finually

[drake]

I broke my old record...1576.5 now... so there is signs of improvement.

[revenant]

Now aim for the "century mark" (1600).  You can do it!  It feels great to pass those...  Then aim for passing the next one.  :-)

[andreacoda]

Guys, you are getting tooo close to me (1609) - please stop your improvement NOW 
Drahacik would say: "war between poors"...   
On a more serious note - congrats on the progress!!!

[drahacikfm]

Hey, I don't call anyone weak.  When I was 17, my US chess rating was 1231!  Didn't get over 1800 USCF until I was 22!  If any of you are under 22 years old, you are way ahead of me and you'll make Grandmaster for sure. 

[andreacoda]

I am 37, and I wish my ELO rating was 1609, that is just my standard rating here on chesstempo!
However, I believe even at 37 I have some potential, and I started last week with private lessons – getting serious about it
More important than ELO progress, I realize I am playing nicer and nicer games, and this is giving me more and more fun - and in the end, for us "amateurs", fun is the big part of it!

[tama]

WOW that's crazy 1237 at 17!! well if it was your first month or 2 playing that's prity good. Im 19 at the moment looking to improve as fast as i can!

[drake]

andreacoda, you said 1609? ermm i think I may of just passed you, last problem just barely pet me over 1612

now only if my OTB games would reflect that. In actuality my OTB games have improved, especially when I really slow down and think.  I get to the end games with higher level players more often and noticing I make less blunders.  There have been several games where I played and had no ?? against stronger players. But I am still inconsistent with my games, play a few bad games (usually "warm ups", per sa) then I usually do much better (usually is the keyword).

I also noticed I do much better at these after playing some real games (OTB).

I am 30 years old, so I am trying to grasp this chess thing and eventually get a membership with USCF or FIDE and get a real rating.

drake

[uri blass]

drake,
I think that you simply solve too fast for standard time control.

In many of the cases that you fail you use less than one minute.

Everybody can see the last 100 problems of other people with the time taken so I decided to look at your results in the last problems.

Uri

[drake]

That is one thing that I am learning to do, is to take my time.  The more time I take the better I am.  The ones i do solve fairly quick is based on pattern recognitions.  The large slump in my graph is mainly do to recent events in my life... mainly due to the storm that effected most of the coastal region.

drake

[andreacoda]

andreacoda, you said 1609? ermm i think I may of just passed you, last problem just barely pet me over 1612

the bar is just rising, here - and I am up to the challenge! 

[sourire]

That is one thing that I am learning to do, is to take my time.  The more time I take the better I am.  The ones i do solve fairly quick is based on pattern recognitions.  The large slump in my graph is mainly do to recent events in my life... mainly due to the storm that effected most of the coastal region.

drake

I think it's worthwhile to take as much time as we can on problems. Even 20 minutes or more. First, count the material- pawns, minor pieces (dark or light squared bishops also), rooks, Queens and the position of the king.

Generally, by finding these imbalances we can determine if the position is asking for a mate or for a material gain.

Try to choose 1 possible "correct answer" or candidate move and see the way through it. If it doesn't work, choose the next candidate move. This organizes thought processes and disciplines the mind. In the end, I think we can see further into problems because our mental capacity is more efficiently used.

Also, we generally get a better idea what the position is asking for as we go through these lines.

I broke 2000 standard yesterday and I see no reason why my progress will decline anytime soon (started exactly 2 months ago with a rating of 1598).

I'm convinced 50% of my mental capacity is idle or otherwise hurtful in my chess solving. Through incremental progress I am becoming a person with greater lucidity.

PS- It was very interesting to read Drahacikfm's post on solving lower rated problems. I think this is a great idea I have neglected to do, but PayPal won't let me register so until i solve that problem I will be unable to buy a silver account and try it myself. On principle, I recommend his suggestion though.

[drake]

PS- It was very interesting to read Drahacikfm's post on solving lower rated problems. I think this is a great idea I have neglected to do, but PayPal won't let me register so until i solve that problem I will be unable to buy a silver account and try it myself. On principle, I recommend his suggestion though.

I totally agree with his article on that subject manor and would be doing that, but like you I have a lack of way of purchasing higher level of accounts.

My games are getting longer, the more I play the more I see and remember what I learn here.  If I just play CT all the time, my rating drops, if I just play chess it does the same thing, but a combination of the two helps me greatly.  And this is the only way I know and can improve my chess at this time.

Till I figure out how to make Chessbase 10 make 'learning' books and problems for me to study (in conjunction with fritz 11) I'll stick to my current plan, 80% CT, 15% games, 5% misc (reading articles looking/watching other games).

I would like to start putting together an opening book together for me to study (i.e. best move for my opening  type problems) so its like 70% tactics 10% games 5% opening problems 5% misc other things.  Those % can and will vary,

[tama]

Drake,

      I think you should increase your study time because studying is the fastest only way to improve overall chess. To increase tactical strength you must first increase your playing strength to a certain degree, like opening principals, middle game maneuvering and endgames. Then go all out in CT standard with extreme focus. I think a good way to study is to watch many videos and get a feel of the thought process of good players, there's no point memorizing because if its not natural during a game to see ideas for you and your opponent it wont help your game.

I recommend watching videos on ChessVideos.tv there's over 600 videos and every day new ones are made, for all levels. i learned a lot from the masters that post videos on that site. And its 100% free.

[revenant]

Hey Drake, I see you zoomed past 1600 standard on October 14 and kept on going!  Wild.

Then of course the graph shows a dip back below the century mark, but that's normal, you'll get it back.

I reached a century goal a few days ago, fell back under, and finally regained it today after an agonizingly unbelievable number of blitz problems.  I think I'll just let the graph sit there for a while.  You might want to do the same each time you reach a goal.

Here are some smileys in honor of user "sourire", whose handle I think means "to smile" in French?   

[sourire]

I reached a century goal a few days ago, fell back under, and finally regained it today after an agonizingly unbelievable number of blitz problems.  I think I'll just let the graph sit there for a while.  You might want to do the same each time you reach a goal.

Here are some smileys in honor of user "sourire", whose handle I think means "to smile" in French?   

Yes you are correct, Revenant, and thank you!  As I look at your stats I'm  particularly impressed by what must be near limitless amounts of mental stamina. I hope I can increase near your level some day.

Drake,

  I recommend watching videos on ChessVideos.tv there's over 600 videos and every day new ones are made, for all levels. i learned a lot from the masters that post videos on that site. And its 100% free.

I could not agree more with Tama. Definitely check out chessvideos.tv, Drake. All kinds of good lessons, from openings, middle games, endgames, etc, from beginner all the way to live commentaries by National, Fide, and International Masters.