Happy New Year!

My last year chess resolutions both were a bust. I didn't raise my rating by 50, I actually lowered it by 46. What a bummer that was.

I was at 1600, now I'm at 1554 at the start of the year..

My new 2015 chess resolution is not to lose more than one game every three I play. I think that would be realistic and I would stay around 1550 area.

I will not be greedy and go for heights unknown.

1600 IS MY GOAL.

I don't want to be stuck there I just think at my age (77) I am stuck there.

My new 2015 bowling resolution is to focus on not missing my spares.

So my average will stay at 190.

I'd like to average over 200 but again at my age (77) I have to be realistic. I am not getting younger. I keep looking for that solution to the age problem and I can't find it. I made slide sole for my left foot. I helps me slide at the release. I don't want to hop to stay in balance.

         To bad youth is always wasted on the young!

Here is a photo of me with my bowling youth as I teach them chess. They have to make a chess move before they can roll a ball. So they play at least three games.

Here's your 2015 chess resolutions

Next Jan1, you'll tell us how you did!

brumtown

pam234

 To reach 1500 by the end of the year. Very ambitious I know.

LouisCreed

So stick with chess and learn more opening theory. I think that's doable.

snickersma

Get to 1700 in 5 min Blitz - Get to 1500 in 2-1 Bullet and - Reach 1900 (or maybe 2000??) on the Tactics Trainer.

TheAgentSmith    To reach 2200 USCF in OTB standard. I'm at 2177 now -.

SocialPanda

.Wow.

I checked some of the posted goals but more than a few have closed their accounts.

DENVER

Spend 1 hour a week on an opening.  Spend 1 hour a week on tactic training.  Spend 1 hour a week on improving endgame issues.  Spend 1 hour a week anaylzing a game of the 2700 guys.  Play one game of 75 per side and analyze that game for both sides. That is nearly 7 hours per week; not sure if I can manage that pace and mow my yard too.  ha ha ha.  

To get fide rating.. or to join a rated tourney.

This years resolution is to raise my rating like i did last year i was on 500 now i am 1100 in my standard now i going to try and reach 1300 and so on :) another is to get a fide rating and to get more better on tactics.

Your goals have been posted above on the main list.

Romans.

That is a lot of time. Looks like you got a family. Good Luck.

Crazy Assassin:  Look like you just got to look for it and do it.

Lemon Tree 123

Looks like it is slow and easy to do for you.

Hey Denver.. can you help me out in improving..

Improving is actually a bit difficult Crazy :/ but doing more tactics, reading good chess books, playing often then taking breaks and studying GMs moves could help. Especially think as every game important and try to win every single one and actually fight for the win like it is a war try looking at your games after, see what you did wrong and try not to repeat those mistakes. Theres actually tons of things i could tell you about. Alot of 2000 players can recognize every single opening you know of and try to think what there oponent is thinking.

Hi Assassin. 

I don't think I am the one that you should be asking to help you to improve. It seems that LemonTree above thinks that is easy just by following the generalities that he/she suggested to you. You are already several hundred ratings above him. It doesn't have a place to address your needs to focus on in order for you to improve.

Don't think that is the answer to your problem and I don't know how to approach it for you. Sorry. I only teach beggining kids and adults. You aren't a beginner.

Denver.. rating is just an illusion.. you have experience with you.. know what, I usually end up searching for a plan to move on in the middlegame.. I can't understand what my pieces want in the middlegame, I end up playing my emotion.. and now I don't want any rating.. my resolution is only to improve.. this Friday I played a rapid tourney and really moved by the way masters play..

My goals are to finish my trainer modules by august, and by the end of the year go through 1 end game theory book of mine, and a book on pawn structure.  Also do some tactics puzzles every day outside of my module chess trainer.  

I hope to also find time to do a lot of 30 minute games a day, as I see now blitz has stunted my chess growth.  I'm going to say goodbye to the tactics trainer on chess.com for awhile, and say goodbye to blitz on chess.com.  I will only play some bullet before I go to starbucks to warm up, as it makes me fast! :D (We play blitz there, thats the only way they will play so oh well!)  

Very lofty goals I know, but I want to really improve.  It's about time I improve.  I've been playing for over 10 years.  It's time to start playing 30 minute games!  I played two just now and dissipointingly my opponents quit after they lost a pawn or a piece :(, we where only 3 minutes into the game, and it's a 30 minute game!  Does that happen a lot!  I thought I was going to have to wait 60 minutes but they don't even want to finish the freaking game!

BTW, the tactics module I am using is Chessimo, that anyone can buy for about 40 bucks.  I think...  I know it's really good.  If you don't have enough time to read books (like I do) doing that alone will greatly improve your chess game.  I don't know why I am going to be reading books even though I will be studying common chess patterns in actual chess positions everyday call me a guy that likes to pull his knowledge from different sources :D.

The books I'm going to be reading are

Pawn Structure Chess, by Andrew Soltis

Amateur to IM by Jonathan Hawkins

Some guy also told me to go through this tactics book:

303 tricky chess Tactics by Fred Wilson and Bruce Alberston

There's another tactics book but I don't remember the name and I don't have access to it right now.

I don't know how much better I'll become after I do all of this.  Get back to me in about about 8 months, or just look at my rating at that point of time.

I noticed all these years with playing blitz I never really plan for the long term in my games.  I am either just trying to improve my worst piece, or trying to improve my current position in some way, hope for some luck, and try not to get mated :D.  I very seldomly make plans.  It's time for me to start playing 30 minute chess, so I have time to make good plans :D.  I'm diamond so I have some good ideas now on how to do it, as I have been going through the study plan for beginners.  I felt a trip back to the basics was in order, as my blitz rating is still very low.  Someone just told me that you can develop very good blitz skills by playing and winning a lot of 90 minute chess games, but it doesn't work the other way around :D.  So my aim is to play longer games, so I get better at blitz.  In about 8 months I'll start playing blitz on chess.com again, and hope to see my rating go up very fast :D.  In theory it should!  

Even though my blitz rating isn't so high, I feel I have a lot of chess knowledge, regardless of what my rating is.  Over the course of these past 10 years I've played about 50,000 games.  I have the experience.  I just need to start hitting the books!  And ease away from blitz for awhile...  

Guys, I don't know what is happening to me in chess or why.

I am at 1596 almost 1600. I am getting to my goal rather early. Hope it is going to go higher.  I don't feel any better as a chess player.

I LOST one game because of a stupid blunder in the end game.

When playing white I am now playing D4 on purpose even though I don't know what to do after the openning is over.

Don't ask me what openning I am playing. I only know old names for them. I call one Queens declined. .the other Queens Accepted when I play white.

If I defend against D4 I only know the Budapest by name. The other times I just play blindly without a plan. Hoping for a draw or a miracle win.

Okay. I am going to look at a new book I bought during Christmas. It feel too hard to understand even though it say it is reader friendly.

Oops I can't even open it, I left it out in the car. Tomorrow is another day.

Goodnight. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite.

                I just made 1602!

Well done! Congratulations! 

I have a little problem. I entered a group tournament so I am playing opponent slightly lower than me and when I win I go up 9 or 10 at a time. If I lose I will go down 9 or 10 points. I havent lost in a while.

I am not playing stronger opponents rated than me. That is the problem.

I went from 1550's to the present 1619. Maybe I should lose one on purpose.

I thought i could use these games as training. Since I dont like pleying D4 every time I play white I will play D4 and learn how to play it.

I don't really know the names other that Queen Declined or Accepted. When I play Black i try The Budapest Defense, but not many players follow that. I will open a book and learn some D4 openings.

I Hope this works for me. Wish me luck.

You definitely shouldn't do that. Is not like if you are going to win all the games, just because somebody is rated below you (and it's also against the rules, to lose on purpose, it can ben interpreted as sandbagging).

Congrats on 1602!  

Thanks Roman

I am at 1629 on line right now.

I seem to be rising up about 10 rating points every time I will a match. Mainly because the opponents are weaker. But that is not making me a better player, it is just a number going up.

I should be playing stronger players to test me and let me lose some games.

Ooops. . .  I AM AT 1631 NOW.

All my games are in team matches and/or team tournaments.

The opponents are not selected by me, they are just assigned. I won two points.