17 July 2011

Setting the Scene

This blog will be employed primarily as a training tool.  The main feature will be a weekly update including a fully annotated game, drawn from either my training or tournament games.  One of the consistent themes emphasized by chess trainers is that players' own games are the best fodder for improvement.  Once analyzed, they provide personal insight into chess strengths, weaknesses and mindset, as well as universal chess truths.

As a Class B player who has the objective of eventually reaching Master strength, this weekly process of playing and analyzing games will help give my training program focus and structure, without being too onerous.  The fact that this blog is public also provides some additional psychological motivation for maintaining a consistent pace with my training and scheduled updates.  That said, I don't intend to worry about strictly enforcing self-imposed deadlines or the like, a practice which tends to add unwanted pressure to what should be a labor of love.

Another reason that this blog is public is because it might provide some utility (or at the very least some brief entertainment and amusement) for other players.  It is in fact partially inspired by other chess blogs (such as Robert Pearson's) that provide annotated/narrated games written from the point of view of the author, but also with a sense of objectivity.  No guarantee is provided, however, that any commentary made here will in fact be useful to you.

Onwards!

8 comments:

  1. Looking back, here are some further thoughts, especially since I've stated elsewhere that this is the "best" (in terms of being most important) post on this blog.

    The decision to start a training blog has in fact been the keystone of my chess improvement program. Maintaining and updating it has given the program a regular structure and helped keep me from being lazy. (The best advice I've ever received, from a dedicated martial arts master that I've trained with, is "don't be lazy". This is probably the most important thing to keep in mind with any training program.)

    External motivators and public acknowledgement of a training goal have been scientifically recognized as major aids to the success of long-term training programs and related goals/endeavors (whether it be strengthening your chess performance, getting in better physical shape, etc.) I believe that an individual's commitment and willpower are the most important factors in achieving success. That said, the existence of an external audience and the desire to maintain a higher standard of practice for them provide extra motivating factors that are objective (i.e. not subject to your own personal whims). This again helps one follow the sage advice of "don't be lazy".

    I'm pleased with the fact that the improvement program I've developed has been sustainable so far and that this blog has materially contributed to that fact. On a related note, there seems to be a minor renaissance in chess improvement blogging going on; it's always interesting to see how other players are using their blogs as tools for their programs.

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  2. Hi - Just discovered this wonderful blog.
    I'm a Class C player myself (around 1500 Elo) - hope to draw much inspiration and tips from your ongoing discoveries and success.

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  3. hi ChessAdmin - for a long time, i've been wanting to suggest you change your blog header. I LOVE your blog, but I'm sorry, I don't like the blog title and how it takes up the whole screen with those glass pieces.

    As a gesture of kindness, I took the liberty of creating two new blog headers.
    http://i.imgur.com/wy4qLzI.png
    http://i.imgur.com/GNzEstT.png

    Obviously, do what you want, but as a regular reader, it would be nice to change the blog title picture :-)

    Thanks!

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  4. Variety is the spice of blogs, so I think changing up the header is worthwhile. I like the first image, but there are two dark-squared bishops visible in the pic, which suggests something other than chess mastery...

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  7. Yesterday I met the blog. I have found it very interesting and motivating because I am also on my way to mastery. Congratulations.

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