Fridays will be used for going over goals and where I stand in relation to them. Now that June is half over, I have gotten further away from my blitz goal of 800, and have regressed down to a score of 665. This looks bad, but I'm not concerned. I've been focusing mainly on my standard 30 minute games, so the blitz score has been neglected. The standard score has dropped, too, which is a little disheartening. It's down to 862 right now, even though I was up above 900 for quite a while.
Still, I'm not worried. My standard games have been tough. I changed my opponent search ratings, and I am facing a lot of higher quality players. I'm losing much more often than I'm winning against these guys, which is frustrating, but I'm confident that I am getting better. I'm seeing moves more easily, I'm able to set up forks and skewers with more regularity, and I'm better able to visualize moves into the future. I think it is only a short matter of time before I start beating these opponents and step up in class. I am even able to spot their mistakes at times and turn the tables on them, which is very promising for me.
So my scores are getting worse, but I'm getting better. While I'm not making progress as quickly as I'd like, I know that I'm slowly starting to understand the game better, and this is a good thing.
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Friday, June 14, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
Goal Update
So when I started playing a few weeks ago, the original goal was to get all of my chess.com scores to 800 or above by the end of June. 800 is an indicator of a solid beginner, and I think this was a completely reasonable goal.
As of right now, my blitz score is the only mark below 800, and this stands at 647. My standard score, which I think is more indicative of my true ability, stands at 886. My other scores really don't have enough data to be worthwhile to look at.
Why is my blitz score so low? Well, blitz games, by definition, are 10 minutes long and under. I tend to play these when I don't have a lot of time, but I end up rushing through the games and this hurts me. I'll either be watching the kids and have to get up (I can't even tell you how many times I've lost close games because I ran out of time), or I am rushing to make my moves and don't see obvious blunders until it's too late.
So I'm pretty happy with my progress after not quite two weeks of playing. I am confident that if I play only when I know I have the time, I can boost my blitz score up over 800 in the 3+ weeks left in the month.
Once I hit my goals, I will be shooting for the 1,000 mark. I still have to evaluate a timeframe for this.
As of right now, my blitz score is the only mark below 800, and this stands at 647. My standard score, which I think is more indicative of my true ability, stands at 886. My other scores really don't have enough data to be worthwhile to look at.
Why is my blitz score so low? Well, blitz games, by definition, are 10 minutes long and under. I tend to play these when I don't have a lot of time, but I end up rushing through the games and this hurts me. I'll either be watching the kids and have to get up (I can't even tell you how many times I've lost close games because I ran out of time), or I am rushing to make my moves and don't see obvious blunders until it's too late.
So I'm pretty happy with my progress after not quite two weeks of playing. I am confident that if I play only when I know I have the time, I can boost my blitz score up over 800 in the 3+ weeks left in the month.
Once I hit my goals, I will be shooting for the 1,000 mark. I still have to evaluate a timeframe for this.
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