Wow, Well Done! I encourage people to try the King's Gambit but the Latvian Gambit is an aquired taste. Playing gambits, I believe, helps you to improve your eye for tactics and helps in understanding the iomportance of piece activity.
I think you should increase your dose of tactics training. Google for the "Chess Tactics Trainer", a free and very useful tool!
To analyze your own games is very important and a great way to improve. Good Luck with your training!
thanks for the comment farbror, okay that's two important things, tactics and piece developmnt, from gambit, cool, thanx farbror :)
hello buddies, good news, just won a game and I'm at my highest ever 1389 hehehe
Good! Keep up the good work! It is basically more rewarding to analyze your losses but why don't you post an analysis of your win?
Oh yeah I forgot about something, how do I analyse, is there a book about that, or do I just use common chess sense :)
Common sense! Try to document your own thought process (i.e. "why you did so-and-so") as it might be rewarding to have comments on how you think about chess.
Alright, will do. For my first analysis, I'll do my loss against you hahaha. Btw guys, I've tried the tactics trainer here, it's nice unfortunately, for free members, it's limited upto only 3, bummer hehe. I'll just try the ones you recommended :)
Yahoo, I'm in the 1400s, hope to maintain this, or even go higher hehe. First target down yeah baby hehehe
Goody! Well Done!
Thanx farbror :)
PROGRESS REPORT
Alright whether I like it or not, today is the fifth of february, and I have to post my first progress report. I would approach it according to the objectives above.
So here goes nothing :
1. I now have a 1450 rating. (MISSION ACCOMPLISHED)
2. I have two more months to reach 1500 (MISSION ONGOING)
3. I am still learning the English, and King's Gambit, Latvian Counter Gambit (MISSION ONGOING)
4. I've played more than 5 games in the English, around 3 in the King's Gambit, but none in the Latvian Counter Gambit. (MISSION ONGOING)
5. I haven't made any analysis of my games. (MISSION FAILED)
6. I've only done around 10 puzzles. (MISSION FAILED)
REVISED TRAINING
I would like to incorporate the training advice from Silman (click here to go to Farbror's post). He adviced players to have 15% tactical, 15% positional (strategy), 30% selfgame analysis, 30% mastergame analysis, and 10% openings, of their study time.
Another thing I would incorporate is a system of points that would indicate my progress in learning.
Since my aim is 1800 (beginning ratings is set as 1400), I would also use that as my standard points. Using 90% as passing, then the points, I should at least have by December 31 is 1620.
Points Distribution:
150 - Quarterly Ratings Increase (counted by the end of the quarter, 5th of designated month)
30 - Monthly Selfgame Analysis (10 analysis per month)
30 - Monthly Master Analysis (10 analysis per month)
15 - Monthly Tactical (150 puzzles per month)
15 - - Monthly Strategy (150 pages of strategy books which includes middlegame and endgame)
10 - Monthly Openings (100 pages of opening books)
1800 - Annual Total Points
From the points distribution, it is clear that the number of games, and hours required in achieving those points are not set. What is important is the numbers of ratings, analysis, puzzles and pages. A special note is given to the Quarterly Ratings Increase, if by the end of the quarter, I would be able to increase my ratings over the stated ratings for the quarter, for example, I am 1600 by April 5, then 150 points would be added. If by the end of the year, my ratings increase is over 1800 then it would be counted as bonus, vice versa, if my ratings fall down below 1400 then it would be counted as minus.
Based on this points, I will now count my points for the month of Jan-Feb which is:
MSA = 0
MMA = 0
MT = (10/150)x15 = 1
MS = 0
MO = (20/100)x10 = 2 (I've read around 20 pages)
So my Monthly Total Points for the month of Jan-Feb is 3
That concludes my Progress Report for the month of Jan-Feb hehehehe
Interesting! Good Luck with your project and keep us posted on the progress!
Hello buddies, my name is Wibee, I am from Indonesia, my rating is 1370. I’ve always loved chess, since the first time I discovered it. But I’ve never played much of it, and I’ve never got to learn much. My being here in chess.com, has awakened my desire to be a better chess player, this is the place where I’ve played the most chess games ever in my life.
One of the first things I did in 2009, was to be a member in a lot of groups. One of the groups I chose, and start to be active in, is this group, I must say I am beginning to enjoy it, especially by the presence of farbror who has been very helpful and friendly to me. He encouraged me to make this journal, I checked out some of the journals of you buddies, and I must say wow this is the real deal, you would really go somewhere with it. So invoking the power of the Study Buddies, I would start my journal hehehe.
First and foremost, I would start my entry with my commitment to myself with you buddies as my enforcers, I want you to apply the peer and the pressure to me hehehe.
1. I’ve made a commitment last year which I wasn’t able to fulfill, that is to be in the 1400s rating by the end of the year, so I will extend that to February 5.
2. I will increase my rating by 100 for every quarter of the year, so 1500 on April 5, 1600 on July 5, 1700 on October 5, and lastly 1800 on December 31.
3. To learn about the first phase of the game, the opening, I would concentrate on 3 openings for every quarter. For the first quarter, it would be the English, the King’s gambit (recommended by farbror), and the Latvian counter gambit.
4. Other than my regular games, I would make sure I would play 5 games for each opening, within the quarter. I hope I would be able to play with you guys, using the featured openings.
5. I must confess, I never analyze my game, so I would commit myself to analyze, and post it, in this journal. The number of analysis I would make is, 1 for each opening, and 1 for the regular game, so all in all, 4 analysis. This 4 analysis would be posted by the end of the fifth day of every month, starting this February 5. The choice of the game to be analyzed would be picked randomly among the said criteria.
6. To develop tactics, I commit myself to 5 puzzles a day starting today, the 5th of January.
This is my commitment and my first post of this journal, it would be improved if need be, but for now I state my commitment to the 6 posted above. I haven’t thought of the consequences yet hehehe. Any suggestions and comments would be greatly appreciated.