Formalizing a training regimen

After spending 7 weeks in San Francisco, I'm back in Hawaii and ready to dive into chess.

I've identified four areas for book study: opening, strategy, tactics, endgame. After a long 15+ year break from chess, I feel I need to start with basics and rebuild from there.

Opening

I've always been weak in the opening, causing me to begin the middlegame with an inferior position. I've always been a defensive player but now that I think about it, maybe that was out of necessity, not choice. Perhaps defense is not my natural style of play at all.

I'm ready to rehash my opening repertoire completely. Seeking guidance, I stumbled upon John Watson's Mastering the Chess Openings series. Chapter 9 of Volume 4, titled "Choosing and Preparing Openings", gives general guidelines for the types of openings to study based on a player's general skill level. For beginners, Watson recommends open games that typically result from 1.e4. I will take his advice to heart and explore the Italian Game, Two Knights Defense and other related openings. But before that, an in-depth study of Chapters 1-3 of Mastering the Chess Openings Volume 1 is in order.

Strategy

To master the strategic ideas of the middlegame, I turn to Jeremy Silman's two excellent books, The Amateur's Mind and How to Reassess Your Chess. In Jeremy Silman's FAQ, Silman suggests starting with Part One of HTRYC which introduces the reader to the concept of imbalances, followed by The Amateur's Mind, then returning to HTRYC.

Tactics

I've chosen to start with Susan Polgar's Chess Tactics for Champions. Each chapter covers a tactical theme, starting with a short introduction to the tactical device with a couple of examples, then closing with 50 practice positions with solutions. I really enjoy how the solutions are presented with prose and lines, instead of just lines.

Endgame

Surprisingly, I'm really looking forward to studying the endgame. Again, I turn to Jeremy Silman's Complete Endgame Course.  Like how John Watson suggests openings based on the player's strength, Silman takes a similar tact with endgame study. I really like this approach, as I feel that it will help fill in the gaps of my chess knowledge.

The 2018 Hawaii State Championship

I sent in my advance entry fee to play in the 2018 Hawaii State Championship. My first rated tournament since 2002. I'm not expecting much, just want to get the competitive juices flowing again.