X-Git-Url: https://git.ladys.computer/Wiki/blobdiff_plain/9b166a122e6831393cb02af55ab66990940612e5..30c121914e21e6cc487daa35dfd99d8ba7b71a56:/Sources/Editor/Rinna/ChessStudyPlan.djot diff --git a/Sources/Editor/Rinna/ChessStudyPlan.djot b/Sources/Editor/Rinna/ChessStudyPlan.djot index dbd6101..14d62c9 100644 --- a/Sources/Editor/Rinna/ChessStudyPlan.djot +++ b/Sources/Editor/Rinna/ChessStudyPlan.djot @@ -55,7 +55,13 @@ My rating and performance over time (on chess.com): | Week | Blitz rating |Rapid rating | Blitz win/loss | Rapid win/loss | |------|--------------|-------------|----------------|----------------| | 1 | N/A | 429 | 3-1 | 4-1 | -| 2 | 686 | 508 | 3-1 | 0-0 | +| 2 | 686 | 508 | 6-6 | 0-0 | +| 3 | 725 | 508 | 1-3 | 2-0 | +| 4 | 694 | 535 | 3-9 | 0-0 | +| 5 | 615 | 535 | 2-2 (0-4) | 2-0 (0-3) | +| 6 | 588 | 628 | 0-0 | 0-0 | +| 7 | 590 | 728 | 5-7 | 5-0 | +| 8 | 587 | 739 | 2-2 | 4-4 | Notes: @@ -67,6 +73,11 @@ Notes: rather than chess.com, so improvements from week 1 to week 2 may just be my having improved since when I had last been playing on chess.com. +* In week 5, I took part in some tournaments on chess.com. + I've listed those separately in parentheses in the win/loss columns, + as they were mostly against significantly higher-rated players (and + in the rapid case, were at a 10+0 time control instead of my usual + 15+10). ## Status report @@ -95,6 +106,285 @@ TPTCOAT]][daily game versus TPTCOAT] [daily game versus TPTCOAT]: https://www.chess.com/game/daily/561280087 +### Week 2 + +From this week on, the study plan decreases the games played a little +to make room for studying the games from _Logical Chess Move by Move_. +Which is a fun book! +It's a bit of an old book, so some of the analyses are by now +demonstrably erroneous due to further developments in the understanding +of chess (and the advent of chess engines), but it's interesting. +It goes through a bunch of historical master-level games and explains +the ideas behind (and sometimes flaws in) each move. + +Yesterday I also got to get started on _Winning Chess Openings_ (okay, +that's a lie, i've been doing a bit of extracurricular reading on it +already. but i did more yesterday). +Which is also a great book. +I've reached the section of the book where it's basically giving a +whirlwind tour of every classical king's pawn opening (which is to say, +ones beginning 1. e4 e5, with both players moving the pawn in front of +their king two squares). +Next it's gonna do the same for classical queen's pawn openings (1. d4 +d5), and then for modern king's/queen's pawn openings (where the second +player doesn't mirror the first's move, intending to contest or attack +their position in the center in some other way). + +The games this week were all blitz games. +I went 6-6, (3-1, 2-2, and 1-3 across the different days I played +them). +Looking back I notice I went 6-1 with the white pieces and 0-5 with the +black pieces. +Huh. +(And the black games were all in the Caro-Kann, which is how I respond +to 1. e4.) +Gonna need to work on that I guess, hehe. + +I won my daily game that was going really excitingly. +Played another game against the same person as well as starting a new +game. +The rematch went in my favor again, and now we're doing another (now +unrated) game. +The new daily game I got a bit reckless and tried a Qa5+ tactic (this +is moving your queen to check the opponent's king with the intention of +then capturing a different piece with the queen when they have to move +to defend; awkwardly I failed to notice that they could both block the +check and defend the piece I was going after by moving their queen) +that hasn't panned out so I had to spend several moves getting my queen +to safety. +I've managed to stabilize the situation so we'll see how that works +out. :) + +## Week 3 + +Blitz games didn't go so hot this week. +My big weakness there was not thinking quickly enough and getting short +on time. +Week 4 will be all blitz games so hopefully that'll help me work on +that. +The rapid games went well, though. :) +Daily games remain fun but have slowed down a bit. + +I finished up the Classical King's Pawn Openings chapter in the +openings book. And part 1 of the endgames book! +Next week will be Classical Queen's Pawn Openings time, plus some less +noob-level endgame study. + +Outside the study plan per se, I've been working some on my opening +repertoire. +I ended up watching some videos from a chess coach who advocates an +approach based on going deep on a main line (both in the sense of going +all the way into the middlegame, and also in the sense of thoroughly +analyzing the line so as to develop a strong understanding of the plans +and motivations of both sides throughout), then working backwards and +analyzing in similar depth any branches where the opponent might make a +different move. +It's an intriguing approach, and I want to give it a try. +I've gone deep on one main line in the Ruy Lopez (which is what I aim +to play with the white pieces), though I haven't done the branching +out yet. +I haven't really done similarly on other openings yet either. +I kinda need to decide what defense I want to use against 1. d4. +I've gone back and forth on it (I have played very few games against it +lately tbh), but I think at this point I'm deciding between the +Grünfeld Defense and an approach based on the Nimzo-Indian and either +Queen's Indian or Bogo-Indian. +I might also consider trying to switch from the Caro-Kann against 1. e4 +to a Sicilian Defense. +I like the Caro-Kann, but it's hard to find a good source on the +theory, and it doesn't seem too successful or popular at the top-level +lately so I can't look at those games for ideas either. +In contrast the Sicilian is the most common response to 1. e4, and I've +found some great books and such on it. +Anyway, interesting stuff. ^^ + +That's been week 3. + +## Week 4 + +Once again I've done poorly in blitz, alas (0-4, 1-3, and 2-2 on the +three days I played blitz games). +My big weak points in those games were: + +1. Opening unfamiliarity, which isn't necessarily a big deal at my + level in slower time controls, but in blitz it means I have to spend + a lot of time thinking about it early on and I suffer from time + pressure later. +2. Time management (contributed to by the preceding and contributing to + the following). +3. Blundering my pieces. >.> + +I did have some quite effective attacking play in the wins, including +one where I used it to recover from a mistake into a win. +I think I really need to work on thinking faster, though. +Which probably means I should do more tactics puzzles, possibly in a +more structured way. +That won't necessarily help me actually think faster, but it'll train +my ability to recognize important tactical patterns faster anyway. +So that would mean I don't need to expend as much explicit thinking on +that sort of thing. + +My daily games have gone well. +Both my rated game and my unrated game against TPTCOAT started out with +me on the back foot a bit, but then I managed to outplay my opponent +and start gradually closing out the game. +After winning both of those, I started another rated game and another +unrated game, and have won the latter already with a somewhat early +checkmate. +The rated game is about to end in my favor. +I experimented with the Sicilian Defense there, though my opponent went +for the Closed Sicilian, which I haven't looked into at all. +I ended up pulling off a [windmill][windmills] that took four of their +pawns for free. +Later I realized that I had gained the ability to checkmate them about +halfway through that, but eh, no harm in grabbing the material just in +case I miscalculated the mate. + +My opening study and preparation is getting more thorough now. +I've studied the main lines of the Grünfeld (my defense against 1. d4) +and prepared my preferred response against the Caro-Kann and the +trickier variant of the Scandinavian Defense as white. +I've also studied the main lines of the Najdorf Sicilian (my main +defense against 1. e4, although I'll need to do a bit more studying to +know how to handle a couple of different ways White can play instead of +going into open Sicilian positions). + +This week is back to some rapid games, so I think those will go better +for me. :) + +## Week 5 + +Hey, I was right. +This week's rapid games did go better for me! +I also went 2-2 in my blitz games (not counting the tournament where +most of my opponents were much higher-rated than me). +My blitz rating fell quite a bit because of blundering mate-in-1 +against the one lower-rated player I played in the tournament, but I'm +satisfied with my performance, especially after noticing that that one +lower-rated player is much higher rated than me in slower time +controls. + +I'm getting stronger in aggressive play in rapid and daily games! +Also in blitz games but I still struggle with time pressure at times. + +I've begun playing the Sicilian as my response to 1. e4! +It's been fun, and it's been well-suited to playing aggressively. + +I did two chess.com tournaments for people rated under 1200 in 5+5 +blitz and 10+0 rapid[^time controls]. +I lost all my games in both but I'm pretty satisfied with the +experience, especially in the rapid tournament. +The 10+0 time control was rough, though, but a 15+10 tournament would +take something like 3 hours, so... tradeoffs. + +In the openings book, I still need next week to finish reading about +the Queen's Gambit Declined. +In my endgame study I finished reading the second part of Silman's +Endgame Course. +Next week I'll do the tests for part 2. + +In extracurricular studies, I've tried studying from the series of +comprehensive chess training books from Artur Yusupov. +They're really tough, but the first chapter on Mating Motifs +immediately helped out when I won games using the Arabian mate, and +began noticing the threat of it and other common mates in a lot of my +games as things to defend against. +I achieved a "Good" scored (12/16) on the exercises, which were very +tough. +Chapter 2 is not sticking with me as well so maybe I should re-read +it... + +Anyway, week 6 will be a blitz week, so... +it'll be a challenge but hopefully it'll help me get better at thinking +more quickly. + +## Week 6 + +Blitz games this week didn't go too hot for me, though my rating stayed +stable. +Partly I just was really off my game on Sunday at least. +Friday I did do pretty well on time management and went 3-1. +Really I need to improve on consistency I guess, which may partly be a +matter of improving in physical health (mostly in terms of getting +adequate rest, but tbh that'll have to wait for next month at +earliest). + +I played some extracurricular rapid games and did quite well in them. +I also played some games against Will when he came up to visit me +before my move. +Our record ended up perfectly even across Saturday and Sunday at 3½-3½. +I think we might have played a game or two on Friday but I don't +remember. + +Finished up the coverage of the Queen's Gambit Declined in Seirawan's +openings book, and started on modern king's pawn openings (covered the +Alekhine, Scandinavian, and a bit of the French). +Maybe finishing up the section on the French Defense will help me +finally figure out how I want to play against it with the white pieces. + +In my endgame studies, I finished the tests from part 2 in Silman's +endgame book, and did some of the practice problems lichess has for +pawn endgames. +Not sure where I'll go from here for next week, as the further parts of +Silman's book are intended for much stronger players than me. + +We'll see how next week goes. + +## Week 7 + +Went completely even in my games this week, which resulted in a slight +drop in my blitz rating and a slight increase in my rapid rating. +Also I caught and mostly recovered from COVID. + +Looking back over the study plan so far, I feel confident I've improved +somewhat. +My blitz rating has gone down a bit from what it was after that first +week, but my rapid rating has slowly but steadily increased. +I've also been continuing to do very well in my correspondence games, +though I haven't tracked those in the table. + +My main current extracurricular study project is working through the +very basic book of chess puzzles _Manual of Chess Combinations Volume +1a_, with the intention of trying the Woodpecker method with it. +My goal there is to work on calculating simple variations and quickly +recognizing tactical patterns. +That method is a training approach aimed at improving pattern +recognition that was described in a book titled the Woodpecker Method. +The idea is: you spend a four week period solving as many puzzles from +some set of exercises as you can, then take a day or two break before +doing the same exercises again, but faster. +The ideal is you manage to halve the time it takes each cycle and +eventually end up able to solve all of them within a day (possibly a +rather long day hehe). +The problems in the Woodpecker Method book itself are too difficult to +make sense for me to do the method with (if I'm spending ~8 minutes a +problem and still only getting a bit above half the points... idk that +I'm going to get much out of repeatedly solving it hehe), so I'm going +with the much easier book for the puzzles. +Perhaps if I find the methodology helpful I'll give it a try with the +puzzles in the original book someday when I'm stronger! + +My beloved Sofía has been helping me with that study project by +checking my solutions for me (the solution pages are very compact in +the _Manual of Chess Combinations_ so it's tricky to avoid accidentally +seeing a glimpse of later problems' solutions), which has been fun. ^.^ + +My endgame study on those days is a little unfocused at this point +since I finished the level-appropriate bits of Silman's endgame book. +I should probably figure out a clearer plan for those days by the end +of this week. + +Opening study has continued to be interesting. +I finished up the Seirawan book's coverage of the French Defense and +started in on the Caro-Kann. +This week I'll continue starting with the Short Variation of the +Caro-Kann Advance Variation and then move on to the Sicilian Defense, +which will probably last at least into the following week. +The Sicilian is an exciting opening, and it's also my current main +response to 1. e4, although I'm considering switching to playing 1. e4 +e5 just to see a broader variety of positions and build a broader +variety of skills. + [^daily explanation]: "Daily" is just what chess.com calls games with such a time control. Chess.com is very popular (and according to the data gathered by that @@ -117,3 +407,5 @@ TPTCOAT]][daily game versus TPTCOAT] https://chessgoals.com [lichess practice]: https://lichess.org/practice +[windmills]: + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windmill_(chess)