Why I Was Stuck At 1800 For Two Years - Part 1

Introduction

Many of you have been asking me to share this story...

Let's dive right in!

The Context

I had broken 1800 on the national ratings (ACF) and was one game off, getting my first published FIDE rating of 2000+ (it ended up being 2031).

I was about to play my first international tournament - the World Youth Championship - and I was both excited and a bit nervous :)

My mother invested in a week's private training camp with an overseas IM and GM to help me prepare for this tournament.

The Results

It was a great idea in theory, but here's what happened:

- I kept facing Grandmaster opening preparation from my opponents because my games were published online, and my opponents' games weren't;
- My confidence (which was pretty high going into the tournament) was utterly smashed;
- I left the training camp way more confused than enlightened;

After that experience, I decided I wouldn't play another World Youth Championship again. It cost my mother $10K and probably slowed my chess development by at least a year. (On the bright side, I did get to say 'hello' to Ivanchuk).

Lessons To Take From This

Now, I realise that most of you are adult chess improvers, not juniors...

However, I believe there's a lot of lessons to take away from my experiences:

1. Don't bring a knife to a gunfight - set things up so you have a real chance to succeed (e.g. by practising the new openings, you want to play many unpublished games before playing them in the big tournament).

2. Too many cooks spoil the broth - it's generally more effective to work with one great coach (who understands your chess problems and can show you how to fix them) than to work with several people who are likely to have very different ideas about chess and training (which will be more confusing than helpful).

3. Invest in yourself intelligently - Throwing money at something will only automatically solve some of your problems. You can define your issues precisely and then fully commit to one solution rather than dabbling with many approaches.

Teaser For Part 2

This is a rather long story, so I've broken it into many parts.

Part 2 will feature:

- Dealing with mental illness in the family;
- My first Australian Open and Under 18 Championship;
- The monkey I couldn't get off my back;
- and much more!

Could you comment below on what part of this story made your biggest impression?

This photo is from the rest day in Crete, Greece, where the 2004 World Youth Championship occurred. It wasn't a linear journey, but my passion for chess might be even more profound now than it was back then.

By the way, you can join my free FB Group 'Adult Chess Improvers' here.