David's Chess Journey - Installment 73

Becoming an IM

Don't worry, I haven't lost my mind. I am under no illusion that I will become an IM. I'm referring to Cyrus Lakdawala's new book "Becoming an IM." As a newcomer to chess, I had never heard of Cyrus, but I've come to find out that this is one of many, many books that he has put out there.

I'm just getting into it, but the introduction is worth the price of the book in my view. In the introduction he outlines 16 principles of chess training that are very insightful and 24 "mental poisons" that must be purged. He introduces them with this great line: "It's time to reveal top secret material which requires a level-5 security clearance." It is that sort of writing that makes the book as enjoyable as it is instructive.

One of the "mental poisons" is making shallow, snap judgments of your position. In that section he had this quote that struck me: "I have loads of lower-rated students who glance at a position for 10 seconds and believe they completely understand it, while students who are masters will look at the same position for 10 minutes and come to the correct realization that they barely understand it."

If I have ever seen my chess defects clearly in a quote, this was it. It stung, but in the good way.

First Lichess Ladders Game and Learning to Think

That quote was still fresh in my mind as I started my first Lichess Ladders game today. Shout out to Ben Johnson's Linkfest, as that is how I learned about the great program. It is a ladder system where you can challenge players and be challenged. I received my first challenge a few days ago and here is the game.

Clearly not a masterpiece by any means, but I was happy with how I played the opening. I don't like playing against 1. d4, but my coach (https://lichess.org/coach/Mischuk_D) helped me prepare some ideas this morning before the match during our lesson. I sent him the game admitting it wasn't a masterpiece, but thanking him for the help in the opening. He responded with a clear agreement that it was no masterpiece and feedback that I moved way too quickly at several points in the endgame.

His feedback made me think of Lakdawala's quote and my head hung again. How could I fall into the same old trap over and over again of moving without really thinking. One time when GM Jesse Kraai was clicking through one of my games in a Dojo graduation show, he also lamented on my lack of using time and called it a disease.

I think it is time to take the feedback of these great chess thinkers and players and learn to think while I play chess. I know it is a pretty obvious thought, but sometimes the greatest breakthroughs come when the obvious breaks into one's lived experience.

Until the next installment!