I want to improve, but I'm busy !!!

@Hurluberlu2 said in #40:
> Hm, it seems as if my brain has had "a week off". Now I am improving again. :)
> Both in Blitz and in long OTB chess. I could achieve a draw in a team match against a clearly stronger opponent
> (and we won 7:1), and I could secure a draw in the last round of our club championships (which I could win - I just
> needed this last draw, but it was not easy).
>
> I've returned to my old habit of playing c5 (Sicilian) against e4.
> And I have included the e3 variation of Queens Indian in my white repertoire.

I am also a Sicilian player.

I know taking time off can sometimes be important pre-breakthrough. A lot of people improve after stepping away for a bit. There are several famous players who advocating time off.

Yes, I agree absolutely. Maybe I was playing too much in the first phase, and after a break I played much better.
Also longer games (instead of Blitz) helped too. :)

Bro's Article is OVER POWERED

@Devilpig said in #43:
> Bro's Article is OVER POWERED

I hope that is good. If you mean what I think you mean, the next article will be, too. I am working on it now.

I appreciate you.

My problem isn't that I don't spend enough time on chess, but that I don't spend enough time on the right part of chess that makes me improve. I can spend hours playing bullet when I really should spend hours studying endgames, themes and play longer time control.

@FireWorks said in #45:
> My problem isn't that I don't spend enough time on chess, but that I don't spend enough time on the right part of chess that makes me improve. I can spend hours playing bullet when I really should spend hours studying endgames, themes and play longer time control.


Make learning fun, try to make it more enthusiastic. Like place a bets with friends on the highest puzzle streak or highest game streak. If you make learning fun and easy. I think @RyanVelez should write an article on this topic.

@FireWorks said in #45:
> My problem isn't that I don't spend enough time on chess, but that I don't spend enough time on the right part of chess that makes me improve. I can spend hours playing bullet when I really should spend hours studying endgames, themes and play longer time control.

I am going to add your idea to my list: "How to study the right thing in chess" or something like that. I think a lot of people struggle with this, and I believe I can help people figure it out. I never had a personal coach, so I had to figure out my own trends and issues. I can show people what I did.

@Devilpig said in #46:
> Make learning fun, try to make it more enthusiastic. Like place a bets with friends on the highest puzzle streak or highest game streak. If you make learning fun and easy. I think @RyanVelez should write an article on this topic.

HA! I said I would write an article on that topic just before I saw you requested it. Yes, I agree -- it is a good topic. I am adding it to my list in the "High Interest" category. I have just completed my next article, so it won't be until after that one.

there are ways to blend study and play to make study fun: correspondence games (even discussing with opponent about the game might show complementary experience across, things not seen after a move done, and explaining own thinking.

take rating pairing in some band near yours, or get to play more than one game with same individual, to find the actual struggle or difficulty. It can also be without discussion. But then one might realize that rating is not all there is, that same rating might have different skill gaps.. Anyway, I find that correspondance by not having within day time control, is actually all time controls.

Signed: the annoying correspondance player.