Hopes and fears
Far easier to discuss is my hopes and fears, the n0n - subjective nature of these make them simpler to explain rather than the more nebulous notions of improvement and training. While I have formed some opinions about what is and what hasn't worked I plan to discuss them in bite size pieces then as a whole.
My hopes are easy to outline, to continue to enjoy learning about chess and to keep enjoy the excitement of winning (or drawing on some occasions). These two things are the keystones to my chess improvement journey, they provide motivation and the perseverance to carry on. Without one or the other it would be pointless for me to try since without the interest to learn new things then stagnation sets in or without the simple aim to win every game would you improve?
The competitive side often comes out more when I lose, I hate to see others lording over the vanquished after the game, it often hits hard and hurts alot. Usually this involves sleep loss and a continual analysis of the game in my mind to find the errors before setting Rybka on the case. Looking up the opening and comparing my version of it (and the game) to chesslive.de often helps to clarify the errors. It has become easier to annotate my games as time goes on, something that has come from annotating the games from GM ram and from a deeper understanding of the positional side of chess.
Fears are more dark and guttural in most cases, the nagging doubt that you can ever be a good chess player or the feeling that you will never reach your hoped level of play. That's why I posted the Alex Dunne video, the message I took from it is that he decided to improve after 20 years of being an expert level player and did so through some work and effort. These kernels of hope should be kept close to you through the dark and the light moments to light the path we hope to take otherwise it would be easy to become dispirited.
Social fears are also hard to overcome as chess is very class conscious in the main. I moved club to find a more positive environment and I would say that I have reached the sort of club I had hoped for, welcoming and large enough to have a wide range of people and personalities. It can be hard to be in the bottom third of the rating list but it can also be a spur to greater effort and improvement. A little positive encouragement goes along way in any area of life.
My hopes are easy to outline, to continue to enjoy learning about chess and to keep enjoy the excitement of winning (or drawing on some occasions). These two things are the keystones to my chess improvement journey, they provide motivation and the perseverance to carry on. Without one or the other it would be pointless for me to try since without the interest to learn new things then stagnation sets in or without the simple aim to win every game would you improve?
The competitive side often comes out more when I lose, I hate to see others lording over the vanquished after the game, it often hits hard and hurts alot. Usually this involves sleep loss and a continual analysis of the game in my mind to find the errors before setting Rybka on the case. Looking up the opening and comparing my version of it (and the game) to chesslive.de often helps to clarify the errors. It has become easier to annotate my games as time goes on, something that has come from annotating the games from GM ram and from a deeper understanding of the positional side of chess.
Fears are more dark and guttural in most cases, the nagging doubt that you can ever be a good chess player or the feeling that you will never reach your hoped level of play. That's why I posted the Alex Dunne video, the message I took from it is that he decided to improve after 20 years of being an expert level player and did so through some work and effort. These kernels of hope should be kept close to you through the dark and the light moments to light the path we hope to take otherwise it would be easy to become dispirited.
Social fears are also hard to overcome as chess is very class conscious in the main. I moved club to find a more positive environment and I would say that I have reached the sort of club I had hoped for, welcoming and large enough to have a wide range of people and personalities. It can be hard to be in the bottom third of the rating list but it can also be a spur to greater effort and improvement. A little positive encouragement goes along way in any area of life.