tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38031812011-04-21T18:57:18.532-07:00Becoming a Chess MasterA Class B player's quest to become a National Chess Master.brother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-1078173490269267582004-03-01T12:38:00.000-08:002004-03-01T12:41:26.170-08:00I'm still alive. Don't give up on me yet!brother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-958015192003-06-18T12:32:00.000-07:002003-06-18T12:37:46.000-07:00Progress Report: I'm about half way through Simple Chess, with 3 more chapters the go. It's a well-written and concise book. I could have finished it by now, but I'm going at a leisurely pace, picking up the book every few days and reading 10 or so pages at a sitting. I'm also doing daily tactical exercises from The Chess Tactics Workbook by Al Woolum. I've completed 40 of 130 pages. Though brother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-951432712003-05-31T22:35:00.000-07:002003-05-31T22:35:16.856-07:00Goodbye ICC: Today, I gave the remaining time on my ICC membership to a friend. One less distraction to have to deal with. As a farewell to my old handle 'yolk', I played a final 15 0 standard game this morning. Even though I won, I missed a very nice mating sequence. I guess I have to work on my visualization. I'll still log onto ICC as a guest to check in with my friends, but the bulk of brother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-950306402003-05-29T04:32:00.000-07:002003-05-29T04:35:45.000-07:00Relapse, Revelation and Salvation: I miss chess. So much so that I've again started playing blitz and bullet on ICC in my spare time. Like a habitual drinker or smoker, I know it's bad for me, but I do it anyway. And any feeling of fulfillment or satisfaction is an empty one. My blitz and bullet ratings are so volatile that any euphoria associated with a new peak rating is accompanied by thebrother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-885669002003-02-04T18:56:00.000-08:002003-02-04T19:03:14.000-08:00All things are on hold while I spend time with my dad and help him recover. He spent 5 days in the hospital after taking a nasty fall, hitting his head full force on a cement sidewalk. He was admitted when the CT scan showed bleeding both inside and on the surface of the brain. A subsequent scan showed improvement, so he was discharged. However, he is markedly weaker and gets dizzy and brother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-867679892002-12-31T16:35:00.000-08:002002-12-31T16:37:27.000-08:00New Year's Resolution: A great time to rededicate myself to the mission. I must admit, I've been slacking lately. But with the new year around the corner, I'm turning over a new leaf. Amazingly, I've remained faithful to my vow of not playing any fast time control chess on the internet. So there... I haven't been all bad! I wish everyone a Happy New Year... may 2003 bring all of us closer brother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-842183392002-11-08T02:24:00.000-08:002002-11-08T02:24:36.916-08:00Tonight I finished the first chapter of Silman's The Amateur's Mind titled The Battle Between Bishops and Knights. I knew most of the principles behind this minor piece imbalance already, but it was instructional to go through the chapter and see how to take advantage of this often overlooked and misunderstood imbalance. Now that I've been made aware, I'll be more alert in my own games when brother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-835506492002-10-26T04:41:00.000-07:002002-10-26T04:41:55.000-07:00In this Chessville Forum post, NM Dan Heisman addresses how one should use Bain's Chess Tactics for Students. Timely, as I just finished studying it.brother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-831754102002-10-18T09:42:00.000-07:002002-10-18T09:46:19.000-07:00It's 6:20 AM in Hawaii and I just finished my first 45 45 game on ICC! My opponent was rated 2236 and had a string of standard wins in his history. I was intimidated from the start. I lost a pawn fairly quickly out of the opening, but I didn't fold. I aimed to create complications and found myself in a position to win back the pawn. And guess what??... I didn't take back the pawn but opted brother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-831551022002-10-17T22:24:00.000-07:002002-10-17T22:27:37.000-07:00I started The Chess Tactics Workbook today. It's 128 pages of problems, organized 6 problems per page. At the pace of 3 pages per day (18 problems), I should be finished in 6 weeks. The problems start with mate in 1 and move up in difficulty to mate in 3 and other combinations. This will be the tactical training that supplements my study of The Amateur's Mind, which I'll begin brother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-830538432002-10-16T01:46:00.000-07:002002-10-16T01:58:51.000-07:00One down, many to go.Woo hoo! I've completed Chess Tactics for Students! A few years ago, I bought a document embosser with my monogram in the middle and "Chess Library of Edward Seid" around the seal. To commemorate this special event, I've affixed my library seal to the first page of the book. This is the ritual I alluded to in my previous post. The "Chess Books I Have Read" list now brother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-829672432002-10-14T08:30:00.000-07:002002-10-14T09:02:13.000-07:00Light at the end of the tunnel.Only two more chapters to go till I finish book #1 on my journey to become Master! I've got a little ritual planned to celebrate the occasion. I'll reveal what it is when I actually finish... don't want to count my chickens before they hatch. If all goes as planned, I'll be done on Tuesday.I've rearranged my computer work area to make it more comfortable for whenbrother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-826821392002-10-08T03:29:00.000-07:002002-10-08T03:48:49.000-07:00Finally, I've returned to Hawaii. A few more lost study days due to travelling and such. I'm now half way through John Bain's Chess Tactics for Students. Overall, my impression of the book is good. I should note that the target audience for this book is the 1000-1400 range. At my current rating of 1669, I've had a pretty easy time with the problems. However, I want to have a solid brother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-824067302002-10-02T00:48:00.000-07:002002-10-02T00:54:17.000-07:00I just returned from a trip to Las Vegas around 4 hours ago. My brother had a conference at the Bellagio and we thought it would be a good idea to take my dad for the weekend. 72 hours in Vegas can make a nice dent in one's wallet, but at least they had fun. I'm not much of a gambler, but my dad enjoys the craps tables so I spent a large part of the trip placing bets for him.
What does this brother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-820141372002-09-23T15:28:00.000-07:002002-09-23T15:37:53.000-07:00Today, I started studying Chess Tactics for Students. It's basically a workbook covering 13 common tactical motifs. Each chapter consists of 5 instructional diagrams to introduce the motif, followed by 26 problems for the student to solve. Following author John Bain's suggestion, I worked through the first 5 diagrams in each chapter to get an overview of all 13 tactics. It was fairly easy.I brother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-819843292002-09-23T00:39:00.000-07:002002-09-23T00:48:40.000-07:00Chess is 99% tactics - Richard TeichmannThis saying rings true especially for the class player. In his book Rapid Chess Improvement, Michael de la Maza describes a study plan based solely on the study of tactics. Surprisingly, he recommends the intensive study of basic tactics, not the 4, 5 or more move combinations that are presented in advanced tactical texts. Taking his advice, I've decidedbrother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803181.post-819588412002-09-22T12:16:00.000-07:002002-09-22T18:38:40.000-07:00A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - Chinese proverbThis blog was created out of frustration. For the past 10 years, I've been stuck in class B (1600-1800), with a current USCF rating of 1669. My chess career has been sporadic, consisting of long periods of inactivity mixed with infrequent tournament play and even more infrequent periods of chess study. I have a chess librarybrother7http://www.blogger.com/profile/07749227025000706402noreply@blogger.com0