tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57726894266049739.post8377848925817311779..comments2024-03-28T11:37:38.689-07:00Comments on Chess Skills: Good Blitz, Bad BlitzJames Stripeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13437334325501974461noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57726894266049739.post-82067719559422768292016-11-16T07:36:31.573-08:002016-11-16T07:36:31.573-08:00Thanks for the suggestions Todd. Most of the time ...Thanks for the suggestions Todd. Most of the time I analyze my games without a computer and then check my analysis. This process was used in both of these games. Most of the variations posted were found without computer assistance.<br /><br />If you look back a couple of years on this blog, you can find <a href="http://chessskill.blogspot.com/2014/11/mcdonnell-de-la-bourdonnais-1834-index.html" rel="nofollow">"McDonnell -- De La Bourdonnais 1834: Index"</a>, where I analyzed 25 games and posted wholly without engine checking. You are correct that I should do this with my own games.<br /><br />An hour per day of tactics for a month is a lot. I've done that, but it has been a few years. Lately, I've been doing tactics lessons on Chess Mentor on <i>Chess.com</i> several days per week and timed tactics on the same site about once per week. My OTB performance has been good the past month: first in a quick event (4th seed), second in a quick event (top seed) that was won by an underrated former student, and two wins with one game to go in Turkey Quads (I'm top rated in my quad).<br /><br />Online blitz is another matter. My rating swings between 1950 and 1760 almost daily and I'm playing far too much.James Stripeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13437334325501974461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57726894266049739.post-6002956189607581852016-11-15T11:37:30.131-08:002016-11-15T11:37:30.131-08:00I have a couple of suggestions to help prevent slo...I have a couple of suggestions to help prevent sloppy errors:<br /><br />1) Do tactics every day. These should be done untimed, with a focus on seeing all variations before you make your first move. If you can manage an hour a day for a full month, you will notice an increase in sharpness.<br /><br />2) Use the computer less. Analysis after a game is a really important learning tool, and although the computer is great at helping us find the truth, it can make us REALLY passive. The next time you post one of your games, analyze it without the computer, and post it without engine checking. I think this could be particularly useful because there's an external motivator (fear of posting errors) that will encourage you to be thorough and analyze hard.<br /><br />I am particularly guilty of computer-induced laziness myself.Todd Bryanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678958123728884949noreply@blogger.com