My rating and performance over time (on chess.com):
-| Week | Blitz rating |Rapid rating | Blitz win/loss/draw | Rapid win/loss |
+| Week | Blitz rating |Rapid rating | Blitz win/loss/draw | Rapid win/loss/draw |
|------|--------------|-------------|---------------------|----------------|
| 1 | N/A | 429 | 3-1 | 4-1 |
| 2 | 686 | 508 | 6-6 | 0-0 |
| 8 | 587 | 739 | 5-6-1 | 9-3 |
| 9 | 579 | 795 | 3-0-1 | 25-6 |
| 10 | 604 | 935 | 5-8 | 9-5 |
-| 11 | 585 | 974 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
+| 11 | 585 | 974 | 2-2 | 11-6-3 |
+| 12 | 585 | 1000 | 6-6 | 12-8-1 |
+| end | 588 | 1023 | N/A | N/A |
Notes:
* Each row represents my ratings at the beginning of each week unless
stated otherwise.
Game results are for games played during that week.
+ End row is for the end of the study plan.
* I had never played any blitz games prior to starting the study plan.
* Prior to starting the study plan I had mostly been playing on lichess
rather than chess.com, so improvements from week 1 to week 2 may just
rating for that but still considering it), or come up with something
custom. Tbd!
+### Week 11
+
+This was the penultimate week of the study plan!
+Played a fair number of rapid games, with more losses than I've usually
+had lately (although one of those was due to losing internet during the
+game, so idk if I would have lost it otherwise), and three hard-fought
+draws.
+The blitz day went alright, 2-2 and zero net effect on my rating.
+
+I finished up my first [woodpecker](#week-7) cycle and am two days into
+my second cycle now.
+I'm pretty sure I'm going significantly faster on the early
+mate in 1 problems, although it's hard to say just how much faster
+since they were also relatively fast last time around, and I didn't
+keep time records the first couple days of the first cycle.
+
+Since I've been in Argentina, for the playing through games from
+Logical Chess Move By Move, I've been doing that on a physical board
+with my fiancée, which is fun.
+It might be a little benefit in terms of requiring me to explain stuff
+sometimes to zir, who is less experienced with chess, though I'm not
+sure.
+
+I reached a decision about what plan to follow after the final week:
+the playing-lots-of-games version of the Intermediate plan from
+[ChessGoals][ChessGoals].
+I was talking about the decision with Sofía and was describing it, and
+explained how in addition to the base tasks for each day of each week,
+it has guidance on what to do as "extra credit" if you want to spend
+more time on chess.
+Which, guidance on how to prioritize additional time beyond the base
+tasks is exactly something I had considered a lack in the beginner
+plan!
+So, perfect for my preferences.
+That plan leaves certain topics a bit more at the student's discretion,
+by saying essentially "okay, you should pick a resource you want to use
+to study strategy" and then just sometimes having a "go study your
+strategy resource" task, so I'll have to pick things for those, which
+I'll probably do over this next week and be ready to start the new plan
+after that!
+
+The chess.com official correspondence tournament is going well.
+I have one game unfinished, with the others all won (two more
+unfortunately won due to a time-out by the opponent), and that last
+game is just a matter of time until I win.
+It will be a whiiiiile before the next round probably, but ah well.
+
+The openings book has just gotten to the Indian Defenses!
+Excited to learn more about the Nimzo and Queen's Indian.
+My own opening prep review has kinda fallen by the wayside, so I should
+probably get back in the habit of doing that.
+I'm working my way through the basic review in _100 Endgames You Must
+Know_ still.
+
+In extracurricular study news, I've been reading and enjoying
+Seirawan's other book _Play Winning Chess_.
+It starts out very basic (with an introduction explaining how the
+pieces move), but quickly moves into less simple topics.
+Its chapter structure is:
+
+1. The Evolution of Chess (introduces the game and discusses its
+ historical development, both in terms of rules and in terms of play
+ styles and theory).
+2. A chapter each on four key principles: force (what most would call
+ material, although Seirawan also uses it to discuss _local_
+ imbalances of force), time, space, and pawn structure. In addition
+ to explaining the principles, these chapters seem to go into more
+ detailed coverage of how to incorporate them into your play. For
+ example, the chapter on force includes sections on tactics and on
+ traps, the role of the king in the endgame, and the impact of
+ material advantages in the endgame.
+3. A chapter of annotated games, intended to illustrate the principles
+ and how they interact.
+4. A final chapter titled the Four Principles and You, which I don't
+ really know what it covers yet (since it isn't explained in the
+ introduction).
+
+There are also little quizzes to test yourself in the midst of each
+chapter, and a series of tests at the end of each chapter.
+Some of them so far have been pretty tough for an introductory book!
+Anyway, I'm midway through the chapter on force (currently at the
+section on traps), so I'm excited to read more. :)
+
+### Week 12: the End
+
+I've completed the study plan, and I'm very pleased with how it's gone.
+I'll be starting a new one tomorrow.
+I've also planned out a (5-week, to be reassessed and repeated after
+that) study plan for my Spanish learning, to emphasize how pleased I've
+been with this approach.
+
+I've gotten a lot better at chess, if not at blitz time controls, over
+these twelve weeks.
+Rating-wise, I've gone from 429 (or 508 after the first week) to 1023
+in Chess.com Rapid rating.
+Blitz has fallen from 686 after that good first week (before which I
+had not played any blitz) to 588, so it feels safe to say I haven't
+really improved at fast time controls;
+I still struggle to play quickly and not get into time pressure, and
+sometimes make horrific blunders due to trying to play quickly.
+I hadn't been tracking the progress of my daily rating, but I'm
+certainly also doing well at that.
+My daily rating was something like 326 at the start, and is now 1053.
+I've only lost a single daily game out of 30 I've played in that time.
+
+The books the study plan recommended have been very helpful, as has it
+just forcing me to play regularly.
+It is also true that the "extra-curricular" studies I've gotten up to
+have certainly contributed to my improvement, though they probably
+wouldn't have helped nearly as much without the opportunities to
+integrate them through actual play.
+As well, I suspect the study plan helped to ensure I maintained focus
+on improving at chess.
+
+Tomorrow I'll start with one of their intermediate plans. :)
[^daily explanation]:
"Daily" is just what chess.com calls games with such a time control.
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