Chess

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May 31, 2011

On the Board again

So I finally made it to the Blackstone Chess Center last Thursday. I've been trying to get there for a number of months and something always came up. But this past Thursday I made it.

It was smaller than I imagined. I guess you can't take a sample of 1 (night) and extrapolate very well, but it seems like there are less players on the weeknight than there were at MetroWest Chess Club. But then again, the commute to MWC is a bear and not really feasible.

I lucked out and was able to play due to an odd number of players in the tournament. Well, I'm not sure anyone else would have called it 'luck'... I played someone twice my rating. Of course, I lost. But I really gave him a good run for it - until I made a goofball mistake. Hopefully if I keep playing and learning, I'll make fewer of them.

One of the things I noticed is that I got sort of lost at the endgame. I felt that if I knew endgames better, I could have done much more with that game. However, I don't really think I'm ready to move on from studying openings yet. I know that with a good opening you can set yourself up for a better position in the middle and endgames. So I know that the more I put into openings, the easier it will be later.

I need to start learning the 'classic' openings. I waste a bit too much time thinking through positions that have been played and analyzed to death. I need to know that if my opponent moves a certain piece in response, he/she is trying to use the "x" opening versus my "y" opening and how that normally plays out and what the "book" response should be to it. The beginning of the game should be much more swift than I play it. The "meat" of the game should be the middlegame (if one exists) or the endgame. The opening should be rote - but that only comes from memorization and recognition of patterns. Practice - practice - practice.

Posted by BlueWolf on May 31, 2011 07:36 PM