Goodbye ICC

Goodbye 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 my serious chessplaying will take place on US Chess Live. I'll probably get another ICC handle in the future. after I get some booklearning behind me. I'm toying with the idea of organizing a Hawaii team to play in the STC 45 45 League. We'll see how that goes.

Relapse to blitz

Relapse, 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 the certainty that it will be short-lived. Fear sets in, for the next game might be the beginning of a string of losses. What's supposed to be fun has become a chore.

I've developed a particular distaste for bullet. Even if one side were to achieve a superior position, it all boils down to who can move the mouse faster or who has the presence of mind to make unexpected, material-sacrificing checks in the last few seconds. Is this the kind of chess that Botvinnik would be proud of? I think not.

I'm lucky to have some good chess friends. (You know who you are.) They help me keep my eye on the ball, and don't let me stray too far away from chess. I'm going to try to ease myself back into study mode. Tonight at Border's, I picked up a little book called Simple Chess. It's a Dover reprint of an older work which received favorable reviews. Thumbing through its contents, I think it's manageable for me. Hopefully, this will be my salvation from the evils of blitz and bullet.

Timeout

All 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 nauseated easily.

Suddenly, becoming a chess master isn't important any more. So for now, the quest is paused until I can start again with a clear conscience that I did what was most important first.

Lesson of the Day: Chess is a game, not life.

New Year's Resolution

New 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 to our goals!

Starting on The Amateur's Mind

Tonight 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 minor piece trades are possible. In particular, I'll be looking for possible knight outposts and the ability to open up lines for bishops, for both me and my opponent.

I'm about 1/4 the way through The Chess Tactics Workbook. The problems are slightly harder than Bain's Chess Tactics for Students, but not by much.

My chess studies have been slowed down lately, because my harddisk crashed. Luckily, it was still under warrantly, so I got a replacement one from Maxtor and have been spending time restoring everything. However, I lost a lot too. Oh well, sh*t happens.

How to study Chess Tactics for Students

In 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.

45 45 chess

It'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 to activate my pieces instead, as his pieces were passively placed. Even though I was a pawn down, the position was fairly drawish. The heavy pieces were still on, but our remaining bishops were of opposite color. My pieces were actively placed, and I created a tactical situation in which I won back the pawn!! Unfortunately, in time pressure (I was in time pressure for the last 15-20 moves of the game), I walked into a tactic that lost a piece, so I resigned on move 39. But even though I lost, I was very pleased with my play. A normally defensive player, I took the fight to my opponent and had great chances to win. Overall, a nice first experience with STC chess and a needed break from book study.

The Chess Tactics Workbook: a preview

I 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 tomorrow.

Studying isn't as fun as playing. So I will start playing STC games using accounts I have on ICC, FICS and US Chess Live.

Chess Tactics for Students DONE!

One 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 consists of 1 book :)

A few comments about Chess Tactics for Students before I move on. Overall, this simple workbook suited my needs perfectly. The material was nicely organized into 13 chapters, plus a quiz chapter. Each chapter was short enough to complete in a single one hour session. (Remember, I had not read a chess book cover-to-cover in over 10 years, so I purposely didn't choose a hefty first book, which might dishearten me.) There were about a half-dozen positions that were a little tricky. For a couple of the problems, I was able to find an alternative solution.

I would make a couple of suggestions to the author for the next edition. First, I would label each position with "White to move" or "Black to move". The game score indicates which side is to move, but the game score also has some moves filled in which is a big hint. I prefer to be told which side is to move and be left to find the solution myself. Some positions have non-forcing solutions, ie you make a move and IF the other side makes a mistake, then the tactic can be executed. For those positions, you have to look at the game score. Second, I would use new positions for the final quiz instead of recycling positions from the other chapters like is currently done.

So now I'll take a few days to rest and straighten up my workstation before moving on to The Amateur's Mind and The Chess Tactics Workbook.

Light 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 when I start playing STC chess on the servers. On a 5-foot folding table set at a right angle to my computer table, I now have a full-size one-piece wooden board and a wood version of USCF's Club Special set (item S471 in their catalog). Now I need to locate a swivel chair to replace the one with legs.

It's also time to give a little thought to what comes after Chess Tactics for Students. I'll continue my tactical training with Al Woolum's The Chess Tactics Workbook, available from his website. Additionally, I want to start studying chess strategy and positional concepts. For this, I've chosen Jeremy Silman's The Amateur's Mind. Silman is a highly acclaimed chess author and is best known for his book How to Reassess Your Chess. For anyone under Class A (1800), I recommend starting with The Amateur's Mind before graduating to HTRYC.

As I'll be studying two books simultaneously, things will be slower going. I aim to be finished with both by mid-December.