Improving at chess is hard

[bill718]

The Netflix series The Queens Gambit was a great show, but, must keep in mind it's fiction. 8 months of daily tactics exercises, practice games, and book study, and I've definitely improved. Wins against higher rated players now come more often. It's been fascinating...but it's been a grind. Over the board chess tournaments (without masks) are less than a year away. I want to return to the OTB scene stronger, and more respected.

The silent war on the chessboard has been a refreshing break from the chattering garbage on TV. The fire to compete and win still burns, but there is much left to do before the in person tournaments begin. Back to the board and the book.

Just had to tell someone....

 

[toobfreak]

The Netflix series The Queens Gambit was a great show, but, must keep in mind it's fiction. 8 months of daily tactics exercises, practice games, and book study, and I've definitely improved. Wins against higher rated players now come more often. It's been fascinating...but it's been a grind. Over the board chess tournaments (without masks) are less than a year away. I want to return to the OTB scene stronger, and more respected.

The silent war on the chessboard has been a refreshing break from the chattering garbage on TV. The fire to compete and win still burns, but there is much left to do before the in person tournaments begin. Back to the board and the book.

Just had to tell someone....

The key to winning at chess is more than just memorizing strategies out of books because your opponent recognizes them as well and every strategy has a counter. Instead, the key to great success is to look at each strategy for what it does and how it achieves it, then take that and find a way of uniquely adapting that stratagem to your unique situation in a way that your opponent has never seen before nor expects.

The best way to do that is to set up your strategy to appear to your opponent to be doing one thing in one place forcing your opponent to move pieces accordingly while actually preparing to do something totally different elsewhere that your opponent's moves made for other reasons now position him ideally for you to take advantage of.

 

[Quasar44]

I enjoyed more simple games as a kid like Stratego ?

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

The Netflix series The Queens Gambit was a great show, but, must keep in mind it's fiction. 8 months of daily tactics exercises, practice games, and book study, and I've definitely improved. Wins against higher rated players now come more often. It's been fascinating...but it's been a grind. Over the board chess tournaments (without masks) are less than a year away. I want to return to the OTB scene stronger, and more respected.

The silent war on the chessboard has been a refreshing break from the chattering garbage on TV. The fire to compete and win still burns, but there is much left to do before the in person tournaments begin. Back to the board and the book.

Just had to tell someone....

What's your rating?

 

[DudleySmith]

I got up to 1,887 at my highest, then decided to spend time on making a living and getting laid instead. I ended up with some deviant variations of the Ruy Lopez as white and an obscure variation of the Sicilian as black, the latter lifted from Karpov; I never played for a draw, ever, or I might have gotten a higher rating. I chose the Ruy Lopez because I liked it.

Intensive study of the game is a necessity; you learn openings and defenses in order to know how to exploit mistakes, not just for the sake of memorization. Openings and defenses lead to definite game patterns, though within those patterns is a lot of variances, which is what makes the game addictive in the first place. I only had time to focus on two sub-variations, but got very good at both.

 

[BULLDOG]

I hadn't played chess for a few years until my kid suggested a game. I figured I would show her that the old man still had a few tricks she hadn't seen yet. She kicked my ass, and I never saw it coming. From now on, I won't know if I'm beating her, or if she's just letting me win. Seems odd that I'm so proud of losing, damn it.

 

[miketx]

President of the chess club in school. Used to beat the computers fairly often. Guess I lost interest.

 

[Votto]

I got up to 1,887 at my highest, then decided to spend time on making a living and getting laid instead. I ended up with some deviant variations of the Ruy Lopez as white and an obscure variation of the Sicilian as black, the latter lifted from Karpov; I never played for a draw, ever, or I might have gotten a higher rating. I chose the Ruy Lopez because I liked it.

Intensive study of the game is a necessity; you learn openings and defenses in order to know how to exploit mistakes, not just for the sake of memorization. Openings and defenses lead to definite game patterns, though within those patterns is a lot of variances, which is what makes the game addictive in the first place. I only had time to focus on two sub-variations, but got very good at both.

Pfft!

The Queen's Gambit taught us that all you had to do to get better at chess is to do hard drugs and have lots of sex.

 

[bill718]

The Netflix series The Queens Gambit was a great show, but, must keep in mind it's fiction. 8 months of daily tactics exercises, practice games, and book study, and I've definitely improved. Wins against higher rated players now come more often. It's been fascinating...but it's been a grind. Over the board chess tournaments (without masks) are less than a year away. I want to return to the OTB scene stronger, and more respected.

The silent war on the chessboard has been a refreshing break from the chattering garbage on TV. The fire to compete and win still burns, but there is much left to do before the in person tournaments begin. Back to the board and the book.

Just had to tell someone....

What's your rating?

1685 (USCF) years ago. About 1450 now.

 

[bill718]

I got up to 1,887 at my highest, then decided to spend time on making a living and getting laid instead. I ended up with some deviant variations of the Ruy Lopez as white and an obscure variation of the Sicilian as black, the latter lifted from Karpov; I never played for a draw, ever, or I might have gotten a higher rating. I chose the Ruy Lopez because I liked it.

Intensive study of the game is a necessity; you learn openings and defenses in order to know how to exploit mistakes, not just for the sake of memorization. Openings and defenses lead to definite game patterns, though within those patterns is a lot of variances, which is what makes the game addictive in the first place. I only had time to focus on two sub-variations, but got very good at both.

Pfft!

The Queen's Gambit taught us that all you had to do to get better at chess is to do hard drugs and have lots of sex.

Yes, but Taylor - Joy was a cutie

 

[Moonglow]

I enjoyed more simple games as a kid like Stratego ?

I preferred the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich..

 

[Missourian]

rightwinger was looking for an opponent at one point.

For me...I love to play...but I am also terrible...so it works out well.

 

[Missourian]

The Queen's Gambit taught us that all you had to do to get better at chess is to do hard drugs and have lots of sex

This explains a lot.

 

[rightwinger]

rightwinger was looking for an opponent at one point.

For me...I love to play...but I am also terrible...so it works out well.

I haven’t played chess in 30 years
I am a nasty Backgammon player though

 

[rightwinger]

I got up to 1,887 at my highest, then decided to spend time on making a living and getting laid instead. I ended up with some deviant variations of the Ruy Lopez as white and an obscure variation of the Sicilian as black, the latter lifted from Karpov; I never played for a draw, ever, or I might have gotten a higher rating. I chose the Ruy Lopez because I liked it.

Intensive study of the game is a necessity; you learn openings and defenses in order to know how to exploit mistakes, not just for the sake of memorization. Openings and defenses lead to definite game patterns, though within those patterns is a lot of variances, which is what makes the game addictive in the first place. I only had time to focus on two sub-variations, but got very good at both.

Pfft!

The Queen's Gambit taught us that all you had to do to get better at chess is to do hard drugs and have lots of sex.

And obsess about chess 24/7

 

[Missourian]

rightwinger was looking for an opponent at one point.

For me...I love to play...but I am also terrible...so it works out well.

I haven’t played chess in 30 years
I am a nasty Backgammon player though

Looked back and that was Ringtone looking for a game...my mistake.

 

[whitehall]

From what I understand a gift for math separates the drones from the experts in chess.

 

[miketx]

From what I understand a gift for math separates the drones from the experts in chess.

That and having a very good memory and paying attention.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

The Netflix series The Queens Gambit was a great show, but, must keep in mind it's fiction. 8 months of daily tactics exercises, practice games, and book study, and I've definitely improved. Wins against higher rated players now come more often. It's been fascinating...but it's been a grind. Over the board chess tournaments (without masks) are less than a year away. I want to return to the OTB scene stronger, and more respected.

The silent war on the chessboard has been a refreshing break from the chattering garbage on TV. The fire to compete and win still burns, but there is much left to do before the in person tournaments begin. Back to the board and the book.

Just had to tell someone....

So how goes it?