What went well?
- I have been sticking to my revised study plan. As part of this, I finished the Chessable course Learn Chess the Right Way - Book 1: Must-know Checkmates and started on Learn Chess the Right Way - Book 2: Winning Material.
- I got a new puzzle rush high score of 27 (survival mode)
- I played more Blitz games this week, which was fun. I won 13 out of 22 games (60%).
What could have gone better?
- I still haven’t taken off with my rapid games (30-minute). I won 4 of 8 this week. At least 1 of those felt pretty good. I want to get to the point where I am winning more games than I am losing.
- My study plan has me doing about 20 minutes of tactics on Chessable each day. This has been working well because I review any “open” puzzles and then learn new ones up to 10 minutes per course. Somehow this weekend I had 100s of puzzles to solve. I grinded my way through them all, but now I’m worried that my schedule is out of whack. I am going to try to get back to just 10-minutes per course.
What will I try next?
- I really want to start new opening courses, from the Keep It Simple series. However, I am trying to stick to my plan of focusing on tactics. I also want to do a tournament in a month, so I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t be starting new openings.
- I have been having fun playing blitz, though I feel guilty because everyone says it is not great for your chess. I am going to try a “play until you lose” approach. So if I lose the first game, I’m done for the day. If I win 4 and then lose, I’ll stop then.
Tweet of the Week
This has been my most popular tweet, maybe ever. I’m not exactly sure why. It had almost 30,000 views and got me up to 507 followers (up 10% this week).
Welcoming 2022 with a new #chess page-a-day puzzle calendar. #chesspunks pic.twitter.com/Cybz6opM2N
— Matt (@MattPlaysChess) January 3, 2022