And Now for Something Completely Different

The path to our destination is not always a straight one. We go down the wrong road, we get lost, we turn back. Maybe it doesn't matter which road we embark on. Maybe what matters is that we embark.

― Barbara Hall

Leaving one program

This year has been a year of changes. I muddled along in the ChessDojo training program until the start of the summer when I took a break. When I came back from the break, I found that I didn’t really want to continue with the program.

There are whole bunch of reasons I left and while I could blame the program—it’s hard to create something that’s coherent when three people with divergent views are running it—the change was mostly personal.

I decided to simplify. Do puzzles. Read books; I have lots of them and I bought them to be read. I wanted to play more games, although that’s always been the hard part for me.

Joining a new program

I had no intention of joining yet another program. I thought I had walked away from the Dojo with enough understanding of what I should be studying to keep me going for a while. But I can't say that it was going great.

At the end of August, I noticed that the Next Level Training (NLT) program from Noël Studer was on sale. NLT was appealing because it teaches you how to build and maintain your own personalized training program. I knew it would be another distraction, but I had hopes that it would be a useful one.

The end result has been great. Don’t go looking at my rating; I haven’t earned 700 points in 30 days using only these 5 tricks. Instead, I now have a very simple-to-follow and simple-to-update personal program that I've created myself. I’ve started playing more. I’ve started connecting with other players more. The NLT Discord is calm and respectful and Noël shows up regularly to answer questions and clarify or update program recommendations.

Setting up a dedicated chess space

My most recent change and perhaps the most impactful was setting up a dedicated chess space. It’s tucked away at the top of the house, so I know I won’t be disturbed. It’s helped me both study in a more deliberate, focused fashion and to play more. I’ve got my current study materials there, but not the rest of chess library. My boards are there and already set up, including the DGT Pegasus that I use for longer games on Lichess.

My chess space has somehow let me recreate the experience I have playing over the board. At the club, the only expectation is that you’ll give your opponent a good game. Quick wins happen, but they aren’t desirable. You have to make the other person’s trip to the club, and your own, worthwhile. I don’t know why, but I feel the same way about online games in this space in a way that I didn’t when I was doing my chess training in the shared home office.

I have one small sign taped up out of the way. It says, simply, “No one else cares about your games.” It’s a concept that my friend, and fellow blogger, Ono mentioned recently. It really stuck with me. Other than a coach, who you pay, is there anyone else, even your opponent, who cares about your games? No, not really. Perhaps it’s just where I am in my chess journey, but I find that idea very liberating.

Future plans

I know it's the time of year to start setting goals, but I don't have any firms ones. I want to follow my training plan and see where it takes me. I want to increase the volume of my online play and also get back to playing over the board. I want to get back to regular coaching sessions with JJ Lang (ChessFeels). I want to find a regular training partner, but that can be difficult. I want to blog more. If I do at least some of these things, I'll be happy.

For those who are interested, here are my current study materials.

Photo by Mark König on Unsplash