Contrary to what my results may indicate, the first 100 Days to Chess Improvement have substantially improved my tactical vision and overall 'sight of board'. Naturally, both are still in need of considerable continual work, but the improvement is adequate to progress to the next stage of Chess development.
The recurring theme from my Teamleague 37 games has been my inability to analyse and calculate variations in critical positions. Fortunately for me, Grandmaster Alexander Kotov once found himself in a similar position and wrote a book about how he overcame the problem. What a thoughtful chap!
Chapter 1 of 'Think Like a Grandmaster' is subtitled 'Do You Know How To Analyse?'. No Grandmaster Kotov, I don't!
It is on this first chapter that the next period of study will focus. We are presented with a method for selecting candidate moves and analysing variations systematically without flitting back-and-forth from move to move. Who isn't familiar with the thought process of saying "I like this move... oh but then he does that... let's try this move... no, that won't work... how about... no... let's try the first move again..." bad, bad, bad!
We'll be looking at complex middlegame positions and trying to produce 'trees of analysis'. I want to do a general strategy book as well, I'm still trying to decide between Nimzovitch's 'Chess Praxis' and Euwe and Kramer's 'The Middlegame'. I always found Nimzovitch's disscusions more inspiring, but Euwe and Kramer's book is more comprehensive if somewhat drier to read.
The tactics practice will continue, this is now an easier (if not simpler) task due to my heightened pattern recognition, and I want to expand on the definitions and discussions already begun in earlier posts.
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