I have a plan for 2008

For the year of 2008 I have a New Year's resolution: I'm going to be better in chess. Well, this is not so interesting (who doesn't want to be better?) but more of how I will accomplish this.

As in the [threaded]82876[/threaded] I mentioned that I'm going to use a book, but which one was a secret. It's not a secret any more.

I've found a book, "The Power Chess Program, A unique training course to improve your chess" by Nigel Davies that looks that it seems perfect for my intention.
It has 12 chapters, one for each month and with theme for the month. The first chapters are about how to handle the pieces.
Every chapter has 4 sub-chapters, one for each week, each with an aspect of the theme.
So this is a program for the whole of the year since 12 times 4 is 52, one sub-chapter for every week of the year.
Every sub-chapter has two (or three) games to study with a lot of annotations, moreover six positions of which to find a best move.

The author says that if you use 3 to 5 hours a week to study with this program you will increase your skill radically. Yes, this is a motivator to continuing, but nevertheless, I think I will be better. How much?, I don't know.

Now I have around 1600 in rating here at RHP. What will I have when the year is over? Perhaps 1700? Or more? And if I gain more rating points at RHP, what will it then be OTB?

Is there anyone of you who has gone through this book, from chapter one to chapter twelve? Please let me know what you think!

Wish me good luck!

does the program contain daily dose of tactics? because if it doesn't, whatever it might teach you, won't manifest itself as a higher rating. at 1600, the main problem is still dropping material to 1-movers, and everything else you know will be masked by that effect.

at 1900 my main problem still is 1-movers. easily half of my lost games are lost because of those.

Yes but it's still better to blunder a pawn when you have good Bishop rather than lose a pawn with bad one 😛

Good luck, but 12 times 4 is 48.



😉

Originally posted by wormwood
does the program contain daily dose of tactics? because if it doesn't, whatever it might teach you, won't manifest itself as a higher rating. at 1600, the main problem is still dropping material to 1-movers, and everything else you know will be masked by that effect.

at 1900 my main problem still is 1-movers. easily half of my lost games are lost because of those.

wormwood is right.

but what the hell is he talking about "one movers"??

i doubt a 1900 loses to one movers....maybe the final move of a combination is the "one mover"?

i dunno....but he is right about the tactics.

don't know about the book but 6 hours of study a week should improve you if you don't do any now.

GM Davies lives just around the block from me.

Originally posted by chessisvanity
wormwood is right.

but what the hell is he talking about "one movers"??

i doubt a 1900 loses to one movers....maybe the final move of a combination is the "one mover"?

i dunno....but he is right about the tactics.

Game 3532370 14.b4 a pawn fork I totally missed.

Game 3249026 32.Rh4 drops the rook.

Game 3249025 17.Nxa8 drops the queen for Bc3+


these are 3 of my last 5 losses in the 30 last finished games. the 4th loss is almost as stupid, and only one of the lost games was lost because I got outplayed.

sure all of those games were going badly even before the decisive blunder, but it doesn't change the fact that I [/i]should[/i] see those moves coming a mile away. I saw them in all of the other 25 games, but that's just not enough.

Originally posted by jonrothwell
don't know about the book but 6 hours of study a week should improve you if you don't do any now.

GM Davies lives just around the block from me.

Say Hello to Nigel from me!

The positions is not any one movers. It doesn't in fact says what it is, just white (black) to move. Perhaps it is a quick win, perhaps it is to gain a file, perhaps it is to avoid his attack, perhaps it is whatever, no one knws. In the last chapter the solution is given, if any.

I think a little a day is better than massive once a month. And this book gives me just that. I believe a lot in this program.

12 times 4 is 48? 🙂 Ah, but then I have 4 weeks of vacation too. Better than I thought!

Fabian, The book sounds Great! Where did you get it? Good Luck with your New Year's Resolution!

Originally posted by sydsad
Fabian, The book sounds Great! Where did you get it? Good Luck with your New Year's Resolution!

I bought the book at 'Svenska Schackbutiken' at Vegagatan in Göteborg. (They have a lot of chess books of every kind, and all other chess stuff imaginable, for sale through mail order.) And I was lucky - there is a part II in the same serie too, from month 13 to month 24, perhaps I got the last copy so I bought them both.

I have gotten great support from my friends at RHP, even by mail, and personal friends as well. They, who has seen the book, cheers me good luck with my 2008 New Year's resolution. Thank you all!

Today it is Saturday the 29th. The first week of 2008 starts at Monday the 31th of december, or if you like, the 0th of January. Monday it is! And then starts my program. I keep you all posted in this thread.

Originally posted by wormwood
does the program contain daily dose of tactics? because if it doesn't, whatever it might teach you, won't manifest itself as a higher rating. at 1600, the main problem is still dropping material to 1-movers, and everything else you know will be masked by that effect.

at 1900 my main problem still is 1-movers. easily half of my lost games are lost because of those.

lol ignore me...

Originally posted by wormwood
Game 3532370 14.b4 a pawn fork I totally missed.

Game 3249026 32.Rh4 drops the rook.

Game 3249025 17.Nxa8 drops the queen for Bc3+


these are 3 of my last 5 losses in the 30 last finished games. the 4th loss is almost as stupid, and only one of the lost games was lost because I got outplayed.

sure all of those games were going ...[text shortened]... moves coming a mile away. I saw them in all of the other 25 games, but that's just not enough.

Game 4413198
Game 4412121

I can beat that wormwood! I have no idea what I was thinking!! I was 1517. Now I am 1389. :'(
🙂

Originally posted by ih8sens
lol ignore me...

the two lost games you have in last 30 both end in horrible elementary blunders. that's 100% score for blunder losses.

Game 4246058
Game 4340301

.. a serious reduction from 2 months ago though.. in the game vs. agoressive i had just lost focus and left the beaten blunder check path that i've sworn by in the last month..

the other game was me being an idiot.. just totally missed it.

Originally posted by ih8sens
.. a serious reduction from 2 months ago though.. in the game vs. agoressive i had just lost focus and left the beaten blunder check path that i've sworn by in the last month..

the other game was me being an idiot.. just totally missed it.

"Beaten blunder check path": Could you elaborate on that please? Are you saying it's a blunder check that you perform?