Patience, perseverance and discipline
Submitted by
Sas3 on Tue, 09/16/2008 at 4:58am.
The journey begins:
Never written a blog before. No essays, no poetry, no short-stories. But a beginning must be made. Of this blog. Of a description of this quest.
It began about 4 months ago, I think. Began when I walked into a neighborhood bookstore and picked up a book on evolution of chess style. That book lit a fire in me that I believe will burn as long as I breathe. I started looking out for more reading material. Interesting books (subjective, I know) are difficult to find. So I started prowling the net to satisfy my hunger.
First I read a few basic principles in opening. There I read that I should build an opening repertoire. So I read about a few openings. There, I found references to more openings, techniques, and more... One thing keeps leading to another. Funny thing, this reading. There doesn't seem to be a way to stop it. 
I am fortunate to have stumbled on to chess.com one day. The opportunity to play with a diverse audience has accelerated my learning and increased my hunger significantly.
Yes, every loss hurts; more so, when I make a silly mistake or overlook something simple. I become grumpy and unsociable for some time. Then I get over it and get back to my moves with determination. I wish I could say I don't repeat those mistakes.
So I write this as much for myself, as to other beginners like me who want to improve but find themselves making mistakes over and over again.
Here is why I think I am making those mistakes. Your list may be different:
1. Insufficient familiarity: No, not unfamiliarity. It is the openings I already "know" that let me down most-often. Why? When faced with players of similar skill-level, they work quite well. Not so, when facing superior players. But since I think already "know" the opening, I play the moves, only varying the sequence to adjust to the opponent's flow. Funnily enough, they know too.. and before I know what is happening, they are all over me.
So what is missing? I need to prepare the opening even better. Earlier preparation was only the beginning. But not enough. Not for this level.
2. One last move before...: We all have our routines. To get to work, to go to bed, to pick-up kids, whatever... Whenever I try to play "one last move" before rushing off to do something else, the chances are very high that I have not considered my move well-enough. More often than not, it leads to pain.
3. Playing by patterns: Actually, recognizing patterns and leaning to use them is good. But anything, when applied without the underlying logic, is not very different from superstition. For example, as I was playing several KIA games, I noticed that whenever I delayed e4 and the opponent played e4 (first e5, then e4), I got into trouble. Now that I've noticed the pattern, whenever I see black playing e5, I immediately try to play e4 regardless of the current position. Trouble? You bet!
So what should I do? Curb the compulsions. Curb the supersititions. Remember the patterns (they are good). But also remember to "apply logic". Analyze the position before playing the move.
I am sure there is more.. but this is already a lot for this post. There is apparently such a thing as "too much". I haven't figured it out yet..
One thing though: This quest requires a lot, (yes, quite a lot) of patience, perseverance and discipline. The results are most certainly worth it. I am sure.
Ciao.