One problem I have had for the past few weeks has been the ability to sit down with a book, a game score or anything in the evenings. I think I have burned out alittle after the stress of submission and the constant drilling of puzzles at work.


Of all the things that have been said about doing circles or repitions of puzzles I cannot think of anyone who said they are easy to do. I've managed to complete 6 circuits of Chess tactics for kids and have now got to the 99% correct level, which has made me deceide that two cycles with 99% accuracy constitute an end point for these puzzles.

As well as these I have been working through Alburts - Chess Training pocket book, which I am on the third cycle of, which I have found thought provocking to say the least. So far I have improved across the three cycles by about 20% each time upto 80%, again if I reach 99% across two cycles I move on. The most interestng choice for the next book to replace this is GM ram, something I have read alot about from the many fans of this book.

One thing advocated in the book and by other coaches is to memorise master games. I have taken the games from GM ram and started to memorise them, not easy but strangely not impossible either. I think this is an example of overlearning in action, repitition of the same game everyday leading to the knowledge being stored in the long term memory. The first effects of this are starting to show in my play though I can't say that Anderssen's beautiful attacks are yet present (unfortunately). A corrollary effect has been an increase in my ability to absorb new positions from other games I have played or analyse.

I have made attempts to start looking at other areas of chess but these so far have been half hearted, again linked to all of the other things I have been dealing with for the past six months.