Chess Training

Here is a summary of the GCTS items I have posted here at the Chess Training Blog that relate to self-training chess methods: Systematic Study: CTS Study Guide Generic Chess Training Revisited How I use GCTS Thrashing, Tweaking, Holes, Feedback Captures, Checks, Pins, Forks Theory Frequency Of Play Talk Exercises Fighting Frustration and Disappointment Opening: How to Study an Opening: An Amateur's Perspective Middlegame/Strategy/Game Studies: One way to study annotated games Middlegame Training Middlegame Training, Part 2 Common Plans Endgame: Corresponding Squares and Triangulation Tactics: Thinking Tactics Calculation Skill Exercise The Importance of Being a Good Tactician As usual, feel free to leave comments!

Putting together a training schedule for yourself sounds like an easy task. No problem! I'll just study openings on Monday, do some middlgame strategy on Tuesday, then perhaps some endgames on Wednesday, and sprinkle some online games here and there. But in reality, if you are like me, it's difficult to do because we, as chessplayers, are averse to doing anything that is not really fun. Half way through your opening sessions you find yourself suddenly emmersed in a bullet tournament on ICC or Playchess. Endings? Bah! I know Lucena's - good enough. It is a lack of discipline in our non-playing activities that keep us right were we settle in the rating scale. ANY player can steadily improve if they apply a basic schedule to their studies and become persistent in executing those studies. In fact, I would venture that outside of any extraordinary talent, any player can see improvement up to the 2100-2200 rating level using this study plan as a guide. This 4-day study plan encom...

Here is a brief synopsis on how I am using the GCTS detailed at ChessOk and summarized here on the blog, modified and altered to fit our needs. I'd also like the readers to post comments on how they use the GCTS and what thier experiences have been so far. Time Being a full-time employee for a non-chess company, my 'chess day' is broken into two parts: My pre-work routine and my evening routine. Between these two study segments I try to get as much done as possible, and on occasion I cannot do anything during my Post-work Routine because of other prior commitments. So my pre-work routine is essential in keeping myself fresh with regards to chess. Originally I had tried getting in 4 time units a day, as called for my the breakdown, by shortening the time unit itself. For example, if I had 2 hours of study time available for the day, my time unit would equal 30 minutes that day. If I had 1 hour, then it would equal 15 minutes. After a while, I found that this resulting in a ...

Note: I have been outed! :) Not really, as I was never 'in', but there was a rumor going about that this blogger was the English GM Mark Hebden. I wish. Well, at least the GM part... Sorry to say, I am not him, but simply a USCF Class A player coming out of chess retirement using this blog as a vehicle to help other class players organize their thoughts on how to self-train in chess. I am probably the worst blitz player in the history of the game so take that for what it is worth. But, I am working on that as well... I am making these various ideas available to the public in one place within an environment of free-exchanging ideas so we can bounce these ideas off one another to improve our methods of self-training and to be more productive with the time spent studying chess. This is truly a chess-utopian environment! Thrashing Some of you might know what the term 'thrashing' means. Being a software engineer by trade, I certainly know what the act of thrashing is when do...