feature, but nothing too detailed.

In the past week I've also completed my Six Circles schedule of working through the book "Everyone's First Chess Workbook" on Chessable, and now I'm starting the Six Circles again, this time with the Chessable book "The Checkmate Patterns Manual", to drill down common mating patterns.

Recently I've reached an epiphany regarding my relationship with chess openings: while I love learning about new openings and different approaches of playing, I really don't like studying and memorizing opening sequences and moves! (using Chessable for example). I really don't see the point of memorizing sequences that I likely won't ever see on the board at my level, all the while I'm still not sure about using the King's Indian Defense as my go-to against everything other than 1.e4... Last week I had a game where my opponent started with 1.Nf3, I replied with 1...d5 and the game went on from there, transposing to a d4-d5 game, but with general principles I played on, and got the win! (with a smothered mate no less... )
My conclusion might be to just play principled chess, pawns in the center, rapid development and all that, instead of learning specific openings - it has been working so far!

Week 6 - Summary

Stuck to my plan of playing one rapid game a day, for a total of 7 games, and reached 1098 rating! The graph keeps going up, almost at 1100!

I'm still going through the games I'm playing, though not as thoroughly as I want, but it's okay since I'm still looking at my mistakes and how to fix them.

Instead of going through the Checkmate Patterns Manual on Chess.com, I've decided to focus more on defensive tactics, and I bought book 3 of Susan Polgar's series "Learn Chess The Right Way" - "Mastering Defensive Technique". I aim to go through it in 6 circles, and later either go through books 4+5, or immediately the book "1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners", which is sitting in my virtual shelf for quite some time.

Regarding openings, I intend to try out the French Defense as a weapon against 1.e4, and stick to the King's Indian against 1.d4. I feel like 1...e5 is not working well enough for me, as I don't like the symmetry and the fact that White is pressing most of the time in these symmetrical positions. The French might just be what I need against 1.e4!