Training Log
Lesson - 75 minutes
Game Analysis - 60 minutes
Van Perlo’s Endgame Tactics - 30 minutes
I’ve realized that if I truly want to become a grandmaster, I have to find a way to dedicate myself to the goal. Something to hold me accountable, and consistent.
After reflecting for a bit, the best I could come up with was to start a journal, to log my training on a daily basis. Essentially a simple practice that can keep me focused and grounded.
If I have one thing holding me back in chess, it’s that I spend a majority of my time on the business/content side — running Dojo, while a great passion of mine, takes up a lot of mental bandwidth. When I made my run for IM, I was locked in on improving—it was the first thing I would think of each morning. Each day revolved around the training. It’s been a long time since then.
Of course, I don’t start this journey from scratch. As I write this I’ve got 16 games from two recent tournaments to review. And I start my next event this Friday (Aug 23), the 2024 Maia Chess Festival.
Currently I’m in Saint Louis, getting ready for my upcoming Eurotrip. Here’s a couple puzzles from my analysis today:
Solution
1…Rxf3! 2.Bxf3 e4 3.Bxe4 Rb6 -/+, and Black will take on b2 next, with a nice position.
Solution
1.Ng5! threatening f3, followed by g3-g4 and h4-h5, with a huge attack. The critical line is 1…h6 2.f3! Bc8 Bd5!+/- (the key point, White’s knight is untouchable) followed by Ne4 with a perfect grip on the position.
The problem with daily posts, vlogs, etc. is that they rarely last. It seems it often takes more effort to post daily than it does to train. But my goal is to keep myself centered on the training, not get in the way of it.
And if I can provide some insights and inspiration for others along the way, well that would be the cherry on top.
Thanks for reading.