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As mentioned in a prior post, one of my main focuses right now is to learn to be completely honest with myself. To me, this doesn’t mean just being honest in my annotations – that part is easy. It also means a more honest approach with how to fix these issues.
Here is an excellent example:
Simple, right? 20…Rc2 followed by taking the knight? Well, I calculated 20…Rc2 21.Qb3 Rxe2 22.Rdc1 Qd7 23.Qd1 and I was worried my rook would be in danger of being trapped. Had I seen one move further and considered 23…Rb2 I would have likely realized that there is no practical way for White to get at the rook before Black can defend it.
This is something that can’t be “hidden in analysis” – there’s no real way to say that I didn’t take because of some external factor without looking like a real idiot. So it’s easy to be honest in the analytical part of this game. There’s no other practical choice.
But what about honesty in the approach to solving the issue? That’s a far more complex discussion.
I need to improve my calculation far beyond where it is now. It’s not just a matter of seeing further and clearer but of properly evaluating the end result of the variation I am looking at.
To this end, I am going to use this website: Blindfold Chess Puzzles (blindfold-chess-puzzles.com). I need to learn to visualize better, and this needs to be one of the tools used.
For those who are interested, here is the entire game.
Til Next Time,
Chris Wainscott