Without a doubt this year was a flat one for me from a rating standpoint. I started the year 1774 and I’ll be finishing it 1764.
I haven’t been over 1800 since June 2017, and in fact in September of 2018 I managed to drop all the way to 1621 in what was a horrendous time for me in my personal life.
However, there are green shoots. Many of them.
For one, even though I don’t have as much time to study and work on my own game now that I’m part owner of the International Academy of Chess I’m managing to spend at least 30-60 minutes a day working on tactics and openings on chessable. This is at least keeping me a bit sharp.
For another, I have learned to maximize my time. I used to have hours available each day and I might spend three hours thinking about what to do and then 30 minutes actually doing something. Often not what I intended. Now that so much more of my time is spoken for I have learned to ensure that I make the most of what little I have.
Lastly, I’m ending the year on a three tournament streak of gaining rating. During that time I’ve gone from 1716 > 1764. It’s not much, but what there is I’m happy to accept.
So now it’s time to work on a plan for 2020. My main goal is to surpass 1900 for the first time ever. My peak is 1896. I have a plan, and I’ll be posting more about it here in the next couple of days.
Til Next Time,
Chris Wainscott
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