Calculation and cold medicine don't mix

Still going along fairly well considering I feel like I'm lost in a fog.
Missed 2 in the second set of 100.
Of course I would have to miss number 200.

ELO 1550 (Start) -> 2021 Current
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 100% (Completed)
Level 20 - 99% (So far)
200 exercises completed 839 remaining in circle 3.
73 days down 36 to go.

Circle 3 begins with a noticeable improvement.

Well after running into another suspect variation in the Level 70 exercises I finally decided to call it quits on the last 3 levels. (70,80,90)
I probably will do a set of mini-circles containing just those 3 levels after I finish the remaining circles with Levels 1-6.

I started the 3rd circle today. I only need to average 65 problems per day to cover all 1039 exercises. But I have to agree with Michael de la Maza's approach. Start strong and leave yourself some breathing room on the harder problems.

Anyway onto what I consider to be the good news.
I noticed a definite improvement in my pattern recognition. At first I was giving credit to what I thought at the time was just plain memorization of the material. But then I found myself spotting patterns based off the proximity of my pieces to the enemy King. I began looking automatically for mating nets that could occur with each group of pieces I had at my disposal.
Another thing was happening as well, I would quickly spot weak points in a position. I could see at a glance which pieces were overworked. Which squares were under defended. Here’s the weirdest part of the story, sometimes I imagined my pieces as magnets, with the ability to both attract and repel enemy pieces. I would see them pulling an enemy piece out of its vital defensive position, away from key squares.
Other times I would imagine them dragging the enemy King into an area where it could be mated. There was even one exercise where I envisioned my Queen bumping the opposing King away from his escape square where he was quickly mated in two forced moves.

My focus is slowly shifting away from just seeing pieces and more towards how squares are being controlled.

I know what you are thinking... Sancho is becoming Twilight Zone material.
If anyone has had similar experiences or even noticed small changes in their board perception please let me know.

Fortunately I didn’t screw up once with these first 100 problems.
I found myself back in grade school, double checking my answers
towards the end of the series.
I just knew I was going to goof up on something simple,
and miss out on a gold star.

ELO 1550 (Start) -> 1845 Current
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 100% (So far)
100 exercises completed 939 remaining in circle 3.
72 days down 37 to go.

Massage and more exercises.

Posting from my new Shiatsu massage chair given to me by my wife for my birthday.
Trying to figure out how I can take this to my next tournament and use it during my games.

I realized that I only had a few problems remaining in the Level 60 exercises so I went ahead and polished those off.

ELO 2363
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 85% (Completed)
Level 40 - 76% (Completed)
Level 50 - 69% (Completed)
Level 60 - 63% (Completed)
1051 exercises completed 158 remaining in circle 2.
71 days down 38 to go.

Too many inaccuracies

I had planned on going the full 1209 problems distance with the CT-Art 3.0 program ala Michael de la Maza, posting my score as I went.
But after hitting yet another problem in the Level 60 exercises that just didn't hold up under cross examination. I'm going to truncate the score keeping with problem 1028 for this circle. This will tie in with 1,000 problem mark as recommended in the tome of tactical improvement de la Maza. I will work through the remaining problems but I'm just not going to worry about keeping score. I'm just going to try and absorb some of the combined strategies on the problems that have forced solutions.
I may do a score keeping series of mini-circles at a later date with the remaining 209 upper level problems. But right now I don't have the free time or the patience to work through the occasional abstract problems that are open to interpretation.
I'm beginning to think that pattern recognition plays a larger part in these exercises than I originally thought.

ELO 2360
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 85% (Completed)
Level 40 - 76% (Completed)
Level 50 - 69% (Completed)
Level 60 - 63% (So far)
1028 exercises completed 180 remaining in circle 2.
70 days down 39 to go.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I hope everyone gets to spend time with the ones they love.

Sluggish and then some

ELO 2320
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 85% (Completed)
Level 40 - 76% (Completed)
Level 50 - 69% (Completed)
Level 60 - 57% (So far)
1004 exercises completed 205 remaining in circle 2.
69 days down 40 to go.

Level 50 complete

ELO 2315
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 85% (Completed)
Level 40 - 76% (Completed)
Level 50 - 69% (Completed)
Level 60 - 60% (So far)
974 exercises completed 235 remaining in circle 2.
68 days down 41 to go.

If I get one more drawing variation...

Today I ran into one of those problems that really ticked me off, it is a Level 50 exercise.
As I'm playing through the variation, actually struggling would better describe my play. I notice that I'm not finding a move/theme/glimmer of an idea that makes any sense. Every move I enter comes up being wrong. Finally after enough of these moves I'm able to work my way through to the "solution". It turns out to be a drawing line, according to ICCF Grandmaster Maxim Blokh's analysis of best play for both sides. While I think Mr. Blokh has presented some really great examples of saving swindles throughout the entire CD. I just couldn't buy this one in particular. I kept thinking through the entire exercise all White has to do is give back the material, none of this is forced. Plus who in the heck is going to look for a drawing line with all material still on the board? Add to this no immediate mate threats, or any forced loss of material that would lead to a decisive imbalance for one side or the other.
So I threw in my red flag, made my call for the upstairs official to review the play. So after further review Mr. Fritz called malarkey on ICCF GM Blokh's analysis and sided with me. While I lost some points I was able to keep my time out and regain a small bit of my dignity. Not that there is much left after the trouncing I have been taking during these exercises.
This brings me to my next idea about the software being used for this course of study.
It seems to me that a beginning player would benefit more from a CD that was focused on mating patterns and direct attacks against the enemy king. Than they would from a smorgasbord that does a great job of smothering the student with a whole lot of different themes but really doesn't allow focus on one particular idea until he has it down cold. This CT-Art CD kind of reminds me of the old "Jack of all trades, master of none" saying. Please don't get me wrong, it's a great CD. Yes I know it will allow you to select exercises by theme as opposed to degree of difficulty. But there are times when I feel like I would benefit more from a specialized CD. Maybe saving the CT-Art CD for the second run of the 7 circles once I have a solid foundation in mating patterns.
Someone pass me some cheese for my whine.

ELO 2290
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 85% (Completed)
Level 40 - 76% (Completed)
Level 50 - 68% (So far)
940 exercises completed 269 remaining in circle 2.
67 days down 42 to go.

Still going...

ELO 2289
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 85% (Completed)
Level 40 - 76% (Completed)
Level 50 - 71% (So far)
908 exercises completed 301 remaining in circle 2.
66 days down 43 to go.

Tis the Season

Yes I admit I have fallen off the path the past couple of days.
It is not because I have wanted to shirk my training duties, but more because of all of the events taking place in my life at this particular moment. This has to be the most demanding time of the year as far as scheduling goes. Not just for myself, but the entire populace.
I'm trying to juggle family, work, and training. Sometimes they don't mix as well as one would hope.
Family will win every time, work is necessary because it provides resources for my family. At least until I invent a better mouse trap and become independently wealthy. So that leaves chess training as a distant third. I understand that anything worthwhile takes time. I do find playing chess to be a worthwhile endeavor. But it pales in comparison to time spent with my family, and friends. So do I feel the slightest bit of guilt for abstaining from the exercises?
Nope! Because I will complete the course of study, and will continue to try and improve as a chess player.
Taking the little break did help with the level 50 exercises, I started out on fire. But when I tried to press to make up for the missed days is when I started to give away points.

ELO 2277
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 85% (Completed)
Level 40 - 76% (Completed)
Level 50 - 73% (So far)
878 exercises completed 331 remaining in circle 2.
65 days down 44 to go.

Level 4 Complete

Missed last night's exercises due to the office Christmas party.
Felt good to have a much needed break, that didn't involve renovations, packing, or moving.
ELO 2203
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 85% (Completed)
Level 40 - 76% (Completed)
819 exercises completed 390 remaining in circle 2.
64 days down 45 to go.

Ah good to be back.

Completed the move in record time, still unpacking though.
It was nice to comeback to the exercises somewhat refreshed. I still feel like an extra day off would have recharged my batteries even more. Oh well.

ELO 2230
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 85% (Completed)
Level 40 - 78% (So far)
788 exercises completed 421 remaining in circle 2.
63 days down 46 to go.

Mini-Vacation of sorts

I haven't missed a days training yet. But I will be forced to take the next two days off. Tonight's event other than this brief blurb consists of the final packing getting ready for tomorrow's move.
You can tell who your friends are by the ones that volunteer to help. Fortunately we have been blessed with a ton of people that are going to contribute to the cause. So hopefully we can knock this out in about 6 hours or less. Sunday I plan on kicking back and relaxing by unpacking the essentials and setting up the library. The circle exercises will resume Sunday evening. Who knows maybe this mini break will be a good thing, because I was definitely flat last night.

See you Sunday!

Ugggggh!!

Started the evening by missing 6 straight exercises in a row.
It gradually got better but not by much. I'm mentally and physically drained at this moment.
Hopefully after this weekend I will get some time to relax.
We have been going non-stop for the past three weeks doing renovations on our new home.
Thanksgiving weekend was spent operating a floor sander. For three straight days back and forth over the same patch of real estate until everything was level and smooth.
But much like these exercises it has paid off. The finish coats of polyurethane we applied have given us a floor that shines like a reflecting pool. After that it was a weekend of setting tile in the kitchen, and painting the remaining rooms. My wife has done a terrific job with all of the painting. She is great with color schemes and even better at finding colors that are warm and vibrant tying the entire house together while giving each room its own identity. It has been really nice to see my Grandparents enjoy the improvements almost as much as we do.
The "new" home has been in our family for close to 100 years. There is a to-do list a mile long but I really enjoy working with my hands, I do land planning and design work during the day so any chance I can get to get up and move around after sitting behind a computer is a welcome change.
We finally get to move there this weekend. It will allow me to spend more time with both my parents and Grandparents (They are in their 80's and I think the world of both of them.) Plus it will allow me a chance to start dating my wife again with surplus of babysitters we now have on hand. I think my 3 year old has some sort of radar that allows him to detect any kind of foreplay within a 500 foot radius. We have tried jamming it with various combinations of Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, etc. The early attempts were successful, but here recently darn near impossible. Its uncanny.

ELO 2208
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 85% (Completed)
Level 40 - 77% (So far)
756 exercises completed 453 remaining in circle 2.
62 days down 47 to go.

Day 61

Blue,Red,Red,Blue,Green,Red,Green,
Blue,Red,Green,Blue,Green,Red,Red,Green...
At least my ELO bar graph is making some pretty color combos.

ELO 2222
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 85% (Completed)
Level 40 - 80% (So far)
707 exercises completed 502 remaining in circle 2.
61 days down 48 to go.

Day 60

ELO 2218
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 85% (Completed)
Level 40 - 84% (So far)
662 exercises completed 547 remaining in circle 2.
60 days down 49 to go.

Day 59

To loosely quote Fred Sanford "I've been burning the candle at both ends, up the middle and around the sides."

Welcome to the family Orange Knight!

ELO 2156
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 85% (Completed)
617 exercises completed 592 remaining in circle 2.
59 days down 50 to go.

Day 58

Did I mention this software has some issues?
Identical problems, with different numbers?! It won't recognize a mate unless it was preprogrammed??
It won't allow transpositions that end with the same result?!
Some of the solutions contain the absolute worst possible defense imaginable??
I hope they fixed these minor flaws with their next release of Total Chess Training 2.
[/soapbox]

ELO 2162
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 86% (So far)
571 exercises completed 638 remaining in circle 2.
58 days down 51 to go.

Day 57

Both my ELO and scoring percentage remained the same. Since the problems are rated at a 1900 ELO degree of difficulty, one slip will undo 4 correct problems.
I’m finding myself seeing the solutions at a much quicker rate than I did at the beginning of circle 2.

The exercises that have posed a problem seem to require some sort of waiting move deep in the variation, or have been one of the “pain in the rear” games that end in a draw. Some of the draws have been awesome examples of saving lost positions, but a few resemble the "Hey let's go grab a beer as soon as I force you to repeat the position for a third time" kind of things.

I‘m going to make an adjustment on the number of days remaining in the 7 circles exercise since I accelerated the training program during the first circle. Technically if I adhere to the recommended schedule for the remaining problems I only have 52 days until completion of the remaining circles. I have some plans for the next phase of my training that will involve opening preparation.

ELO 2148
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 86% (So far)
526 exercises completed 683 remaining in circle 2.
57 days down 52 to go.

Day 56

ELO 2148
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 86% (So far)
482 exercises completed 727 remaining in circle 2.
56 days down 99 to go.

Putting along...

Welcome to the fray Pale Morning Dun
Don and I shall have the official welcoming party shortly.
I'm not sure if the Ring of Fire is still part of the initiation ceremony or not.

Off to a slow start on the Level 30 exercises.
If it hadn't been for a series of easy problems towards the end I would have scored in the low 80's. But on the upside, I am beginning to see the tactical themes much faster.

ELO 2152
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (Completed)
Level 30 - 88% (So far)
436 exercises completed 773 remaining in circle 2.
55 days down 100 to go.

54 days

ELO 2116
Scoring Percentage
Level 10 - 99% (Completed)
Level 20 - 96% (So far)
375 exercises completed 834 remaining in circle 2.
54 days down 101 to go.