What went well?
- I broke my record for puzzles on Chess.com and got over 1800. I had not been doing much with rated puzzles lately. However, I have been doing at least 25 unrated tactics puzzles a day, all between 1100 and 1400. My goal there was to improve my pattern recognition for that range. That seems to have been paying off. On top of this, I continue to do Aimchess lessons every day, and most of those have some kind of tactic component to them.
And just like that I broke 1800 for the first time. #chesspunks pic.twitter.com/2oc9qwjtQ3
— Matt (@MattPlaysChess) November 21, 2021
- I started working on Everybody’s First Chess Workbook by Peter Giannatos. The first few chapters have been pretty easy, but I want to work through the whole book just to rethink some of the fundamentals, since my game has been off lately (see below).
- I have been reading Chess Opening Names by Nathan Rose. It is a very fun read to learn a little about Chess history. There are actually 2 volumes of this book.
What could have gone better?
- I fell below 1200 on Chess.com for Rapid for the first time in 6 weeks. I try not to worry about rating too much, but I feel like 1200 should be my “floor” and I should always stay above that.
- I am still losing most of my games. This week I feel like I have just been playing without giving it my full concentration. I also played lots of games, maybe too many. It may be time for a break
| Time Control | Games Played | Games Won |
|---|---|---|
| Blitz | 4 | 2 (50%) |
| Rapid | 17 | 6 (35%) |
| Daily | 2 | 2 (100%) |
What will I try next?
- I need to actually sit and analyze my games when I am done. I have been lazy about that lately. If I do analyze them it is pretty simple and I’m not really thinking much about it.
- I should get back to studying my opening. Not a ton, but at least a little bit.
- Don’t play 20+ games this next week. Try 1 game per day with analysis.
- I just bought 500 Chess Questions Answered by Andrew Soltis which I plan to read after the Chess Opening Names.