The Plan
Here is the plan I am going to follow, I modified several from various sources to suit where I think the weaknesses in my game are at present and to make sure I cover very basic things too.
Here goes then:
Phase 1, 1 month:
Study the Complete Idiots guide to chess
1 hour of tactics per day
1/2 hour of a game collection a day
Phase 2, 6 months:
Follow the Rapid chess improvement plan
1 Hour of Logical Chess Move by Move by Chernev
Re - read Everyone's Second chess book again
Phase 3, 6 months:
Study Modern Chess Strategy by Pachman (Might substitute this for Winning chess strategy)
1 hour of Winning Chess Tactics or Play Chess combinations and sacrifices
Study Pandolfini's Endgame Course
Study Best Lessons of a chess coach
Phase 4, 6 Months:
Study the Amatuers Mind
1 Hour of Tactics a day
Study The improvers It's your move
Study the Chess Tactics and Chess strategy for the tournament player
Phase 5, 6 months:
Study The art of attack
1 hour of Tactics a day (Chess Training Puzzle Book or Nunn's Puzzle Book)
Study The art of defence
Study Pawn power in chess
Go through My 60 memorable games - Fischer
I guess at this point I should be getting very close to 1800, writing it down again makes it look very daunting but having spent 4 years beating my head against a brick wall studying and doing organic chemistry this looks fun in a strange sort of way.
If you are want to compare the complexity of chess with Chemistry, I suggest having a browse through March's Advanced Organic chemistry.
Of the many comments I have read over the last few months the one that sticks with me the most is from Chessville.com by Atkins and Kreider;
"With chess, most of us skip around. For exampe, we start studying a particular part of the game and then jump to something else. Or we read the first three chapters of a book, and then start another book. We also study material thats far too advanced for us at the time."
I think that sums up the last two or three years for me, I've tried to read one of Dvoretsky's books on no less than three occaisions. Then I've read several other books and never finished any of them. Now I hope to apply some discipline to study chess the way I have chemistry.
Here goes then:
Phase 1, 1 month:
Study the Complete Idiots guide to chess
1 hour of tactics per day
1/2 hour of a game collection a day
Phase 2, 6 months:
Follow the Rapid chess improvement plan
1 Hour of Logical Chess Move by Move by Chernev
Re - read Everyone's Second chess book again
Phase 3, 6 months:
Study Modern Chess Strategy by Pachman (Might substitute this for Winning chess strategy)
1 hour of Winning Chess Tactics or Play Chess combinations and sacrifices
Study Pandolfini's Endgame Course
Study Best Lessons of a chess coach
Phase 4, 6 Months:
Study the Amatuers Mind
1 Hour of Tactics a day
Study The improvers It's your move
Study the Chess Tactics and Chess strategy for the tournament player
Phase 5, 6 months:
Study The art of attack
1 hour of Tactics a day (Chess Training Puzzle Book or Nunn's Puzzle Book)
Study The art of defence
Study Pawn power in chess
Go through My 60 memorable games - Fischer
I guess at this point I should be getting very close to 1800, writing it down again makes it look very daunting but having spent 4 years beating my head against a brick wall studying and doing organic chemistry this looks fun in a strange sort of way.
If you are want to compare the complexity of chess with Chemistry, I suggest having a browse through March's Advanced Organic chemistry.
Of the many comments I have read over the last few months the one that sticks with me the most is from Chessville.com by Atkins and Kreider;
"With chess, most of us skip around. For exampe, we start studying a particular part of the game and then jump to something else. Or we read the first three chapters of a book, and then start another book. We also study material thats far too advanced for us at the time."
I think that sums up the last two or three years for me, I've tried to read one of Dvoretsky's books on no less than three occaisions. Then I've read several other books and never finished any of them. Now I hope to apply some discipline to study chess the way I have chemistry.
posted by Dr Munky at 8:56 am
9 Comments:
At least you are off the streets for a few years:)
Good luck... if you veer off course... remember that its not how many times you fall off your horse... rather that you get back on.
Sounds ambitious, but you definitely cover a lot of ground. I wrote a blogpost about the books that helped me the most.
That's beyond ambitious :-).
About your game in the last post- very well played. I would hate to be in Black's situation at move 12 on! Yet another example of how tactics usually decide games at the amateur level.
Yes the program is very ambitious, and I suppose the question is really if it is possible to cover so much ground in the time I have allotted.
The point for me is to increase the pressure otherwise I could quite happily spend the next ten years reading this material. I have a fair idea though that I can do it, the thesis I am writing has >500 references in it and I've read >1500 papers in four years. If I can apply that discipline to chess then who knows, we'll just have to wait and see.
You plan on doing this while working on writing and defending a PhD thesis? Hee haaa haa haawww.
:) Seriously, good luck. Looks like a good, if not sane, plan.
What program do you plan on using for your Circles?
"You plan on doing this while working on writing and defending a PhD thesis? Hee haaa haa haawww."
Actually the thesis is written and the viva I can do while asleep; chemistry is one thing I am very good at...
The circles will be in phase two and continuing in another form for the full two years. Like I have said before, the only thing stopping such an intensive plan is myself and my drive to do it. I want to see if I really want to meet my target or spend the next two years to reach phase 3, adding some pressure will do for my chess what taking on a dodgy house and a PhD has done for my life outlook.
Will you use CT-Art for the circles?
Thats something I'm still thinking about, I have CT-art but I've seen that alot of the Knights have used TASC chess tutor. I might have a look at the demo and then deceide
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