Saturday, April 23, 2005

Return to Caissa

Ok I promised to give a brief run down of my extended absence once I had the time.
March was fairly normal until my Grandfather passed away. He was 94, his mind was still sharp but his body was just worn out. His health had been on the decline since January. Anyway I spent some time away from chess after his passing. Time with my family was and is way more important. Since my father and mother had been spending every waking moment by my Grandfather’s side this is the first chance we have had to see them in over 3 months even though they live 400 feet away. It's been really cool getting to hang out with them, and watching my son play with my dad.

Work, work, and more work. I have a stack of stuff with no end in sight. I even went in today to try and sketch out a plan of attack. Not that I'm stressing over the work load, I refuse to stress.
My boss has always taken good care of me, and I do what I can to make sure that his job is to never have to do any of my jobs. Anytime I can I try and take the strain off of him. Seems to work out really well for both of us.

The Chess Program.
Exercises.
I have resumed the 1000X CD where I last left off, and will continue to work through them until the Circles are completed.

Opening Study.
I'm spending a little bit of time each evening working on my opening repertoire.
Basically condensing main lines of the openings I play into a study database.
I take 3 or 4 sources and compile the database using the various assessments given by each of the authors. Time consuming to say the least, but it really paints a true picture of what can and can't be played in certain positions. Neat to see GM's disagree on what constitutes a favorable advantage.
The trick is to find out what kind of style you possess and the positions you like to play. Then find openings that fit your style of play. Some things you can force some you can't. If you don't know what your style is just pick something and learn it. The main thing is to avoid jumping from one opening to another just because you lose with it a few times. Just learn and have fun by getting a feel for the opening. It is amazing what it will do for your confidence level.

4 comments:

Temposchlucker said...

I'm glad you are back!

Blue Devil Knight said...

Huzzahh! Finally, he is back! This mysterious second name in the list of Knights, the one who (hands down) made the most contributions to my list of posts that suggest modifications of the Seven Circles.

Pale Morning Dun - Errant Knight de la Maza said...

Sancho,
Thanks for the update. I will soon be pinning down a few openings to play consistently. While I know opening study is not really for those of my level, I can't help but think how much time I'll save in the beginning of the game by knowing the most correct line.

CelticDeath said...

Glad to have you back, Sancho. My grandpa is 98, and I don't know what life would be like without him, so I sympathize with your loss.