Hey, all! Long time, no post.
For those who don't remember me, I was a long time member of this forum pretty much from right after it first started, and I used to be a moderator here. I think I was the one who originated these "chess goal" threads, though I got the idea from Crash talking about how he got so good, partially by telling everyone his plans so they'd check with him and hold him accountable to follow them.
About a year and a half ago, I decided to take a break from chess. I got into a slump where I wasn't playing as well, and I got kinda burned out, possibly from playing too much on a regular basis. Not sure if the slump caused the burnout or vice versa, but they definitely fed on each other, until I decided I should just take a break and find another hobby that wasn't frustrating me so much.
In the mean time, I lost my job, moved halfway across the country, and started a new job in Chicago (I used to be in southern Florida). Now I have extra free time to read every day while sitting on a train for my daily commute, so I've recently started doing some chess tactics puzzles in that time. I'm starting slow with some easy puzzles to ease back into the game.
I also logged on to FICS for a few blitz games the other day and reminded myself why I hate blitz. I lost games I should have won because of the time trouble a couple of times. I haven't played any slow games yet.
Looking at my ratings, my USCF rating peaked at 1777, but it's now 1639 because of that slump before I left. Given how rusty I am, I doubt if I'm even as good as my current rating right now. I barely remember what openings I used to play, and I don't remember how to play most of them properly. And I'm sure I'm not as good at tactics and endgames as I used to be.
There seem to be a lot of chess clubs doing stuff in the Chicago area, and the Chicago Open coming up in May, so there are plenty of opportunities for me to dive back in. I do have other stuff going on, though, so I probably won't dive in and play as much as I used to.
Right now, I'd say my goals are just to play a few games on FICS or at a casual (non-tournament) club, do some tactics puzzles to get my brain thinking tactically again, and maybe do a review of my opening repertoire to remember what it was and refresh my memory of the key details. After the openings, I'll probably pull out Silman's Complete Endgame Course. Once I feel like I'm playing reasonable chess again, then I'll look for a tournament or two to enter to start playing competitively in USCF tournies again. No rush, though - I'm thinking maybe a couple of months refresher course to get warmed up before I'll feel comfortable going to a real tournament.
--Fromper
For those who don't remember me, I was a long time member of this forum pretty much from right after it first started, and I used to be a moderator here. I think I was the one who originated these "chess goal" threads, though I got the idea from Crash talking about how he got so good, partially by telling everyone his plans so they'd check with him and hold him accountable to follow them.
About a year and a half ago, I decided to take a break from chess. I got into a slump where I wasn't playing as well, and I got kinda burned out, possibly from playing too much on a regular basis. Not sure if the slump caused the burnout or vice versa, but they definitely fed on each other, until I decided I should just take a break and find another hobby that wasn't frustrating me so much.
In the mean time, I lost my job, moved halfway across the country, and started a new job in Chicago (I used to be in southern Florida). Now I have extra free time to read every day while sitting on a train for my daily commute, so I've recently started doing some chess tactics puzzles in that time. I'm starting slow with some easy puzzles to ease back into the game.
I also logged on to FICS for a few blitz games the other day and reminded myself why I hate blitz. I lost games I should have won because of the time trouble a couple of times. I haven't played any slow games yet.
Looking at my ratings, my USCF rating peaked at 1777, but it's now 1639 because of that slump before I left. Given how rusty I am, I doubt if I'm even as good as my current rating right now. I barely remember what openings I used to play, and I don't remember how to play most of them properly. And I'm sure I'm not as good at tactics and endgames as I used to be.
There seem to be a lot of chess clubs doing stuff in the Chicago area, and the Chicago Open coming up in May, so there are plenty of opportunities for me to dive back in. I do have other stuff going on, though, so I probably won't dive in and play as much as I used to.
Right now, I'd say my goals are just to play a few games on FICS or at a casual (non-tournament) club, do some tactics puzzles to get my brain thinking tactically again, and maybe do a review of my opening repertoire to remember what it was and refresh my memory of the key details. After the openings, I'll probably pull out Silman's Complete Endgame Course. Once I feel like I'm playing reasonable chess again, then I'll look for a tournament or two to enter to start playing competitively in USCF tournies again. No rush, though - I'm thinking maybe a couple of months refresher course to get warmed up before I'll feel comfortable going to a real tournament.
--Fromper
Fromper's 2013 Chess Goals thread :)
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