Theo Todman's Web Page - Notes Pages

1. I spent 86.5 hours in 19Q1 on this Project, or related work (173.5 hours YTD, where for "YTD" - Year to Date - I mean the (academic) year that commenced in October 2018). That's 97% of the planned effort (103.7% YTD). Overall, 13.9% of my Project effort in the Quarter was directed towards this project (making 14.2% YTD) - as against 13% planned (12% YTD).
2. As can be seen, I broadly spent the amount of time scheduled for this project, in marked contrast to the excesses I used to perpetrate as a Bridge player. No doubt this is because Chess is harder work and less fun than Bridge.
3. I received an ECF “F” rating of 151 in January 2019, based on 7 games played in 18Q4, 4 of which I won, drawing the other 3. This was rather flattering and has resulted in my being selected for higher teams, or playing on higher boards, and the weaknesses in my game have been cruelly exposed by stronger opposition. That said, I’ve played pretty poorly against some weak opposition as well, and while I’ve not actually lost to any weak players, I ought to have.
4. My grade is trending towards an ECF “B” grade of 132, which is much less flattering, though maybe more accurate.
5. I seem to have two main problems:-
   1. Firstly, my opening theory is non-existent, and this has resulted in cramped positions as black, or conceding quick equality as white.
   2. Secondly, in attempting to play in a more open manner than the stodgy and careful approach of my youth, I’ve left myself open to “tactics” that have resulted in the loss of a piece on 5 occasions. Sometimes these have arisen where I was routinely winning, and just failed to look at what my opponent was threatening.
   There’s no quick fix to either of these.
   1. The first requires opening preparation. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t do this. It is said that blitz play sharpens your tactics.
   2. There ought to be a “quick fix” to the second, but “just concentrate” is easier said than done.
6. I didn’t divide my time as sensibly as last quarter. While I do review my games, I’ve not spent much time on study or training, and it looks like a lot of time has been footled away on administrative matters.
7. Progress (if any) in the last quarter can be obtained from the relevant section of my Summary Task List².

1. Chess - Reading / Writing
   • "Chess - Chess Magazine" (Read, 2 hours)
2. Chess - Admin (Total Hours = 27.25)
   • 18Q4 Status Reports (1.75 hours)
   • Add content to 'Chess' page accessible from main menu on Website (2.25 hours)
   • Billericay Chess Club: Communications, Admin, Grading, etc. (15.5 hours)
   • Billericay Chess Club: Travel to Matches (6.75 hours)
   • Chess - Discussions with Chris (0.25 hours)
   • DGT 2010 Chess Clock: Reading Essex Guide (0.5 hours)
   • DGT XL Chess Clock: Reading User Manual (0.25 hours)
     → See "Chess - Chess - Admin" (27.25 hours)
3. Chess - Play (Total Hours = 38)
   • Chess - Billericay Chess Club - Club Championship (3 hours)
   • Chess - Billericay Chess Club - NECL Match (18.5 hours)
   • Chess - Billericay Chess Club - Southend League Match (15 hours)
   • Chess - Billericay Chess Club - Southend League Match - Adjourned Game (1.5 hours)
     → See "Chess - Chess - Playing" (38 hours)
4. Chess - Study (Total Hours = 3.75)
   • Chess - Chess Dot Com - Openings (1.25 hours)
   • "van der Sterren (Paul) - FCO - Fundamental Chess Openings" (0.25 hours)
   • "Willemze (Thomas) - The Chess Toolbox: Practical Techniques Everyone Should Know" (2.25 hours)
5. Chess - Training
   • Chess - Training - Review Club games (15.5 hours)
     → See "Chess - Chess - Training" (15.5 hours)

• I don’t want a repeat of the experience of my youth, so need to allocate a serious amount of effort to learn the theory of the game in order to play properly. So, I’ve allocated 7 hours / week. Not as much as is needed, but as much as I’ve got available.
• So,
  1. Study:-
     → "Willemze (Thomas) - The Chess Toolbox: Practical Techniques Everyone Should Know",
     → "van der Sterren (Paul) - FCO - Fundamental Chess Openings",
     → "Sadler (Matthew) & Regan (Natasha) - Game Changer: AlphaZero's Groundbreaking Chess Strategies and the Promise of AI".
  2. Training:-
     → Chess.com,
     → Mephisto Monte Carlo,
     → "Chess - Chess Magazine"; work through the “How Good Is Your Chess” articles.
  3. Play: Full participation in Billericay Chess Club:-
     → Club Nights
     → Club Championship
     → NECL matches
     → Southend League matches

1. I intend to provide statistics similar to those for Bridge³, but will wait to see what comes “free” with The ECF Grading Database.
2. Enough of an indication of progress has been given above, though see also my Chess Page⁴.

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