Temposchlucker

The way I think is rather brain resource intensive. I'm not inclined to believe something because everybody says so. I am quite opinionated about almost everything. My opinions are the only ones that are true. That makes life easy, in a way. On the other hand, I feel myself totally not bound to any of my opinions. If another opinion comes along and proves to be true, I immediately reject my own and adopt it. That is why my opinions are always true. In my opinion. At the same time, when other opinions cross my way, I don't just reject them. I feel always obliged to have a look at if they are true. I'm always open to doubt anything. Enfin, that is how this blog came about. Usually, a lot is going on in my head. Always being busy to prove if my opinions still can stand the test. Such a busy head, is of course not an advantage in chess. In life, this is usually not a problem. After 61 years of weeding out the false opinions, my reaction time to new events in complex situatio...

We talked a lot about the PoPLoAFun system. I can imagine that people use those texts if they have trouble to fall asleep. The actual training method that is derived from it, is very simple though. Diagram 1. Black to move r4r1k/1b3ppB/p3pb2/1pRqN3/3n2Q1/4B3/PP3PPP/3R2K1 b - - 1 1 [ solution ] I use a macro written in autohotkey to copy the board and to open it in a paint-like program. There I add colored squares to it by hand. Green = target squares ( points of pressure ) Red = piece on duty ( function ) Diagram 2. Black to move The idea is simple: to develop a sense for target squares (PoP) to develop a sense for pieces on duty (Fun) I work with a limited set of problems. The same set of problems can be used to draw the lines of attack . That is a different exercise, which I do during a different training session. The idea is simple: to develop a sense for the lines of attack (LoA) Diagram 3. Black to move. As you see, the training is...

I have been able to flick in some serious PoPLoAFun training, lately. 18 days in a row now. I become more and more convinced that I'm on the right track. At the same time, I must admit that progress is way slower than I expected and hoped for. PoPLoAFun breaks down the common tactical themes into their tactical atoms. It is like learning a new way of looking. It is about discovering new patterns and internalize them. And about unlearning a lifetime of bad habits. What can I predict? I'm learning the PoPLoAFun ins and outs of 960 chess positions. That will take me about 150 hours of training. Say 150 days with one hour per day. That is about the end of the year. After that, the progress should be measurable. If not, then the method doesn't work.