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Road to NM: Week 1 — Fixing My Opening Repertoire

@tpr said ^

"do you have a better suggestion as to what to play to improve?"

  • Play classical if you can. To become NM or CM you have to play classical over the board.
    That requires both deeper thought and longer sustained concentration.
    Analysis of your own lost games, or annotated grandmaster games is better too.
    Fischer did not play in 1969, but analyzed 'My Sixty Memorable Games'. He came back stronger t...

I do play classical currently when I can, and I agree that game analysis is extremely important and I find that a great way to help improve. The main form of rapid that I play is 15+10, so it's as close to classical as I can get, and also I try to play as much OTB as I possibly can because playing OTB is the best way to train for OTB. Looking at grandmaster games is something i've done, but not often, i'll try to do that more in the future.

@tpr said [^](/forum/redirect/post/F1UX5OIo) > "do you have a better suggestion as to what to play to improve?" > * Play classical if you can. To become NM or CM you have to play classical over the board. > That requires both deeper thought and longer sustained concentration. > Analysis of your own lost games, or annotated grandmaster games is better too. > Fischer did not play in 1969, but analyzed 'My Sixty Memorable Games'. He came back stronger t... I do play classical currently when I can, and I agree that game analysis is extremely important and I find that a great way to help improve. The main form of rapid that I play is 15+10, so it's as close to classical as I can get, and also I try to play as much OTB as I possibly can because playing OTB is the best way to train for OTB. Looking at grandmaster games is something i've done, but not often, i'll try to do that more in the future.

I speak from experience. When I exceeded 2200 FIDE, I played club and team competition over the board, I analyzed my own lost games and grandmaster games and studied endgames. Then I went to play 2 strong Swiss open tournaments abroad. As for openings, I played sidelines avoiding all mainlines. It is too hard to play a Najdorf mainline against a master or grandmaster.

I speak from experience. When I exceeded 2200 FIDE, I played club and team competition over the board, I analyzed my own lost games and grandmaster games and studied endgames. Then I went to play 2 strong Swiss open tournaments abroad. As for openings, I played sidelines avoiding all mainlines. It is too hard to play a Najdorf mainline against a master or grandmaster.

@tpr said ^

I speak from experience. When I exceeded 2200 FIDE, I played club and team competition over the board, I analyzed my own lost games and grandmaster games and studied endgames. Then I went to play 2 strong Swiss open tournaments abroad. As for openings, I played sidelines avoiding all mainlines. It is too hard to play a Najdorf mainline against a master or grandmaster.

You are a candidate master?

@tpr said [^](/forum/redirect/post/fHsv360m) > I speak from experience. When I exceeded 2200 FIDE, I played club and team competition over the board, I analyzed my own lost games and grandmaster games and studied endgames. Then I went to play 2 strong Swiss open tournaments abroad. As for openings, I played sidelines avoiding all mainlines. It is too hard to play a Najdorf mainline against a master or grandmaster. You are a candidate master?

"You are a candidate master?"

  • Not really: in my time CM did not yet exist. 2200 was the FIDE rating floor then.
"You are a candidate master?" * Not really: in my time CM did not yet exist. 2200 was the FIDE rating floor then.

@tpr said ^

"You are a candidate master?"

  • Not really: in my time CM did not yet exist. 2200 was the FIDE rating floor then.

Oh ok, still an impressive achievement.

@tpr said [^](/forum/redirect/post/5LbjtUdt) > "You are a candidate master?" > * Not really: in my time CM did not yet exist. 2200 was the FIDE rating floor then. Oh ok, still an impressive achievement.

"impressive"

  • Not really, I played two good Swiss open tournaments.
    Normally in a Swiss open tournament you alternate between winning from weaker players and losing from better players.
    If you can break that cycle and draw or win against a stronger player, then you get more 2200+ opponents.
    If you can maintain decent results, then you exceed 2200 FIDE.
    I attribute it to good physical condition, much analysis of games before, and avoiding main line opening theory.
    In the 1st tournament I stayed 30 min away from the tournament hall, so had a walk over hilly terrain twice per day.
    In the 2nd tournament I went to swim every morning.
"impressive" * Not really, I played two good Swiss open tournaments. Normally in a Swiss open tournament you alternate between winning from weaker players and losing from better players. If you can break that cycle and draw or win against a stronger player, then you get more 2200+ opponents. If you can maintain decent results, then you exceed 2200 FIDE. I attribute it to good physical condition, much analysis of games before, and avoiding main line opening theory. In the 1st tournament I stayed 30 min away from the tournament hall, so had a walk over hilly terrain twice per day. In the 2nd tournament I went to swim every morning.

Road to NM is going!! Have you ever thought of playing tournaments somewhere else to see a larger variety of players and a likely chance of gaining experience? I think this might help you gain more IRL elo points, and meet new people too

Road to NM is going!! Have you ever thought of playing tournaments somewhere else to see a larger variety of players and a likely chance of gaining experience? I think this might help you gain more IRL elo points, and meet new people too