On Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at 6:45:53 AM UTC-5, Eli Kesef wrote:
> Bs"d
>
> No doubt about that one. When we get older not only the muscles atrophy, but also our brains. That's just the way it is.

Our good or bad habits persist, is more pertinent, rather than an increased awareness of what is required in a particular situation. Instead of habitual plans and behaviors we have not yet permitted our right-brain pattern recognition to kick in, thus it is all a struggle to calculate things, right? This is as you say, exhausting.

> And there is the point that I have an ENORMOUS concentration problem. If I have a good day, I can concentrate for about 10 minutes, and then my brain shuts down.
> On a bad day those 10 minutes become 10 seconds.
> And then the chess blindness hits me like a ton of bricks. Suddenly I see nothing anymore. Start blundering pieces away left and right.

Your ideas are not controlling anything, so... it is not concentration, but missing the other side of the brain, the left working to a plan revealed by the right.
> Sometimes in a state like that, I keep on playing on, and drive my rating into the ground.
>
> A week or so ago I went over the 1900, but immediately went under again. The 2000 I can now only dream of.

This is an online rating? Typically bout 150 to 200 points below OTB level.
> But I'm not complaining. The average server rating on Lichess is 1600, so I'm a few hundreds points above that. I could even as well have been a few hundreds points below average, God forbid.

You likely are an OTB 1600 player

> So I'm not a GM. Well, most people are not. Only one in a million or so is. No surprise there.
>
> The important thing is that you are enjoying yourself. And I'm having A LOT of fun whith those trappy gambits. And that's what it's all about.

Well... if the intent of the post is to offer playing advice while having fun, you will remain a maybe 1600 player. To go beyond that you need to progress beyond trips and traps, and start playing the position as it presents itself. This is true for all players unless they are content with where they are.

Phil Innes

> https://tinyurl.com/Karp-no-fut

On Wednesday, December 20, 2023 at 11:41:59 PM UTC+2, Phil Innes wrote:
> On Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at 6:45:53 AM UTC-5, Eli Kesef wrote:
> > Bs"d
> >
> > No doubt about that one. When we get older not only the muscles atrophy, but also our brains. That's just the way it is.
> Our good or bad habits persist, is more pertinent, rather than an increased awareness of what is required in a particular situation. Instead of habitual plans and behaviors we have not yet permitted our right-brain pattern recognition to kick in, thus it is all a struggle to calculate things, right? This is as you say, exhausting.
> > And there is the point that I have an ENORMOUS concentration problem. If I have a good day, I can concentrate for about 10 minutes, and then my brain shuts down.
> > On a bad day those 10 minutes become 10 seconds.
> > And then the chess blindness hits me like a ton of bricks. Suddenly I see nothing anymore. Start blundering pieces away left and right.
> Your ideas are not controlling anything, so... it is not concentration, but missing the other side of the brain, the left working to a plan revealed by the right.
> > Sometimes in a state like that, I keep on playing on, and drive my rating into the ground.
> >
> > A week or so ago I went over the 1900, but immediately went under again.. The 2000 I can now only dream of.
> This is an online rating?

Bs"d

Lichess rating.

> Typically bout 150 to 200 points below OTB level.

I would say typically 200 points above OTB level.

> > But I'm not complaining. The average server rating on Lichess is 1600, so I'm a few hundreds points above that. I could even as well have been a few hundreds points below average, God forbid.
> You likely are an OTB 1600 player

When I was playing on a club, I was in the 1700's.

> > So I'm not a GM. Well, most people are not. Only one in a million or so is. No surprise there.
> >
> > The important thing is that you are enjoying yourself. And I'm having A LOT of fun with those trappy gambits. And that's what it's all about.
> Well... if the intent of the post is to offer playing advice while having fun, you will remain a maybe 1600 player. To go beyond that you need to progress beyond trips and traps, and start playing the position as it presents itself. This is true for all players unless they are content with where they are.

I'm very content where I am. I'm not going to be a master, so no reason to exert myself.

It has to stay fun, not work.

https://tinyurl.com/life-or-dead