Saturday, November 11, 2006

Themes

Another theme that will be emphasized again and again is prioritization of study material that has the highest probability of being useful in OTB play. This means going through a database of class players' games to discover recurring patterns -- mistakes, opening moves, blunders, etc. We exploit these patterns by maneuvering the position on the board to the most uncomfortable or unfamiliar for our opponents while making sure we can deal with such positions ourselves.

We also analyze our own games to figure out what we should learn. For example, if I always play the sharpest lines of the Pirc or Dutch defenses that result in violent tactical melees ending with checkmates, it may mean that I should spend less time studying endings and more time studying middlegame tactics specific to the Pirc or Dutch setups I usually play. Obviously, a baseline level of chess ending technique must be achieved; we cannot simply abandon phases of a game just because it's unlikely to occur.

It's all about efficiency. We zoom in on the weakest aspects of our game, be it physical, mental, spatial, dynamic, psychological or managerial, improve it and move on. Since my studying time is limited and my goal is lofty, I have to always make sure I am getting the best bang for the buck.

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