EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/5LIt0fM.png)
The final position in the game that put me over the 1400 mark. Mistakes on my opponent's part allowed me to Queen my b file pawn with check and a skewer #ballin
Besides being 3000 ELO short of a pretty decent Sci Fi series that was cut down before it really got to its final destination, I am absolutely elated at the state of my current game. This is something I couldn't have done without some very sage advice from marvellosity early on, and the help of my public library. Mavellosity recommended that I: 1. Avoid Blitz/Bullet games 2. use Chesstempo.com en lieu of Chess.com for practicing tactics.
Sticking with slow(er) games, 15|10 or 30 minutes are my regular wheelhouse, I was able adequately consider my position rather than impulsively move about the board. Though I still do a bit of the latter, this was incredibly beneficial advice. So shout out to marvellosity for his wisdom, that may well have taken me much longer to arrive at on my own.
Beyond ignoring the timer, or at least making it less relevant in most of my games, working on Chesstempo.com on tactics was also a very wise choice. Chess.com's tactics section, while it has interesting puzzles enough for all, and its daily is generally interesting, also correlates the points for each puzzle with how long it takes you to solve. While there is something to be said for grace under pressure, it isn't the most conducive environment when you lose points because you got the answer right, but too slowly. My average time on Chess Tempo may not be stellar, but I appreciate positive reinforcement when I can get it.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/nB7ovxC.png)
Pandolfini's Ultmate Guid to Chess, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, and Logical Chess by Irving Chernev represent the only Chess books I own myself, I realized how expensive literature could get and pretty quickly and opted for my public library.
Another part of my studies has been complimented by excellent use of time on the clock at work, by that I mean reading books and consuming youtube/Chess.com videos on positions and openings that interest me. Bobby Fischer's only book on Chess was the launching point, while Logical Chess, and Pandolfini's book offered a slightly more developed perspective on position and phases of any given game of Chess.
I feel like a solid knowledge of the endgame, the place at which most Chess books/websites will have you begin, has saved my ass more times than I can count in games online. Additionally I've sought out help with openings that suit what I currently like to play. I've adapted my Starcraft roots to emphasizing specific openings as each color to respond to e4 or d4 openings, and use either d4 or 34 openings as either color; the idea is the same in Starcraft as it is in Chess, to be able to play my opening and know the lines better than my opponent, which in the case of the Chigorin is one of the easier things to do.
- As White:
1. Queens Gambit
2. Ruy Lopez
As Black:
1. Sicilian Defense
3. Chigorin Defense
![[image loading]](http://www.expert-chess-strategies.com/images/chigorin-defense.jpg)
The unusual and often very sharp Chigorin often throws players at my level for a whirl and things progress very quickly with the incorrect response as white. As far as I know, only one GM actively employs this defense.
Beyond the three books I actually own, I've read some books that are peripheral to Chess though not precisely related to strategy or improving my game. I've found these to be welcome repas to Chess notation ad infinitum.The two that come to mind are the oft, Day9 recommended The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin as well as The Chess Artist: Genius, Obsession, and the World's Oldest Game by J.C. Hallman which details his meeting a Chess Master while working at a casino in Atlantic City and the adventures that ensued.
You learn so many tips and tricks that are truly invaluable, and not to mention fantastically interesting, spending your study time this way is really crucial to improving your game.
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Final Bit: Local Support
I only have one person with which I play regular games, and while it is nice to play with someone who can call your usual bullshit, and offer semi-calculated responses to the lines you are most comfortable with, getting into the local scene is at the very least an interesting endeavor. In the course of the last year, my regular game, and myself have opted to attend the Casual Night at the Minnesota Chess Castle a number of times. I think it goes without saying that Chess attracts a certain type of mind/person. What I have learned about those people is that though they may be lacking in social niceties, they are one of the most supportive and interested people you could find in the world.
The vast majority of these people being relatively, if not exceedingly, introverted individuals with immense passion for something that cannot be articulated in 99% of social situations use nights like these as the most satisfying bit of venting. In what other context can you bring your games from online to the board, and talk with skilled players about what happened to you? How many of your family members can laugh at an insanely bad move, or appreciate the elegance of a move sequence you saw before your opponent knew he was moving into a mating net? I have become a fan of showcasing Plaskett's Puzzle, as a means to translating my love of Chess to English for the broader population, only because I think that most people who know how to play Chess would appreciate how weird this situation actually is.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/oNARXYL.png)
When played precisely, white wins this. Here is the link for those who are interested in this insanity
Having this sort of outlet, even as someone with a comparatively marginal interest in the game, has been an absolute god send. It is the absolute opportunity to let my ideas go, and talk shop about what I've been thinking about for the last week. While I do this infrequently, it is really a welcome repas from attempting to explain my spending my lunch break on Chess Tempo.
If it wasn't obvious now, I am hooked. 2000 or bust. This game is so beautiful, and it isn't on me to explain that. 64 squares, 10^43 possible positions and there is even an asterisk to that number, and every one of them is gorgeous in its own way. I am so satisfied with the path I've started on with this game, that I cannot imagine abandoning it now. I see Chess boards in my dreams, I see them at work when I've a spare moment, take a moment to appreciate the beauty of a seemingly simple playing field and fall in love with one of the world's most ancient games.
