Category Archives: EXERCISE

MY NEW TRAINING REGIME

Over the last few weeks I decided upon a new training regime to improve my chess. It's been a long time since I did anything that was organized and had to put some thought into it. It would need to have a relatively small footprint with regards to time, have a degree of flexibility and also have more general benefits.

Since my return to chess, a few years ago, I came to understand that my main issue has been a lack of willingness to concentrate and calculate. This probably has something to do with me being in my 60s and there's not much to do about that. On the other hand I figure I can try to make the most of what I've got.

The first essential item had to be calculation training, and getting used to calculating on a daily basis. In my teenage years I did the Alexander Kotov analysis exercise whereby you set up a key position and write down what you see. This may be the ideal approach and I created the Tiger Chess Analysis Course for this purpose; unfortunately I know the positions and would struggle to find time, a chess set and a suitable table and chair. Given these limitations I've decided to take a short cut and purchased a couple of apps on my phone; CT-Art 4.0 and Total Chess Endgames. I'm trying to do at least 30 minutes a day on these apps, which should get me more used to calculating again.

A willingness to sit down and concentrate is more of a non chess matter that relates to overall fitness. I've long felt that the standard Western approach to being fit is too one dimensional because it fails to engage the mind and the breath. After reading Wim Hof's Becoming the Iceman and experimenting with his approach, I realized that I have underestimated the importance of fresh air and deep breathing, so after 30 minutes on the exercise bike (or fast walking if a bike is unavailable) I'm using his recommendation of cold showers combined with deep breathing. This in turn has led me to incorporate better breathing into my qigong practice and I have to say that it's making quite a difference.

I've been doing a couple of other things too, mainly playing some online games with particular openings and doing a bit of research into them. I would say this is a minor part of my overall regime and rightly so, opening preparation has its limits because sooner or later you are on your own.

Overall it looks like this, with 60 minutes of chess and 90 minutes of mind/body exercise:

  1. Calculation training (30 minutes per day).
  2. Qigong with enhanced breathing (60 minutes per day).
  3. Exercise bike/fast walking (30 minutes per day) and cold shower (5 minutes).
  4. Training games and opening study (30 minutes per day).

Wish me luck, I think it should help but the proof of any pudding is when you eat it!

Training Tournaments

The training tournaments this week are in two lines of the French, the Fort Knox and the Rubinstein.

Sunday January 5th at 5pm UK Time: The Fort Knox French with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc4 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bd7

Sunday January 5th at 6.15pm UK Time: The French Rubinstein with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc4 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7

My Upcoming Events

Here's my schedule over the coming months, though it is subject to change. I often don't know until fairly late in the day:

January 17-19: Huddersfield 4NCL Congress
I really enjoy the 4NCL Congresses as they're played under excellent conditions in nice hotels. This is the first one in Huddersfield, you can find details here.

January 27th: Stockport Rapidplay
I've played in this event with some regularity, so probably I'll go for it again. You can find details here.

February 16-27, 2025: World Senior Team Championship
I've accepted a place in the 50+ second team which means I'll play a much stronger field than on bottom board of the first team. Although this diminishes my chances of winning a medal I'm looking forward to the challenge.

July/August 2025: British Championships
Will these be held in Liverpool next year or maybe Torquay? I've heard rumours about both venues, if they're held in Liverpool I'd probably go for the 50+ event.

I am still hoping to play in the European Senior Team Championships (Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board. The details have now been confirmed and I understand that selections are to be made shortly.

Regretfully I've recently had to pass on two events in Slovenia and Serbia:

January 24-31, 2025: HIT Open in Nova Gorica: Details can be found here.

February 5-10, 2025: Senta, Hotel Fantastico: Details can be found here.

Twitch Channel

I'm setting up a new Twitch channel to answer viewers' questions and post recordings in the Tiger Chess members areas. Please follow it if you'd like to get updates etc, I'm looking at running the first one on Monday January 6th at 8pm UK time.

Have a good weekend!

Nigel

HOW TABLE TENNIS HELPS YOUR CHESS

Playing table tennis can help your chess. It's not just a question of getting some exercise and thus facilitating the flow of blood to your brain. There are habits and attitudes that are very useful for chess players and having a second activity can help console you if the first one goes badly. As Mark Taimanov said after he was battered 6-0 by Bobby Fischer: "I still have my music."

My son Sam has been playing table tennis for around 18 months and it has helped him a lot in many ways. We started by having a knock about on a table at a shopping mall and then progressed on to having some games in a bar with a table tennis table in it. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) he was asked his age after a few visits and it turned out that he was not allowed in there. So we needed to come up with an alternative and found that we could hire a table at a local leisure centre.

Never one to do things by halves I suggested we find a coach and started taking lessons. After a couple of months of lessons, and dedicated practice of everything we were taught, Sam was good enough to play at a club. This is now a regular Monday night activity, he's playing in a League team some other evenings and we are doing tournaments! From a parenting point of view this is a bit like going to chess tournaments, though your offspring needs a bat instead of a pen and the parents do not usually get a quiet place to sit. After being pelted with table tennis balls on a few occasions I now retire to the car. Sam is pictured below playing at his club:

Sam Davies (left) on a club night

So how does table tennis help your chess? First of all there are no draws, so you get used to playing a game with just two outcomes, a win or a loss. The practice ethic is similar to chess but when people see its importance in a second activity it becomes a universal rule of excellence. The psychological aspects are also similar, but in table tennis you have to play the ball when it comes to you, there is no time to delay or think about it. This in turn makes the possibility to think into something that is valued. I could go on but the most important point is this; Sam's chess has been transformed of late so that he is now far more pugnacious and more willing to take calculated risks.

Of course it does not need to be table tennis or even any kind of sport, there are other activities which have great value. Since taking up tai chi over a decade ago I have found it to be a wonderful way to get away from the stress of competition and I would not want to be without it. Though I should mention that to go deep into any activity needs time, and this in turn means that you should not try to do too many of them. I know of many children who are encouraged to try a vast range of activities, never practice any of them (there simply is not time) and do not progress at any of them. I would say that two or three is enough for most people, and perhaps just one if time is very limited.

Nigel Davies