A couple of years ago, I was a pretty good player both on the board and on PTIG (~1800), but as you can tell I am no longer playing at that same level. In short, I signed up for a tournament the first week of April, and I was hoping for specific suggestions for how to improve to about that same level (or better) in that period of time. Please do keep in mind that I am a high school senior with a pretty crazy course load; I would imagine I could set aside something like thirty minutes a night.
Originally posted by wittywonkaDoes your high school have a chess club? The best way to prepare for an OTB tourney is to play OTB games, preferable against players about your level or slightly better. Keep score and then analyze the games with a good player if possible or with an engine.
A couple of years ago, I was a pretty good player both on the board and on PTIG (~1800), but as you can tell I am no longer playing at that same level. In short, I signed up for a tournament the first week of April, and I was hoping for specific suggestions for how to improve to about that same level (or better) in that period of time. Please do keep in ...[text shortened]... etty crazy course load; I would imagine I could set aside something like thirty minutes a night.
Here is a GOOD way - play through a master game and stop at the end of the theory (but before either side has a clear advantage), set the position up on a board and then stare at it for 10-20 minutes and plan out what sort of possibilities lie waiting for both sides and then how you might preceed (for example, what long term weaknesses could be exploited in the pawn structures or whether there are any loose pieces that might be able to be made the subject of a tactical plan or whether you are actually needing to be more safety conscious and prevent your opponent for executing any deadly threats against your own force)
After this, check on the real game and see how it went to find out if your ideas were on the right lines or not.
This is a good way to improve mental visualisation - probably the most important skill in real life chess where we cannot move the pieces around and see clearly what the position will be like afterwards...
Alright, seeing as I'm getting responses of mixed levels of seriousness and utility, let me phrase it this way: how would my time best be spent among the following?
1) Working through tactics puzzles
2) Working through checkmate puzzles
3) Locking down my opening sequences
4) Reviewing some GM games
5) Playing real-time (OTB or online) games
6) Other
How would you rank these, in terms of being the most useful strategy/strategies for preparing?
