I joined last January, while still mainly working from home and having commute time replaced with chess activity, which quickly changed in April. So I didn’t get to put in as much time as I was planning. I mainly did Friendly homework, which was great, and I regret not submitting more assignments. Initially I was skeptical about chess tempo platform, but it has been a pleasant surprise over the year. So to those of you who just joined and demanding pgns, give it a chance
A mistake I made when I joined, was trying to drill killer openings each week which caused me to burn out. For those of you that recently joined who are in my rating category(sub 1400), I strongly urge you to take advantage of all the other classes, and leave the killer openings for later. I almost think there should be a fundamentals test before we should even consider drilling openings.
Another mistake was not having intentions of tournament play primarily because my weekends are driven by kids activities(chess is not on their menu). This made it hard to stay motivated as I didn’t see training result in any improvement. Online Blitz while kids are climbing on my shoulders is extremely volatile to notice a shift in a rating level. Another, suggestion I have for the adults who have joined without intention of competitive play, get out there at least a few times, each outing will surve as great motivation to get the homework completed, and a true barometer for your improvement. I finally got out to play a monthly ladder at my local club, which resulted in cracking USCF 1400 with ease (something I didn’t think I could do when I stopped playing 20 years ago), and forcing myself to play was motivated by seeing all the members post about their experiences.
As you have guessed by the title, I will not be renewing for another year, I hope to rejoin for a month here and there, and I will recommend it to anyone who is serious about improving.
Thank you for letting me take part in the academy, and I wish you success in continuing to grow and to all the members I wish you the best of luck at improving your game.
Tim
