I was inspired by Abba's post 'My 2009 goals' and came to think...why not follow suit? but then there's the rub... i have not such a 'solid' foundation as Abba to confidently lay out my chess plans for this year as i cannot devote myself full-time to chess (i'm still studying and currently am doing my undergraduate thesis) and worse, i have not the resources Abba has...i have no personal computer to start with, have only a few chess books, no 'sparring' partners here, and tournaments are a rarity in our place (forgive me but i live far from civilization..hehehe). also, in my whole life i've joined only 3 tourneys and they were all unrated, so i am presently unrated, but i estimate my strength to lie between 1700-1800 since i was able to tackle chess fellows rated 1800 up, and not just once even managed to beat them both in rapid and blitz (standard games, those with 1 hour or more time limit, are less popular here).
despite my quite bad fortune, i am determined to become a master in a year! (that's roughly 2200, right?) and the first thing in my list of what to dos is join more tournaments (however far from my place they may be held) and practise with Rybka. still, i think this is not enough. perhaps somebody could think up some ideas? i'm quite optimistic about this plan...

I'm glad that my thread has inspired you. I've personally been inspired by many of the writings on uschess.org such as the ones by Sam Shankland, Irina Krush, and Josh Friedel. My main suggestions:

- Make sure to play a few slow OTB tournaments. I don't know where you live, but Europe is basically the most fertile ground for chess, and I'd LOVE to go play in a tournament there someday.

- Work on all aspects of your play:

- Endgames

- Tactics

- Positional Play

- Openings

- Analytical Abilities

But the endgames are the most important in my opinion....I think my new chess saying will be "Endgames never go out of style."

good luck

You didn't mention anything about chess books in your post. Do you have any? They are a great way to learn and improve.

I'm sure Abba and Fromper can attest to this (since they both have improvement threads here) is that learning from your mistakes is crucial.

So, my first suggestion to you is, when you find some time, look at a recent game you played, replay the game move by move, and write your thoughts down. Why did you (or your opponent) play this move? What does this threaten? If you made a mistake in the game, why is it a bad move, and what is a better move?

If you're having any problems with this, or you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Good luck

No offense, but I don't think it's realistic to think you'll become a master in a year, if you don't even know your current strength. And the fact that you occasionally upset 1800 players in blitz really doesn't mean much. I think you'll be shocked if you play in a slow tournament and find out just how tough the competition is.

However, trying to become a better player and establish a tournament rating are worthwhile goals, then I'd recommend maybe aiming for a 300 rating point improvement per year after that. That's tough enough to be difficult, while still being in the realm of possibility.

As for how to improve, head to chesscafe.com, click the archives link, and check out Dan Heisman's Novice Nook column. One of his earlier articles was on a generic study plan. Take it and run with it.

--Fromper

yes...thanks once again abba... i guess i really have serious problems with endings..and sometimes i have to pay heavily for tactical oversights. and, here in the philippines (in asia!) slow OTB tournaments are usually for GMs and other masters only..you know, active tournaments (25-30 minutes time control, no increment) are most popular here. anyway, i'm working on improving all aspects of my play now...a million thanks!

first, thanks for the comment. uh, i have these books:
1. chess made simple by milton hanauer (quite old)
2. positional play and technique for the tournament player by mark dvoretsky and artur yusupov (but people say these are meant for master-strength players only)
3. mastering the sicilian by danny kopec; and
4. hundreds of game scores of GMs from tournaments like Linares, Corus, etc..
you think they're what i need?

and yes, you're right...lately i've been going thru my games and was shocked at the dreadful errors i've made during then...i realize how horrible i play before, and in my subsequent games tried to eliminate them, at least gradually.

perhaps that's a better plan to start with! thanks sir! i'll tell you once i've crossed the 300-point increase in rating...i'm positive this will be soon than i expect!again, thanks!

I am unfamiliar with any of those three books, so no commentary from me. I do know that Dvoretsky is quite the good author.

The game scores will be very helpful, but the first thing you should do is get started with some sort of tactical training and going through the Novice Nook column of Heisman's. I would suggest either Chess Tactics or Chess Tactics Server , as they are both free sites with plenty of puzzles to solve for mate or win material.

That should get you going for a while.

I have flipped through some of Dvoretskys books, and I can say that unless you are atleast 1800+ Fide, or somewhere close to that, those books won´t do you much good, they are not written for beginners. Most of his books are great though, really great, for the people they are written for. Not for the rest of us.