Chess board visualization training is necessary in order to not miss tactics, to be able to see more combinations and to improve your chess level. Chess board visualization does not come naturally to all chess players and is something that needs to be worked on. Chess visualization is something that must be trained, and should…
I have an extensive chess library, and one of the main problems that I have, is that I move from book to book never finishing any I ever start. So I have decided that I will stick to the following books which are in the 1500-1600 USCF range, and I will not read any that…
Update: 8/7/2010: I have been following my own advice for the past two weeks, and I have to say that my training is more focused than ever, and I am beginning to see tangible improvements over the board. If you are interested, I am continuing to post my weekly training schedule at my Chess Notebook…
USChess.org has a great article on how Christian Galwe increased 200 rating points in 6 months! Here are a few of the recommendations from the article: * Study your own games with an instructor * Don’t study openings…study structures and plans instead. * If you play blitz, play with a 5 second increment and always…
White wins this position by creating a passed pawn on the Kingside. Note that if the Black pawn would be on d3 instead of c3, the game would be a theoretical draw. Copy the FEN position 4k3/1pp2ppp/p1p5/8/4P3/8/PPP2PPP/4K3 w – – 0 0 and play this position against an engine. NOTE: There was an issue with…
According to Mark Dvoretsky the analysis of one’s own games is the main means of self-improvement. In Secrets of Chess Training Dvoretsky offers the following guidelines: Find the turning points – Decide where mistakes were made, where the evaluation of the position changed or an opportunity was missed. Seek the reasons for your own mistakes…
First entry of the new year, and it is time to review my Chess goals and resolutions. So far, I’m happy with my progress, and the new training program I am following is finally giving me guidance and improvement. This week was the 2nd and final week of the first cycle of Phase I of…
This is the first week where I trained using the Extreme Chess Training (ECT) program. I am still beta testing it and I should have more information available the first week of January. Monday – Performed 45 minutes of standard tactics at chesstempo.com Tuesday – Played an ICC standard game and reviewed it afterwards. Wednesday…
Update 12.25.09 Here’s an update post on a quick overview of what I’m thinking and doing so far: The program is going to consist of 3 phases, each phase lasting 60 days. The first phase will focus on tactics and the following phases will be on endgame and strategy. At the end of each phase, I will…
Monday 12.07.09 Played G/15 game and drew against opponent rated 1826 in a winning position (I was up a minor piece), but opponent had counterplay and I was down to 4 1/2 minutes on the clock. Tuesday 12.08.09 Reviewed game. Confirmed that position was won. Opponent made a tactical mistake where he lost the exchange.…
