And so 2012 begins with a little bit of a snowstorm here in Wisconsin, USA, and with a fair amount of time spent by yours truly examining more closely the King's Indian Defense. I am eager to get 2011 behind me as far and as quickly as possible. My "progress" in chess was hindered by any number of factors, and I approach 2012 with a renewed zest for learning more about this wonderful game. I have spent the past week essaying to become more familiar with the openings in my repertoire. I feel odd about even calling it a "repertoire" since I am so weak in my understanding and familiarity with the openings I want to play. But perhaps I can use the word "collection" and feel comfortable with that.
I have so much to work on and to improve in chess that on many occasions I am inclined to just give up on the whole endeavor. I continue to make stupid mistakes and to overlook simple threats. I just played a game in which I had a superior position and then just dropped a rook. For no reason whatsoever. I just didn't attend to the threat. I have returned to the "tunnel vision" play of the past in which I become so intent on what I am doing that I seem to forget I have an opponent. This is maddening, to put it mildly. And yet I am drawn to this game even more so than I was a year ago. I may have to reconcile myself to the fact that I will never be more than a weak club player, but that is such a depressing thought I do not want to entertain it for more than a few seconds.
I want to get better. I aspire to be able to "see" the board better than I do, so as to eliminate the ridiculous blunders and "blind spots" that plague me. I want to understand openings better, and to have a stronger sense of strategy and tactics. But I do not see how I can do this while I continue to play like someone who just read the rules that were included in the three dollar plastic chess set he got at the grocery store. So I have this energy to improve that is stifled by my obvious flaws as a player. This is the challenge I face as I enter the new year.
Happy New Year to everyone!
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4 comments:
Good luck with your chess training!
It's interesting (if sometimes disheartening) to see the divide between good practice and poor game performance. As Yogi Berra said, "90% of the game is half mental." Having to un-learn a sub-par thinking process and then replace it with an improved, coherent version is I think a common challenge for many improving players. So you're not alone.
On the plus side, you know your problem(s). On the negative side, you have not found a solution for it (yet).
You do have a good chess coach. Talk with her for a full hour about your problems on the chessboard. Dig deep inside of you to find the why of your problem. Where comes this tunnelvision from? Is it lack of concentration, false sense of safety because of superior position, not doing the full run of your thoughtproces aka no blundercheck, ... ?
I know you can play chess well, seen some really promising games from you. So you have it in you, time to let it out. :)
Oh, before I forget, happy and healty 2012!
Chess Admin: I like your point about the difference between good practice and poor game performance. In a good number of areas of my life I seem hindered by a variety of psychological factors. This morning during a chess lesson IM Dembo mentioned that much of what I learned ab out chess as a young player is horribly dogmatic and keeps me from playing more flexibly. Specifically is the emphasis placed on material in many chess books I read - I find it very difficult to understand the idea of "compensation" for a sacrificed pawn, for example.
chesstiger: Thank you for your insights; as usual, they are helpful. You hit upon one of the frustrating aspects of this: I know I can play decent chess, but so often I do seem to have unplugged my "blundercheck" function.
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