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Confidence: It’s Not Just About Playing Well... It’s About Believing You Can

This is GOLDEN! However, do you think opening choice can change playstyle like I really want to play these positional long games but its not really going to go far if everyone plays the sicilian

This is GOLDEN! However, do you think opening choice can change playstyle like I really want to play these positional long games but its not really going to go far if everyone plays the sicilian

'I had a nightmarish start to my day. At 6 AM, a hotel staffer mistakenly came into my room, startling me and ensuring a good night's sleep was impossible.'

... the frick? so were they in you room long enough to know it was occupied and still there when you woke?? forget good night sleep you i wouldve worried about my life there...

edit - really pisses me off the more i think about it, the win against gm helps but i would still want compensation...

'I had a nightmarish start to my day. At 6 AM, a hotel staffer mistakenly came into my room, startling me and ensuring a good night's sleep was impossible.' ... the frick? so were they in you room long enough to know it was occupied and still there when you woke?? forget good night sleep you i wouldve worried about my life there... edit - really pisses me off the more i think about it, the win against gm helps but i would still want compensation...

@kindkingsam said in #2:

This is GOLDEN! However, do you think opening choice can change playstyle like I really want to play these positional long games but its not really going to go far if everyone plays the sicilian

You can play the closed Sicilian

@kindkingsam said in #2: > This is GOLDEN! However, do you think opening choice can change playstyle like I really want to play these positional long games but its not really going to go far if everyone plays the sicilian You can play the closed Sicilian

@g6firste6second said in #3:

'I had a nightmarish start to my day. At 6 AM, a hotel staffer mistakenly came into my room, startling me and ensuring a good night's sleep was impossible.'

... the frick? so were they in you room long enough to know it was occupied and still there when you woke?? forget good night sleep you i wouldve worried about my life there...

edit - really pisses me off the more i think about it, the win against gm helps but i would still want compensation...

Yeah, this was pretty terrifying and I called the front desk as soon as he left. After the Kaufman game, I made myself take a nap to get caught up on sleep before the evening round. Realistically, I think the motivation of being 2 consecutive wins away from earning the NM title was the only thing that kept me sane here.

If it's a happier end to the story, I should mention that I did wind up being compensated for the incident.

@g6firste6second said in #3: > 'I had a nightmarish start to my day. At 6 AM, a hotel staffer mistakenly came into my room, startling me and ensuring a good night's sleep was impossible.' > > ... the frick? so were they in you room long enough to know it was occupied and still there when you woke?? forget good night sleep you i wouldve worried about my life there... > > edit - really pisses me off the more i think about it, the win against gm helps but i would still want compensation... Yeah, this was pretty terrifying and I called the front desk as soon as he left. After the Kaufman game, I made myself take a nap to get caught up on sleep before the evening round. Realistically, I think the motivation of being 2 consecutive wins away from earning the NM title was the only thing that kept me sane here. If it's a happier end to the story, I should mention that I did wind up being compensated for the incident.

@kindkingsam said in #2:

This is GOLDEN! However, do you think opening choice can change playstyle like I really want to play these positional long games but its not really going to go far if everyone plays the sicilian

I was planning on writing an article about opening selection at a later date, since I do think it's important. You may have noticed in the first game I shared, I played the English (1. c4), but afterwards, pivoted to the Trompowsky (1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5).

I think when you're optimizing your repertoire, the most important thing is to ask yourself, what's most important for you. For me, effectively coming "out of retirement" post-COVID, a lot of my English theoretical knowledge was outdated, and I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to consistently study openings, let alone chess at all. So when I decided to switch to 1. d4, I was making the decision to pivot because I valued time (it's relatively easy to play the Tromp), and I wanted to ensure that 75%+ of the time I did study was solely focused on calculation exercises.

Depending on where you are with your chess, what worked best for me might not work best for you. If your top priority is playing long positional games with 1.e4, you might want to look into the Rossolimo or the Closed Sicilian to get out of topical Sicilian lines.

@kindkingsam said in #2: > This is GOLDEN! However, do you think opening choice can change playstyle like I really want to play these positional long games but its not really going to go far if everyone plays the sicilian I was planning on writing an article about opening selection at a later date, since I do think it's important. You may have noticed in the first game I shared, I played the English (1. c4), but afterwards, pivoted to the Trompowsky (1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5). I think when you're optimizing your repertoire, the most important thing is to ask yourself, what's most important for you. For me, effectively coming "out of retirement" post-COVID, a lot of my English theoretical knowledge was outdated, and I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to consistently study openings, let alone chess at all. So when I decided to switch to 1. d4, I was making the decision to pivot because I valued time (it's relatively easy to play the Tromp), and I wanted to ensure that 75%+ of the time I did study was solely focused on calculation exercises. Depending on where you are with your chess, what worked best for me might not work best for you. If your top priority is playing long positional games with 1.e4, you might want to look into the Rossolimo or the Closed Sicilian to get out of topical Sicilian lines.

Yes tromp is very efficient, skips the ridiculous amount of lines in normal d4... And contrary to most opinions it does work against masters too@isaackaito said in #6:

I was planning on writing an article about opening selection at a later date, since I do think it's important. You may have noticed in the first game I shared, I played the English (1. c4), but afterwards, pivoted to the Trompowsky (1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5).

I think when you're optimizing your repertoire, the most important thing is to ask yourself, what's most important for you. For me, effectively coming "out of retirement" post-COVID, a lot of my English theoretical knowledge was outdated, and I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to consistently study openings, let alone chess at all. So when I decided to switch to 1. d4, I was making the decision to pivot because I valued time (it's relatively easy to play the Tromp), and I wanted to ensure that 75%+ of the time I did study was solely focused on calculation exercises.

Depending on where you are with your chess, what worked best for me might not work best for you. If your top priority is playing long positional games with 1.e4, you might want to look into the Rossolimo or the Closed Sicilian to get out of topical Sicilian lines.

Yes tromp is very efficient, skips the ridiculous amount of lines in normal d4... And contrary to most opinions it does work against masters too@isaackaito said in #6: > I was planning on writing an article about opening selection at a later date, since I do think it's important. You may have noticed in the first game I shared, I played the English (1. c4), but afterwards, pivoted to the Trompowsky (1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5). > > I think when you're optimizing your repertoire, the most important thing is to ask yourself, what's most important for you. For me, effectively coming "out of retirement" post-COVID, a lot of my English theoretical knowledge was outdated, and I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to consistently study openings, let alone chess at all. So when I decided to switch to 1. d4, I was making the decision to pivot because I valued time (it's relatively easy to play the Tromp), and I wanted to ensure that 75%+ of the time I did study was solely focused on calculation exercises. > > Depending on where you are with your chess, what worked best for me might not work best for you. If your top priority is playing long positional games with 1.e4, you might want to look into the Rossolimo or the Closed Sicilian to get out of topical Sicilian lines.

God damn well done with the thumbnail. Can't even call it a clickbait; it's just good.

God damn well done with the thumbnail. Can't even call it a clickbait; it's just good.

@GunX4 said in #7:

Yes tromp is very efficient, skips the ridiculous amount of lines in normal d4... And contrary to most opinions it does work against masters too

Against lower-rated players, I was winning at a much higher rate because the Tromp isn't studied that often. I actually had first-hand experience with this as a KID player - I lost pretty quickly to FM Alex Kretchetov in the Tromp as Black in the 2016 World Open, which would later serve as the base inspiration for me to take up playing the Tromp myself when I came back post-COVID.

Higher-rated players do have at least some surface-level familiarity with the most critical lines, making it harder to gain an early advantage.

That being said, because there is so little theory, I can focus on understanding the deeper strategy/plans/ideas better, and I often found that my comfort in these positions was more than enough to get positions where I could make higher-rated opponents uncomfortable either on the clock or over the board. Once I started to embrace 0.00 eval positions, I started winning more against 2000+ rated opponents than when I was playing main line English and Catalan set-ups.

A huge advantage now that the Tromp has been my primary weapon for ~3 years, is that I'm not afraid of targeted preparation because I can predict what those lines might look like, and I routinely look at these positions anyway.

@GunX4 said in #7: > Yes tromp is very efficient, skips the ridiculous amount of lines in normal d4... And contrary to most opinions it does work against masters too Against lower-rated players, I was winning at a much higher rate because the Tromp isn't studied that often. I actually had first-hand experience with this as a KID player - I lost pretty quickly to FM Alex Kretchetov in the Tromp as Black in the 2016 World Open, which would later serve as the base inspiration for me to take up playing the Tromp myself when I came back post-COVID. Higher-rated players do have at least some surface-level familiarity with the most critical lines, making it harder to gain an early advantage. That being said, because there is so little theory, I can focus on understanding the deeper strategy/plans/ideas better, and I often found that my comfort in these positions was more than enough to get positions where I could make higher-rated opponents uncomfortable either on the clock or over the board. Once I started to embrace 0.00 eval positions, I started winning more against 2000+ rated opponents than when I was playing main line English and Catalan set-ups. A huge advantage now that the Tromp has been my primary weapon for ~3 years, is that I'm not afraid of targeted preparation because I can predict what those lines might look like, and I routinely look at these positions anyway.

could u also make a blog or any advice on time management??

could u also make a blog or any advice on time management??