Notes at 1300
Submitted by
on Tue, 09/30/2008 at 12:18am.
Notes at 1300
So here it is: we’re at the end of September, Fall is starting, and it’s my favorite time of year. And wouldn’t you know it – I’ve been hovering at the 1300 mark for the last month or so. For a while there, I thought it was a fluke. Especially when I briefly dipped back down to 1200 after some really rough games. “Thematic” Chess can do that to you…
But it can be fun, too. I’ve been learning a lot. I’m not getting forked nearly as much these days. And I think I know why.
From time-to-time, you hear Chess nuts talking about “looking ahead x number of moves”, and think to yourself, that has to be an innate ability that some people have; being able to see what will happen several moves into the game’s future. I know, I can’t do that. At least, not yet. But the recent games have given me practice on this so-called innate skill. I’m not so sure now that it isn’t something that you learn. I think I might actually be looking a move or two ahead, when I know I wasn’t doing that a couple months ago.
Ann Landers wrote, "Nobody gets to live life backwards. Look ahead -- that's where your future lies." So maybe that’s the secret to getting better at this sport: practice at looking ahead. Am I a big Ann Landers fan? Heck no! But at least in this situation, she hit the nail on the head.
Lastly, a word of advice to those who play against me: leave my rooks alone! I’ll leave you with a recent game of mine that clearly illustrates why this is so. Talk to you again soon!