13 December 2009

Names in Lights

Sometimes a little notoriety warms the heart! See "Stripes Tops Xmas Chaos".

James Stripes won the Xmas Chaos g/60 tourney held December 3 & 10 with a perfect 4.0 score. and Ryan Ackerman was second with a 3.0 score. Loyd Willaford (2.5) topped the U/1600 section. A link to the USCF cross-table will be posted on our Recent Results page (link at left) when the event is rated. There were 15 players at club on the 10th.
www.spokanechess.org


The event pushed me to new peak ratings: 1857 standard, 1773 quick. See the crosstable.

Since I posted "Class A" marking my success in reaching a goal I had announced in this blog, I've maintained my A class rating through six events. After my fifteen minutes of fame in 2008, I pushed past the 1750 milestone. That felt good. Now, seventeen months later, I'm one hundred points higher. One hundred points gain is normal improvement for youth players, but takes some effort after gray hairs begin to appear.

It's time to get serious about some new goals, such as crossing into expert class before old age dementia sets in.

3 comments:

  1. I've cited you as an example/inspiration for those "Adult Chess Improvement Seekers" (The ACIS) recently, and now, more than ever!

    Congratulations, perhaps we can look forward to a book?

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  2. "... before old age dementia sets in."

    What do you mean sets in? It's already there but you are lucky, it just let you forget your bad chess habits. :-)

    Like Wahrheit sais, time for a book ala De La Maza but less timeconsuming method please. ;-)

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  3. I have one advantage that also was critical to M. de la Maza's success: underemployment. My career in higher education is limping along as part-time work and I fill in the gaps teaching and studying chess. It is hard to contemplate recommending this course for improving one's chess.


    It might be possible to forget my bad habits if I spent less time reinforcing them through blitz. My last effort to cure this addiction lasted almost five months.

    ReplyDelete