Been busy..

Hi everybody!
I haven't been able to play much chess lately, I have a chemistry final exam coming up, so I can't spend hours of time playing online chess. Now solving Sudoku and Kakuro puzzles is different :D . I've been thinking about getting a tactics training program, what would you guys recommend? CT Art probably is too hard for me atm, so the question is CTB, or the intermediate level Convekta program?
By thwe way Im now over 1400 on Queenalice.com, which is more than a 200 point increase since I started the circles-like program. That rating is pretty inflated, there is no way I am an 1400 player.

Chess tactics server

Hey all!
First I would like to welcome our new knights, Silver King and Sir Kaan Kara. Good luck to them.
After I had tp return my tactics book to the library, I've gone back to CTS, like many other knights. Too bad its addicting and develops bad habits (I lost an OTB pride game because of moving first, then thinking about what Ive done) but I need my dose, so gotta go!

Hey all!
Haven't been around lately, but the Chess Publisher PGN-viewer doesn't seem to work at all. Most of my chessplaying these days have been correspondence games on Queen Alice and IECG. Hopefully now that I've joined OCL, I'll actually get some long games on FICS. Im getting pretty good with the begineer's tactic book from the library, though I should finish it soon before they notice that it is long overdue. I got a Go board from my parents though, so soon I'll have an 2000 ELO rating in SMCBGWGGATE (studying multiple complex board games without getting good at either)

Chess game

Okay here goes nothing lets hope this Chess Publisher thing works. This is a game I lost after a cool tactic after 22. c7 but blundered it after 25. Nc4.

Oh well, there's a first time for everything. A King's Gambit game I won this weekend:

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 d5 5. d4? 4.exd5 would have been better (4...Nxd5 5.Nxd5 Qxd5 6.d4 (according to Fritz)
dxe4 6. Nxe4?? The game is lost Nxe4 7. Qd3 Bf5
8. Bxf4 Im not going to resign just yet Qe7 9. Qb5+ Im grasping at straws c6 Bd7 would've been better 10. Qxf5 Qb4+?? Is a fatal mistake (10... Ng3 11. Qe5 Nxh1 amd black is better) 11. c3 +- Qxb2 12. Qxe4+ Be7 13. Rb1 Qxc3+
14. Bd2 Qa3 15. Bc4 O-O 16. O-O ?! (Im playing it safe after losing a won position on Friday Rxb7 would have been good) Re8 17. Rxb7 c5 18. Bb4 (blocking the a3-f8 diagonal, threathening back rank mate) Qxb4 19. Rxe7 Rxe7
20. Qxe7 Nc6 21. Qxf7+ Kh8 22. Bd5 Qxd4+ Misclick but it doesn't matter 23. Nxd4 Nxd4 1-0

Sorry for the lack of pictures but damn Blogger won't upload them. Ill fix it tomorrrow.

New knights

Hey!
We have 2 new knights: Simple Knight and Caquieto Knight, but we have also lost a knight. Good luck to the new knights and I hope that Samurai Knight will return one day.
I won a slow game today on FICS against a guy who wasn't too good, but lost a game I had won. Once Dr. Fritz finishes diagnosis, I will publish the gory details.

I am a lazy ______

Hey everyone!
I haven't posted in a while, but Im still doing this. This current schedule is a lot better than the old one, because variety is the spice of life. I am supplementing the daily dose of tactics with endgames, annonated master games and a little opening study. Of course I spend a lot of time with correspondence games, a bit too much in fact. Did I mention that I won a tournament chess set by guessing the winner of the Corus tournament :D ?

Just the usual

Hey everybody!
First things first the design change. I read that white text on a black background is a lot less stressful on the eyes then the traditional white background lack text combo.
My chess tactics training is alright I'm nailing 2-3 move mates that I spent 5-10 minutes on in the beginning.
Anybody know of a PGN viewer applet for websites?

New plan

Hey all!
I went to check out Caissa Chess Shop on tuesday, that place is full of books! I didn't get the Ivassenko books, because 1. They didn't have it on stock 2. The guy (Dr. Tamás Erdélyi) who owns the company recommended their own Tactics book (not very surprising eh?) Chess Tactics for Advanced player, saying that the Ivassenko book is too basic for someone my age. 3. Their book only costs half of what the Ivassenko book would cost.
So the plan now is to work with Chess Tactics for Beginners (same company) that I got from the library until I can do it in one sitting, then I'll move on to Chess Tactics for Advanced Players and do that in a circles like program. After that I'll move on to the Pongó series. In the meantime I'll go over the Morphy book(let), which is absolutely awesome! Before each game there is a diagram from that game and you have to guess the move that Morphy made. It also fits in your pocket, soits probably good for school use. I'm going to start my endgame studies with Portisch-Sárközy:600 Endgames.
Oh yeah Im going to actually play some chess.

P.S. : Did anybody see Super Bowl XLII? Greatest Superbowl ever, IMHO (Warning: Sample size is very small) .

Im not dead yet...

Hey everybody!
Progress in the circles in the last few days has been 0, because doing the first set of problems in 8 days was hard enough , but doing them in 4 is impossible for me! The circles are working though, altough I may miss simple 2-3 move combinations, I can find longer ones. I decided to get the book version of Chess Tactics for Beginners, Chess School 1 by Sergey Ivashchenko.  Hopefully the chess book shop that I've contacted about it will finally answer my e-mail. Its pretty ironic that I e-mail a company that is located 7 minutes from were I live.

I did it....

Hey all!
My withdrawal program was going alright, I was almost finished with rehab, but it happened.  I spent the last 2 months sitting on my hands to make sure I resist the urge, and kept my money locked away so I don't fall back in the chasm of despair, but to no avail. All restraining measures have not held up.

Yes, I ordered (another) chess book. Actually two of them, if I'm going to break my no-chessbook policy, then why not break it all the way. At least they're not opening books, but a Best Of Capablanca and Best of Morphy.

I just finished really awesome correspondence game that I won, once Dr. Fritz finishes the diagnosis and I find one of those cool chessboard thingies for this blog, I'll post it.

What a day!

Mini circle #3 has begun today. I did pretty bad, but every mental activity I tried to do today ended in failure, its like a long-term brain fart. On the other hand, I finally beat the computer at 9X9 Go and I have carved my handicap done to 5 . Art thereany other any Knights who (try to) play Go?

Only 50 more problems and mini circle 2 is finished. Tomorrow will mark the start of the 4 day circle, now thats gonna be hard.
Got my grades for this semester, I did better than I usually do, even got my 5 in grammar.
Oh well, back to the coal mines.

Ugh!

Hey all!
Almost halfway through this mini circle only 5 more days. The problems seem easier, but I have noticed that any combination from a Mikhail Tal game is something is  something I would have never thought of. I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before, but some of the pawn promoting problems are more than 15 moves!

A new Knight has joined us at the round table , Sir Augusto. May his games be decided by brutal combinations! (In his favor of course)

RIP Bobby

They just said on the news that Bobby Fischer died. Im too shocked to right about my progress now.

                                         Robert "Bobby" James Fischer

1943-2008
R.I.P

Oh yeah!!!!

Only 12 more problems to do and mini-circle number 1 is finished! Some of these pawn promotion problems are pretty sick, 16-17 move combinations are way beyond my level of calculation ability. The funny thing is that those problems are between easy 2-3 move combinations.
It seems that Sir CVopeland has just finished his mini-circle yesterday. This calls for a celebration, everybody gets one of these (Its on the house of course!)


(good hungarian beer)

Corus

Hey everybody!
Spent the weekend at my granparents, played a couple of games with my grandfather. I won all of them and he's a decent player, a bit passive though, who'd rather wait for me to screw up then to launch an all out attack. I finished volume I of the Pongó series,  4 more days of relaxing pawn promotion, then its back to pins and batteries. Those were probably the hardest problems so far, they might even warrant a seperate mini-mini circle.

Corus started yesterday, hopefully the action is relayed by FICS. Too bad that 2 of the more entertaining player in the top 10-20 (Shirov and Morozevich) who are in good form. Hopefully there won't be any controversies,  I find all of that idiocity they dream up to be immature and stupid. I haven't heard of talking toilets that you can consult about chess and the built in chess software that belches the answer to the contestant.

I won!

Hey all,
this is the life. Ive joined the Knights Errant, don't have to go to school and actually won a blitz game on FICS! My opponent did make a couple of bad moves, but  a couple more blitz wins and my blitz rating will be better than the blitz rating of a rock ! Meanwhile my correspondence games on Queen Alice are going pretty well, I haven't blundered away any games yet from this batch. I did resign a seemingly hopeless position, but found a pretty potent attack the moment I confirmed my resignation.

I hate the assholes who work at the local cultural center. I go in and ask them if they know about any chess tournament and what do they tell me? There aren't any chess tournaments in the winter, its too cold (?) ! I'm not stupid enough to think that any sentient lifeform wants to play in a park rapid tournament in January. I mean Kecskemét is (supposedly) a big chess center in Hungary/Central Europe (german and ausrian players come here to play),  chess activity shouldn't stop because of incumbent weather. (lol)

Oh yeah, chess tactics. I'm over 300 problems, should finish this first mini circle on Thursday.

Random ramblings

Hey everybody!
Didn't go to school today, the doctor said I shouldn't have gone to school at al this week. I had alot of time to do chess tactics today. I did the whole Chess Tactics for Beginners book by Viktor 
Vámos (480 problems) . Read Chekhov's The Seagull, it is a very good play IMHO. Reading the
books we ought to be reading in literature class, but don't because only 2 or 3 people actually read them, not just a plot summary, was a good idea. Had to read Ibsen's The Wild Duck for class, I'm actually enjoying these modern plays, which I didn't expect from what my teacher told us (no plot, hard to understand text blah blah blah). My Hungarian teacher didn't give me a "5" in grammer for this term (1="F' 5="A") only a "4", based on a essay that I wrote for literature class.
Tomorrow I have to go to school to rewrite a biology test, so I can get a 5, which would be great (no parental pestering), but unless a miracle happens, Im going to get a 3 in German (LOTS of parental pestering).
I drank 4-5 liters of tea today and in the process of doing so, I found out that green tea is awesome!
Okay thats enough for today, I told warned you that this post is pretty random.

Day 6

Went to the county library today and got meself a tactic book for beginners. I probably will use it as a wam up for the usual level that I do, because I always start out doing horribly, but by the end of the load I'm on fire.

So far so good!

After 5 days of training, I am still alive and well,  this is actually fun to be honest, but my opinion will probably be different in late May and early June.
I have inputed the first 100 problems into Chessbase, but Chessbase isn't good for this type of thing, am I missing a mode that is made for this (Training mode isn't for tactical training)? What kind of (preferably) free software is good for this?

Houston, we are in triple digits!

Hey everyone!
I know nobody is reading this except me but I worked ahead today just to get to problem numero cento (did I mention I'm really good at making people think I know Italian) and have reached the conclusion that I need to warm up before I start owning tactical excersizes (If ~60 % succsess rate can be considered ownage) . Conclusion #2 is that I need to digitalise these excersizes if I want to avoid peeking at the answer :D . I'll do it this weekend, before I am deemed healthy 
enough to go to school.

A couple words about me: I am 16 (male), I live in Hungary (Kecskemét to be exact) and I have been playing chess for a long time, but have only been serious since August. I have been an on and off player due to the fact that I never had any family members or friends who were on my level. I lived in the US for 6 years (Southern California, to be exact)  so I speak English pretty well,  but I was getting rusty. Which is another reason I started this
blog, reading english forums and articles on the internet just wasn't enough. I don't want to be like those college students who only have a paper that certifies their knowledge of a foreign language, but can't speak or write or read in that language (In Hungary you need to have 2 language exams to get a college diploma thats worth something) . Oh yeah, college. When I finish high school in 1.5 years, I want to go on and get an engineering or science degree. Unfortunately I can not become an architect like I always wanted, because as I have found out architects can draw freehanded, while I can't even draw a straight line without a ruler,  so even getting admited would be a miracle. I'm a geek by the way, 
I  probably was the only person who cared about chemistry in our class. (I did to prety good in countywide and nationwide chemistry competitions)So Im a math and science guy like (as I see) most of the Knights are. I'm pretty competitive, I enter all math/science(minus biology)/computery competitions. 
That's enough meaningless ranting for today, gotta go play chess!
(I play on FICS and Queen Alice(correspondence site) )

Day 2

Hey everyone!
Day 2 was kinda rough, Im now in the summary of double attacks section and the problems are a lot harder if I don't know what the motif is.

I have dubbed my plan the 9 circles, because Hell has 9 circles in Dante's Divine Comedy.
         Problem groups   Time                     Number of repetitions
I.       1,2,3  (523)         28 (16+8+4)                        3
II.     4,5,6  (374)         28 (16+8+4)                        3 
III.      7  (451)         28 (16+8+4)                            3
IV.   1,2,3,4,5,6,7              32                                     1 
V.     1,2,3,4,5,6,7              16                                     1 
VI.     1,2,3,4,5,6,7              8                                     1 
VII.   1,2,3,4,5,6,7              4                                     1 
VIII.  1,2,3,4,5,6,7             2                                     1 
IX.      1,2,3,4,5,6,7            1                                      1

For fun, I'll do tactics on CTS and I'll try out Chesstempo to see what its like.

Let's get this party started!

Hi everybody!
This is a blog that Im going to use to record my progress in my MLDM like training program. There was a long introductory text here, but Windows died and I am NOT going to retype that again. Maybe tomorrow Ill take the time.
So I have decided to use István Pongó's tactical targets in chess volume 1-4 (the english version is just 2 volumes) which is a total of 1348 problems.
I have categorised them into 7  groups:
  1. Double attacks (184)
  2. Pins, batteries (172)
  3. Pawn promotion (162)
  4. Cooperation problems (111)
  5. Mate threats (113)
  6. Summary: Gaining a decisive material advantadge (150)
  7. Draws and mating combinations (451)

For a total of 1348 problems.

I'm really tired (my eyes are teary)  after the first batch of problems,  so this post is to be continued...