As a way to keep myself accountable, I promised to provide monthly training updates. I'll record what I have done, what I have achieved, what I have struggled with and suggest what I might change going forward. Sounds awesome, let's do it....
... and unfortunately, my first month was terrible. I basically stopped training chess. Whoops. But I have a good excuse. I've reignited an old hobby, older even then chess, and basically have devoted all my freetime to it. Chess has fallen off the radar. I like to think I'm not being lazy, but I guess I'll let you be the judge.
My Training
Everything changed on January 6, 2024. Up until then, I had been on a steady climb, slowly integrating chess training into my routine. Throughout November, I had devoted 30min each day to working on visualization (which let me play my first blindfold game and, soon, my first blindfold win against a real person). In December, I then added some light calculation training, progressively doing more and more puzzles. Here's my ChessTempo tracking chart as proof:
Only missed two days, and it worked out to just over 5hrs of tactics practice. Consistency definitely paid off. And now, let's look at January's...
Basically, I got through the first week ... and then completely fell off. I've barely touched chess since. I'll get to "why" in a second.
In terms of my main goal, going through GM Smirnov's "Grandmaster's Positional Understanding," this too got off to a great start. I went through all the videos in about two days (in 2023 I've started watching all video content on 2x speed, which literally speeds the process up), and I began working through the exercises.
It's been much slower than I thought, but in a good way. The first time, I breezed through a lot of positions quickly, not really exploring (or likely even noticing) the nuances. I am a stronger player now and really notice these nuances and have spent a lot of time coming to grips with them. The result has been a much deeper and, honestly, satisfying experience.
I want to highlight this: it's been good. I've enjoyed it. I watched the videos eagerly and picked up a few things I missed during my first time. I dug into these training exercises and fell into the flow state, having hours zip by in no time at all. When I finished for the day, I looked forward to the next day.
It's been really good. Something better just came along.
My Stats
I use TogglTrack to keep track of my time. It's a docketing habit that I've let filter into other areas of my life. I thought it would be fun to literally track the minutes and seconds I've put into chess. It would be more fun if I had more to show for it...
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| Click to enlarge. |
With any luck, these will be my least impressive stats... though February might not be much better. Why? Well...
What I Have Been Doing Instead
This might surprise you, but I like writing. I know, huge shock. I probably write too much. However, I rarely write fiction, even though it is one of my greatest joys. This is hard to explain, but basically, I need to be compelled to write. I won't just sit down and start. No, I need to have an idea inside my head that kicks and screams and demands to be placed onto paper. Then I have no choice.
On January 6, I had one such idea. It was just a random passing thought. I'm not sure where it came from or why it floated through my head. "A streetkid yearning for a better life." That's it. That's the muse. It came with an image, of a young girl, homeless, clothed in rags, looking up at a towering skyscraper and dreaming of what might be. The sunrise coated the scene in a warming orange. There was hope here, hope mixed with the realities and struggles of base existence. Hope. What did that look like?
This idea took root. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Soon the girl had a name and a backstory and that was it. I sat down and started writing ... and I haven't stopped. I'm currently at 15.6k words across 26 pages.
For context, a novel starts at 50,000 words, with the average one being 80,000. In three weeks I've written roughly 25% of a novel, literally out of the blue. This doesn't even include my two dozen or so hand-written notes and brainstorming ideas.
I don't know if this will be novel-sized. Size doesn't matter. I have an idea that needs to be developed. Maybe I reach 30k words and it's all done. Fine, that makes me happy. Maybe it extends to 200 pages. Awesome. Either is fine, as long as the idea gets developed.
It's hard to overstate how much this has consumed my thoughts. I normally wake up and do a morning workout. For the last two weeks I've woken up and started writing. At work, I go for a walk during my lunch break; I put on headphones, listen to ambient music and brainstorm new ideas. After work I spend more time. Whenever I watch a video or read a book, whether work-related or not, a part of me is working in the background, seeing if I connect this to my story. When I go to bed at night, I'm thinking about what I will write the next morning. It is truly all-consuming.
It also feels really good. Michelangelo supposedly said that the statue was always there inside the rock, and he merely revealed it, one small chisel at a time. That's how I feel. The story is already there, and I'm bringing it to life one keyboard stroke at a time.
I'll probably write a more detailed post on why I write and what these stories mean to me, but suffice to say, I'm not simply being lazy and bingeing Netflix or something. I'm being very productive ... just not with chess.
Summary and Next Steps
I'm prone to obsession. I don't do things half-way. If something is worth doing, I jump in with both feet. Writing is my current focus. Nothing else comes close, and as such, until it is done or the intensity otherwise diminishes, I won't be doing chess training. It just doesn't make sense. I'll be distracted. It won't be quality time. Let's just ride my current inspiration and see where it leads.
This is not the update I was planning on making, but, well, here we are. I'll probably do one in February, even if it just says, "Yup, still writing," but we'll see.
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