What are my chess goals in 2024?

1. To participate in at least 2 OTB events
2. To reach 2200 ELO classical (Lichess.org
3. To break 2100 Blitz/Rapid in Chess.com

Daily Training

S.M.A.R.T goals

1. Daily Chess Puzzle, followed by 5 min rush
2. Not more than 9 Blitz games a day or 2 Rapid Games a day
3. 1-2 Training games a week, classical if possible.
4. Analyse each and every game afterwards
5. Organise your opening files accordingly

New Openings to Learn: Tarrasch Defense. BGD gambit. French Rubinstein. London Jobava and Tromp.

Last night, I played the following game which featured a trap in the London system.

Enjoy.

Together with my coach, I have decided to try out the following chess training schedule.

To keep things simple:

I will do the following at least every day

5min puzzle rush /survival mode

Play 4 blitz games or 2 rapid games or 1 classical game a day WITH POST ANALYSIS afterwards

Blog about chess once week.

Read one chess book a month (using Forward chess)

Play at least 1 serious game a week.

What I need to do to improve:

• Read more theory. Forget buying physical books. Get more ebooks/playable pgn files for greater efficiency. I especially need to read up on middlegames/endgame strategy.
• Organise my games using Chessbase. Learn how to use databases as a tool for research and organisation of opening files
• Blog more to consistently motivate myself.
• Set down some realistic goals for this year: Lichess Classical rating 2200, chess.com blitz/rapid 2000 by the end of 2023

There is no excuse. In Chess, you only get what you give.

Lately, I’ve been thinking that my chess really hasn’t improved all that much in the past 1-2 years. I’m not sure whether it’s cause I haven’t really put in the effort to improve my chess understanding, or whether it’s just a normal latency period that every adult chess player go through before they reach a new peak.

Beyond that, I really want to improve my frequency of writing chess blog posts.

I’m also thinking of changing up my white repertoire to the more ambitious 1.e4, where at least I can hope to get a winning position right out of the opening.

Anyway, here are my 2 league games I played this week. I won my 30|30 lone wolf and lost my 45|45 game. I’m still recovering from a bad flu so scoring 50% this week has to be considered ‘not bad’.

Just over a week ago, I finished a 9 round standard OTB classical chess tournament.

Results not-withstanding, I played good chess but only managed a -1 score of 3.5/9. A loss of over 30 ELO as well.

There were 3, maybe 4 rounds in particular that I let the win slip from my fingers. 2 rounds resulted in painful losses. The other 2 were drawn.

After round 2, a friend of mine in the same tournament reminded me of how privileged I am to be able to play. He told me to how far I have come in my life. A great healthy wife, 2 wonderful children. A meaningful and relatively well paying job. I have fought my life battles and have come out in a relatively good position.

That advice helped to set my mindset in a good mood for the remaining rounds. Although my results weren’t great, my chess moves were good and in general I felt I played pretty well except for Round 8 where my opponent played well.

Sometimes results don’t necessary reflect a person’s true chess understanding.

What’s more important, is that you truly enjoy each game.

Just a quick update:

I have missed out on qualifying for the National Championships by 1 spot.

I score 3/5 in the tournament. Winning 1 and drawing 4 games in the process.

A humbling result but also encouraging in some aspects.

Meanwhile, I have broken 2000 ELO for chess.com, and broke 2100 for lichess classical. Encouraging signs indeed.

On a side note, I have realised that Chess ia pretty affordable hobby compared to other adult hobbies like collecting cars/watches, photography. *laughs*

Also, I need to blog/post more.

Can’t believe its nearing the end of Feb already. Time REALLY flies.

Till the next post, take care.

Since finishing my post graduate diploma studies in mental health, I now have some time to think about my current chess level and where I want to be.

My first short term goal is to reach 2000 ELO.

My online rating on chess.com has been stagnant for quite some time, hoovering around 1900.

On Lichess Classical, my rating has taken a dip from 2100’s to 2000’s. I’m not too bothered (or maybe I should be?) for I was distracted slightly during my post graduate exams.

In the interim, I do want to achieve the following goals:

1. Break 2000 elo for both Chess.com in Rapid And Blitz Time control
2. Maintain 2100 elo for lichess.org Classical Time control.
3. Break 1800 ELO on chesstempo puzzles
4. Qualify for National Chess Finals (optiona)

I think this is in line with my S.M.A.R.T goals.

Sometimes you acquire knowledge in other discliplines which can help with the study of chess.

I studied this ACRONYM recently in Medicine which I find useful in the study of chess.

SMART =

1. Specific
2. Measurable
3. Achievable
4. Relevant
5. Time Based.

I”m going to apply the above framework in my chess studies and see how far it goes.