08 Oct '13 14:08>1 edit
Years ago, my love for chess turned into kind of an addiction, I used to play many games here (short time controls, thinking 10 seconds per move) and additionally, I was playing a lot of 5 minute blitz games on chess servers. Even though I was learning chess like a madman (chess books, memorizing openings, chess tactics servers) my game has reached a certain point and stalled. After a while, sensing that I know chess much better then I play it (sometimes losing from amateur friends without much clue about chess), I got fed up by this plateau and quit for the time being.
Years later, after a long hiatus, I can sense what the problem was : I was favoring quantity over the quality, I was trying to learn everything at once and I was trying to apply all the new found ideas mainly into my 5 minutes games, which now seems mindless to me. It was due to my youthful impatience I guess.
This time I am adopting a different approach - on here, I play fewer games and use a great deal of thinking. On the top of that I make a careful and systematic blunder checklist before making a move while trying to apply all the new chess ideas which I got by reading "Predator at the Chessboard" tactics book and by going through annotated GM games.
The result is much more enjoyable chess than it was years ago, and I feel like I am slowly imprinting the new patterns of thinking into my brain.
This works for correspondence chess but as I learn more and more in the recent weeks, I have noticed that my OTB and online games suck. Since new and improved chess ideas are stuck in my head at the moment, they affect my thinking and playing, almost by distracting me. Blitz games or even longer time controls simply doesn't give me enough time to think, analyse and blunder check everything at this point - and when the time controls start to favor my opponent, I just return to my old habits and play the panic move out of the top of my head ( which is often erratic or serves no real purpose in the position ).
While all the above is certainly an overly long introduction, the question I am about to ask is relatively simple : Could I benefit from STUDYING chess for half a year instead of PLAYING - limiting my chess only to few carefully thought-out moves on this site twice a week (three games 7/7 time controls) ?
I recently read a post from a GM who is suggesting such approach in order to break the plateau. Six month of quality studying (with an emphasis of analyzing and going through master games + tactical training ) and then slowly returning to play (slow time controls) until you get fast enough to be able to apply your knowledge to rapid and blitz games.
Any insights/experiences on the topic ?
Years later, after a long hiatus, I can sense what the problem was : I was favoring quantity over the quality, I was trying to learn everything at once and I was trying to apply all the new found ideas mainly into my 5 minutes games, which now seems mindless to me. It was due to my youthful impatience I guess.
This time I am adopting a different approach - on here, I play fewer games and use a great deal of thinking. On the top of that I make a careful and systematic blunder checklist before making a move while trying to apply all the new chess ideas which I got by reading "Predator at the Chessboard" tactics book and by going through annotated GM games.
The result is much more enjoyable chess than it was years ago, and I feel like I am slowly imprinting the new patterns of thinking into my brain.
This works for correspondence chess but as I learn more and more in the recent weeks, I have noticed that my OTB and online games suck. Since new and improved chess ideas are stuck in my head at the moment, they affect my thinking and playing, almost by distracting me. Blitz games or even longer time controls simply doesn't give me enough time to think, analyse and blunder check everything at this point - and when the time controls start to favor my opponent, I just return to my old habits and play the panic move out of the top of my head ( which is often erratic or serves no real purpose in the position ).
While all the above is certainly an overly long introduction, the question I am about to ask is relatively simple : Could I benefit from STUDYING chess for half a year instead of PLAYING - limiting my chess only to few carefully thought-out moves on this site twice a week (three games 7/7 time controls) ?
I recently read a post from a GM who is suggesting such approach in order to break the plateau. Six month of quality studying (with an emphasis of analyzing and going through master games + tactical training ) and then slowly returning to play (slow time controls) until you get fast enough to be able to apply your knowledge to rapid and blitz games.
Any insights/experiences on the topic ?