I realized two things that will make it easier to achieve My goals:
1. Starting Early
and
2. Keep it Simple
My Chess goals will be to read three chess books carefully and to play 50+ slow games before 2012.
I could use the extra time to decide on the books to read.
Posts
50 slow games means roughly one per week with some room for holidays, right? Good idea.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the three books you want to read - you have already read a lot. Is there something you have in mind? You could pick a chess master from the past and buy an annotated collection. This will keep you busy and improve your understanding of the middlegame and endgame.
50 slow games will ba a challenge. No doubt! A collection of Mastergames is clearly on my short list.
ReplyDeleteAlekhines "New York 1924" is a top candidate. So is Stean's "Simple Chess" and maybe Howell's endgame book (the title slipped my mind or is it) "Essential Chess Endings"
Somehow I think that we adults easily fall into the trap that accumulating knowledge is the key to make progress. Read book x, 100 ELO, book y, another 100 ELO.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this is the right way. You need just one, maybe two, books about strategy and study them thoroughly. I find it already difficult to follow the points on my secret 2 page short list. :-)
Agreed! Chess Books is not the secret sauce. But they are fun to buy. I am the publishers best friend.
ReplyDeleteTactics, Playing and Annotating your own games are probably more reliable routes to knowledge AND skills.