INTENSITY PRIZED OVER EXTENSITY !!

Quality over Quantity !!
 In carrying out the tasks provided for at CHESS MASTERY (Chess.com tools)  
 All lessons must be well studied &  understood ,key positions,  patterns recognized and assimilated, techniques , strategy and the thoughts behind them    must be mastered and perfected  before moving on to the next lesson . ***MUST***   The  training period must include intermediate control stages. It is well known from practice that intense intellectual studying gives a practical result after approximately 5 - 6 months.  breaking the  training period into  small parts is a very good idea. The working results of each stage must be cross-checked practically by participation in competitions on C-WORLD and against Silicon monsters. Further evaluation of my practical preparedness may be provided by solving test tasks using  C-World tools ( Chess mentor, Computer workout,Tactics trainer ETC) to learn "Strategy",Tactics Middlegame ,Opening  Endgame Chess Training".A desirable picture of how the test results may score is given below as  
Stage 1. CHESS MENTOR- 2500 , Tactics trainer - 2000 , Blitz - 2000 , Bullet - 2000, Standard - 2000. 
Stage 2 - CHESS MENTOR- 2300 , Tactics trainer - 2300 , Blitz - 2300 , Bullet - 2300, Standard - 2300. 
Stage 3 - CHESS MENTOR- 2500 , Tactics trainer - 2500 , Blitz - 2500 , Bullet - 2500, Standard - 2500. 

Tactics Trainer

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Chess is 99% Tactics - Improve Your Vision!

Getting better at tactics is one of the fastest and easiest ways to improve your game.

The Chess.com tactics server will help you learn how to recognize the critical positions that come from pins, forks, overworked pieces, and all other tactical themes.

• Thousands of tactical problems
• Track your progress with detailed stats and graphs
• See how you compare to other tacticians

Chess Mentor Lessons

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The Most Effective Chess Training in the World!

Chess Mentor is the best chess training system ever created! You get custom feedback on every possible move so you not only know the right answer, but why other moves were wrong.

Lessons are written by chess professionals and teachers such as GM Nigel Davies, IM Jeremy Silman, and many others.

• Boost your rating and tournament performance
• Improve your tactics and strategies
• Learn how Grandmasters think about each move

Computer Workout

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Master Hundreds of Key Chess Positions!

All good chess players know how torecognize key patterns and positions that occur in their games. The Chess.com Computer Workout tool helps you improve your knowledge of key positions by setting you up to play these key positions against the computer!

• Master key chess positions
• Get help from the computer with hints

Chess Video Lessons

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Improve your Game with Chess Videos!

Watch and learn as top players and Grandmasters explain their thoughts while at the chessboard. Video Lessons are in-depth chess lectures covering topics from openings to endings with awesome analysis and insight.

Lessons are created by chess Grandmasters and teachers like GMs Melik & Perelshteyn, and more!

• Enjoy and learn with Chess Videos!
• Library covers everything from Openings to Endgames
• New lessons added daily

Chess.com - implementing modern learning methods

*** Being flexible is part of a potential champions attributes

I got Premium membership of a to Chess site today , therefore my training is going to be extensively based on the training program on the website which is believed to be world class.
a working program has now been developed where the immediate, short term & long term aims and tasks is clearly defined. The most important short-term goal was to achieve a performance level that will make it possible to fulfill the FIDE requirements for the GM title in competitions. (African Individuals standard) To this aim, i have designed the schedule and its content and also arranged participation in various competitions. training process includes participation in some active chess tournaments with the time controls of 15, 10 and 5 minutes per game". (http://www.convekta.com/softscho/l1/lesson_3.html ) was a good guide to me in formulating a better preparatory system for this task **
The Short term target is to gradually improve bit by bit every day (steady)
Using the Tools on the chess website ***
Its about 22 weeks to the NBl and there has been a little adjustment to my training regimen and content. I am now adopting the training regimen code named C - WORLD where i shall be training 1. Opening (Basic at this level) 2. Tactics 3. Strategy 4 Endgame using a foreign coach Code named CM-2700 .
in the C - WORLD which is a virtual replica of a country like Russia i have a chance to study with the best coach and try to see how far i can get in the rankings ...... target here is to go from Amateur (so to speak) to Grand Master strength .
in the C- WORLD my rating is currently as follows BLITZ - 1683 , BULLET - 1519 ,Standard- 1648 , Correspondence- 1835 , Tactics- 1735 , CM (Coach) 2003. as at today !?

RATING is mainly to estimate improvement made and is not the goal itself... the goal is to improve (Rating is a measure of progress made) *** *** implementing modern learning methods *****
Based line aimed at - The aim at this stage is to acquire a playing skill of approximately 2200 ELO. At this stage i must have a successfully tested opening repertoire which includes 2 openings as White and 2 openings with the black pieces. i must master tactics (60-70 per cent of a success rate solving problems of an intermediate difficulty), acquire a firm knowledge of the basics of chess strategy, ie. How a position's evaluation is developed and what are its components, familiarize with about 15-25 common plans from the chess classic examples, know typical chess endings: evaluation, plan of play and standard tactical methods for approximately 250 endgame positions. It is necessary to acquire the skills of working with a computer and with chess software.

Baseline to achieve on Chess.com WORLD * (by measurement) BLITZ - 2000 , BULLET - 2000 ,Standard- 2200 , Correspondence- 2200 , Tactics- 2200 , CM (Coach) 2500.

**A series of competitions and training games is designed to facilitate better assimilation of what has been learnt.
(y) After achieving the Baseline goals in (x)
a training course aimed GM title is started It is at this point that a clearer record is set up The most important short-term goal was to achieve a performance level that made it possible to fulfill the FIDE requirements for the IM/GM title in competition. ( Zone 4.4 /African Individuals) To this aim, a schedule is designed and its content and also arranged participation in various competitions, Partially, the training process will also include participation in some active chess tournaments with the time controls of 15, 10 and 5 minutes per game".
## Formulate a WEEKLY PLAN

Stage 2 ( Assess self) be flexible.
Throw in everything you have got into your training regimen
when planning training sessions , take into account your style of play which is mainly Open play, your tournament performance over the first 7 weeks in performing the tasks. then put the chess tools to use by doing the following with it:

solving combinations;
solving studies (endgame-like positions with tactical content);
solving strategic tests;
studying typical middlegame positions;
studying typical schemes of attack against the advarsary's king;
studying typical methods of play in opening;
elaborating on an opening repertoire and developing plans for the transposition into the middlegame.
incorporate 3-4 openings into my repertoire as White and an equal number as the player of Black. master the tactics (90 per cent correctly solving tests of a high complexity with the theme of the tests unknown). Also to understand a wide palette of strategic devices - how the relationships of the elements of a position evaluation vary depending on the pawn configuration or on the alignment of forces on the board; know more then 100 typical plans from classical games; master elementary knowledge on chess endings: evaluation, plan of play, standard tactical methods from approximately 600 endgame positions; master methods of play in endings and the so-called 'simple' positions.

The training process includes playing in tournaments for testing the practical readiness and the my opening repertoire . Participation in the quick and rapid play tournaments with shortened time controls - 10, 15 or 25 minutes per game has been found extremely useful for this.

(x) 11th May - 28th July (7 weeks) - Target and achieve base line goals ***
(y) 29th july - 16th August (7weeks)
(z) 1th August - 4th October (7weeks)
* 5th October - 18th October  (*****)

Short-term GOAL - achieve an ELO rating of 2300 thus getting the FIDE master title * Lagos classics 2015* (score of 5/5 vs AVG 2200= 2300)
Internediate GOAL - achieving an ELO rating of 2400 +; (2016) and(a) Becoming an international master by winning the Zone 4.4 tournament 2016  (b)become a Grand Master by winning * African individual championship*
   
C-World 
Aim to rubbing shoulders (and be consistent) vs the best GMs in the world at their level. you will know when you are at this level when you can achieve and MAINTAIN.
2700 (Blitz,Bullet, Standard , Tactics, CM)
ULTIMATE DREAM GOAL - Tactics - 3000+, Blitz - 3000+, Bullet- 3000+, Chess Mentor - 3000+

 TRAINING REGIMEN
Minimum  4 hours per day.....  Training  Tactics , Strategy, Endgame, Middlegame and opening with Chess Mentor lessons , Tactics trainer, Computer workout , Computer Analysis of your games, Chess Video Lessons,Openings & Game Explorer & Chess Articles



The  training period must include intermediate control stages. It is well known from practice that intense intellectual studying gives a practical result after approximately 5 - 6 months.  breaking the  training period into  small parts is a very good idea. The working results of each stage must be cross-checked practically by participation in competitions on C-WORLD and against Silicon monsters. Further evaluation of my practical preparedness may be provided by solving test tasks using  C-World tools ( Chess mentor, Computer workout,Tactics trainer ETC) to learn "Strategy",Tactics Middlegame ,Opening  Endgame Chess Training".A desirable picture of how the test results may score is given below as  
Stage 1. CHESS MENTOR- 2500 , Tactics trainer - 2000 , Blitz - 2000 , Bullet - 2000, Standard - 2000. 
Stage 2 - CHESS MENTOR- 2300 , Tactics trainer - 2300 , Blitz - 2300 , Bullet - 2300, Standard - 2300. 
Stage 3 - CHESS MENTOR- 2500 , Tactics trainer - 2500 , Blitz - 2500 , Bullet - 2500, Standard - 2500. 

GM level??

MC: What advice would you give to young chess players hoping to reach the GM level one day?
WS: Do you believe you have talent? Decide what you want to do and then go for it. Commit yourself. Turn off the internet, the television, your phone, and all social media addictions and distractions. Take care of your body, your mind and your soul. Even with great sacrifice there are no guarantees you'll make it to the top but without sacrifice, it's a sure thing you won't.

MC: Did you have any favorite chess books growing up?
WS: Chess books are not only expensive in the Philippines, they are hard to get.  Sometimes I could borrow one from people who traveled abroad, brought back books and loaned them to friends. This was how I read Bobby Fischer's My 60 Memorable Games. I enjoyed that a lot and Kasparov's My Great Predecessors.

Solomon kenny

BY NOW, the story of Kenny Solomon, the chess grandmaster from Mitchells Plain who lives in Venice, Italy, is well known to South Africans.

His rapid rise from aspiring talent to chess hero was fuelled by a sponsorship from an unlikely source.

Solomon, 32, had approached many companies with requests for sponsorship, writing letters and meeting executives in an attempt to get funding to attend major chess tournaments, many of which take place in Europe.

A serendipitous meeting with a director of South African Bunkering and Trading through a friend and fellow chess player led to a low-key get-together over coffee in 2009, where Solomon was able to explain his goal of becoming a grandmaster.

Despite there being practically no overlap in fields — SABT is a marine fuel supplier, not a consumer brand — the company decided to sponsor Solomon fully for 2009.

“I don’t know of any individual chess player fully sponsored by a company in South Africa before my time,” he said.

Solomon said South African chess administrators had struggled for years to get sponsors to cover the junior squad’s expenses to represent the country at the World Youth Chess Championships, or to get the Chess Olympiad team flight tickets and accommodation for the biennial event.

Previously, sponsorships tended to cover only certain expenses.

“Sponsorships were mainly for tournaments. Over the years there was the Coca-Cola Open in Gauteng, and Red Bull sponsored some chess events, as well as the Spescom-Lightpointe Open chess tournament I played in the early 2000s.”

Solomon said he thought it “nearly unreal” that SABT had decided to sponsor a chess player in full.

The main costs for Solomon are flights to Europe and accommodation, as well as further training from grandmasters.

“In South Africa, top chess players play local events and need to combine that with chess coaching. That’s exactly what I did before. But the big prize money is where the best chess players are, which is mainly in Europe, the US, Dubai -in short, in the northern hemisphere.”

As is typical with sponsorships, Solomon has had to account for his use of the money -such as for training or materials and travel — but the R800 000-plus sponsorship has gone further than perhaps even Solomon could have imagined.

It not only continued beyond 2009 but, playing in 12 events a year, which equates to more than 90 games, mostly around Europe, last year he reached the pinnacle of the sport.

Solomon won the gold medal at the 2014 African Individual Chess Championship, held in Windhoek, Namibia, in December, to become South Africa’s first grandmaster.

Aside from world champion, it is the highest title in world chess and is retained for life.

This makes him only the second grandmaster from sub-Saharan Africa, after Zambian Amon Simutowe.

“I spend every day training and studying chess, four to five hours, and do physical training as well. If I am preparing for an important tournament, I can train the entire day. I teach kids at a chess club and spend time with my family in the evenings.”

Solomon is married to an Italian and has a three-year-old daughter at home in Venice.

SABT managing director Jon Hughes said the company had become hooked on the chess sponsorship idea, with a current plan to find ways to support the development of a chess academy, including with other partnerships.

The sponsorship of Solomon will remain open-ended.

Solomon’s goals are similar. “I would like to start a chess foundation in South Africa and be involved with producing more grandmasters in my country and, possibly, one day a world chess champion.”

 SOURCE