In this week's Webinar I spoke about my training schedule before Nova Gorica, which went quite well. I also made some notes about things I want to do to improve still further, something that has been a long standing habit for me. Taking notes during tournaments tends to keep things realistic, back home in the armchair we can have all kinds of fancy and misguided ideas, particularly with regard to the openings we want to play.
What were my conclusions? One of the main ones was that conserving energy seems like a good idea, I tried to sleep more and prepare much less and I managed to concentrate quite well throughout the event. Daily tactical and endgame puzzles also seemed to work well, my calculation was sharper that it's been in years. What is on my 'to do' list? Basically to know any opennings I play well enough that I don't have to prepare too much.
What should be in your tournament notes? Essentially this is a reflective exercise which is meant to capture your thoughts and feelings when going into games. What are you worried about? Have you noticed any weak points to your game? What would you like to be able to do better? There was a time when I had a special notebook for my reflections, these days I keep the notes online. The don't need to be extensive, quality and relevance is much more important than quantity.
Training Tournaments
There have been some changes since I handed over the organization of these. Here are the ones that are currently scheduled:
Sunday February 8th, 5pm UK Queen's Gambit Declined
Sunday February 8th, 6.15pm UK Time: French Defence
Video Discounts
This week's discount is 40% off The Why and How of Chess Annotations using the code 'feb6to14'. Annotating games can be a powerful improvement method if done in the right way. With this video you will learn how to use a reflective process to improve how you play, going beyond computer annotations.
Last week's discount was 40% off Mastering Key Pawn Structures: ZOOM Formations using the code 'jan30feb7', and this is still available until close of play tomorrow. This video series will consider ZOOM formations, which typically arise from the Gruenfeld Defence and Catalan Opening, and which were covered by Stefan Zeuthen and Bent Larsen in the classic book 'ZOOM 001: Zero Hour for Operative Opening Models'.
Upcoming Events
I've now signed up for a 4NCL Congress over Easter, and will be playing for the England 50+ first team in the World Senior Team Championships in April. I might look for another weekend event in February or March.
April 3 - 6: 4NCL Easter Congress, Daventry
I try to make most of the 4NCL Congresses because I like them so much. This one is 7 rounds, and played over Easter weekend.
April 18 - 29: World Senior Team Championships, Durres, Albania
I've had confirmation that I'll be in the 50+ first team for this one.
Have a good weekend.
Nigel
