Mind and Body

Mind and Body

Never ever Listen to Your Opponent

Never ever Listen to Your Opponent 

Never ever assumed that your opponent is weaker than you. This is really bad decision you can ever make  in chess. In the 6th Palau National Chess Championship 2012 my Standard Rating was 1540 and I was playing against the non-rating player I assumed that my opponent was not that good since I know for the fact that it was his first time to join in a tournament, my opponent was White and I was Black. After we exchanged hands and started the opening moves, he opened the 1. e4 the King pawn opening. I took it for granted since I know that is very common but the most logical opening for White.

A few weeks before the tournament I was studying the Sicilian Dragon I'd chosen this system to counter punch the 1. e4 opening. When I opened 1... - c5 my opponent started talking to me he said 'hmm... I am not sure with that opening... I have always had a hard time to counter that'. In a chess tournament it's not allowed to talk to your opponent Chess is a mind game not the mouth. So, I just nodded and gained more confidence after hearing that. Then he moved out the Queen right away 2. Qf3 targeting my weak f7 square that boosts more my confidence since I know that moving out your Queen in the early game is out of the Chess Principle. So, I continued my Sicilian Dragon with less analysis and carelessness I didn't not really analyzed or anticipated the out of the book opening of my opponent. And in the middle game I noticed that he was pushing me in the corner while gaining more space on the board. Then I felt that my opponent fooled me by making me believe that he was new in chess. 

I'd almost lost then in the endgame my opponent was left with King and two Pawns and Bishop and I was left with King and one Bishop. Surely, I cannot mate my non-rated opponent anymore and it's a good thing that I'd also studied a little bit endgame, and he made a big mistake that allowed me to draw the game. This was a big lesson to me for listening to my opponent.

6th Palau National Chess Championship 2012

The 6th Palau National Chess Championship 2012

Who am I?

Who am I?

My Recommended Chess Articles

My Recommended Chess Articles.

The Path to Improvement 

By Kelly Atkins with S. Evan Kreider. 

A serious chess player you should never stop looking for ways to improve his/her skills. My chess knowledge was totally messed up and I have had a hard time to win a single game before unless my opponent was totally new to chess or allowing me to win, I got tired losing my games and started looking for ways to be a better player. I searched in google for the chess openings, memorized the steps and execute them in my games but I never got better since most of the time what I've memorized was not happening simply because my opponent had different plans, back then it was truly frustrating, I really want to give up and quit playing chess at all but I have had a feeling that still I can make it. So, I didn't stop searching until I found this "A Path to Improvement" article on the internet I followed the advice, I bought books, studied, practiced and play again. Then gradually my skill was improving and started winning the games, reaping the fruit of my labor while slowly crushing my opponents down.

Honestly, it was not easy to study chess especially if you are a working professional. You will need Time, Focus and most of all Determination. If I do not have "WILL to WIN" attitude I will not give time and study anymore, I will not waste money, and shift my focus to the other things. But I don't want to settle down in a below average skill and keep my opponents beating me on the board. I want to be one of the best players in this field because I love chess and this love is for life.

Yes I am still losing games, even the Grandmaster loses games too, but I know for the fact that the way I play is far better now than before. If you are a serious chess player like me and you want to improve your chess skills this is the BEST article that you MUST read, this was definitely helped me a lot. 

Let me summarize. The authors are sayings that the  path to chess improvement is simply from ground to up, from basic to advanced lesson. It's like building a tower that you need a foundation first, you cannot expect good result in from your games if you do not know the basic lesson of chess, tactics and strategies or else you will just end up frustrated, just like me before. So, my advice is don't waste your money and time buying books and studying them without knowing the real Path to Improvement.

My Chess Books

My Chess Books

This is the life of my Chess books. Below of every book is a basic description of the contents and the lessons I've learned. 

(Note: this page is not finished yet. Please check once in a while to see the updates, thanks)

Play Winning Chess by Yasser Seirawan

Winning Chess Tactics by Yasser Seirawan

Winning Chess Strategies by Yasser Seirawan

Play the Londo System by Cyrus Lakdawala 

Attacking Chess: The French by Simon Williams 

The Ruy Lopez: Move by Move by Neil McDonald