Saturday, September 30, 2006

Sweet Perfection (well, shucks, almost...)



(chessDog after his lattest salvo at CTS)

I was finishing an (almost) golden session at CTS, and my rating was firm and 97 successfull tries in a row, when i finally hit a problem that I could NOT calculate correctly... I stared at it, but to no avail...

Today:

15f/145s = 160 tries at 90.6%
(14f/ 45 success = 59 early today; 1f/100s = 101 @ 99.01% to finish)

1523 elo: #482 of 1441 tacticians is the 33.45 percentile
RD = 15.8 #2 tonight, #1 last night
percentage success 85.0 #161 (3273f/18,477s = 21750 tries @ 84.9517%)
21,750 tries is #31 just past the mighty and most esteemed Morkovin (21.6k tries at 89.1%, 1615 elo!), and in a day or two I will be #30 to coincide with a true rather than 'posted' 85.0%.













My goal was 20,00 by 15Sept06 which I missed by about three days..
My goal was 85.0% at 22,000 and I was almost missing it, getting off track for the last two days chasing an almost 1540 elo twice, and falling to 79/82% over extened periods, so sank in percentage success absolute terms for first time in weeks, and it felt bad. The hell with the rating, it can wait!

Due to hard core catch up tonight back to 'plan', I need 27f/223s = 250 @ 89.2% to get there at 22,000 exactly. Once I get there, it is back to CT-Art 3.0 which I have been on hiatus from short term, then will pound on 1540 hard, and confident not too far away in days or tries past 22k.

So tonight, I said to myself, 'thats it, I am not going to make any errors'. Well, I almost had the golden series.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

CTS Gone Wild (after 'Girls Gone Wild' fame!)

today 36f/282s= 318 today @ 88.68%
1520.32 elo, for 21,148 tries

yesterday, adjusted to include final session 19f/171=190 @ 90.0%

cumulative:
55f/453s = 508 last two days or 89.17%...

















the human animal has contrived many means as substitutes for drug, alcohol, or food addiction. may i recommend to the reader CTS...

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

That Sinking Feeling

Yesterday at CTS: 26f/212s = 238 tries @ 89.08%
Tonight : 14f/126s = 140 @ 90.00%,
1501.3 elo, 20,590 tries, RD= 18.0, 84.83%

Early session felt like a total meltdown, and teeth knashing sorrows: 3f/1s=4 early on... it just has not been there the last two nights, truthfully, I'm just worn out.














The Russians have a saying: "America is a concentration camp but with better food". 13 of 15 days at my job, standing, walking, lifting the whole time, waiting on thousands of persons, so I am not so much tired as road worn. Think about this: 104 miles walking indoors while doing this, or 8 miles a day, or about 12,900 meters. Is this glory? No. It is required. Once a month I do this, and at the end I am shot. Better CTS results after my last day tomorrow.

Or perhaps my 1535 was just totally aberational and now I am back to normal??

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Pushing Like a Wild Man Demon

1535.42 elo tonight at CTS--a personal best. It is truly a shame to have to stop at 2:05 am, since I usually go to bed at 4 or 5 am, but tomorrow I must start work at 12:30 pm, instead of my usual 2pm, so in the better part of prudence, must stop--how many times have we had a record or personal best then 'blown it' seeking more?


















But truly these days are rare. I don't mean best elo days but those days when you can hit the mouse seemedly instantly, and it's just 'there'. What am I trying to say? Were it not for the hour, I have the utmost confidence I'd hit 1540 but I'd NEVER sleep if I blew it. Then I'd go to 1529 and then have to 'get it back' then...

I've been the chiropractor twice a week for weeks and three times this week, and he really has me humming. Also after two weeks, I again feel like I did before I met Tatiana (whom I am no longer dating* :) *) when I felt in love. Not with anyone specifically, but, honestly, with life. This is the ideal in life. Lastly, for advanced recovery from what was a severe depression two years ago, I eat organic beets, organic cabbage, and organic kale, organic firm tofu, and lean chicken, all good for the liver. I take a high grade lactose free acidophilus with 15 billion live organisms, in this case, resumed it again, and lastly take the Ayurvedic herbs, specifically ashwaganda, all great for energy and vitality. Is this new to me? No; but I am firmly on this path of wellness and month by month keep adding to it....

Tonight I got crazy at the end, and blew one tranch of problems at the end, pushing like a monster for 1540.0, but instead of 1535 got 1533, then 1531, then 1529 etc. by getting 3 out of 5 wrong. I was 91.4% for the session before that, and soared from 1500.40 to 1535 in one day.

Session: 16f/128s = 144 @ 88.89%. If 89% is a total meltdown, as this was at the end, and had 3f/13s=16 in another part near the end, then what is a good day?

I've been 93 to 89% most days, but was experimenting with another CTS handle. :)

... It is late, and I want to write Yasser a note congratulating him on his 7481 views at playchess.com, and soon we will see 10,000 views and much more, as he tells me...

dk

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

20,000














20,000
@ 84.69%, 1500.0 elo at CTS
471 problems @ 78% or 2012 elo at CT-Art 3.0, level 3.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Topalov versus Kramnik: Twelve Games too soft a measure?

What follows is my post from chessChat.org, following spacecowboy of CTS's suggestiong to use this message board site:

post i:
It used to be that in the old days, much longer matches took place. With twelve games for this unification match, who is kidding whom? We are going to have a world chess champion after just twelve games? Or settle it with tie breaks in rapids? Super size it or drive up fast food window? What has become of classic chess?






















Think of Karpov-Kasparov, Capablanca-Alekhine, Bottvinnik-Tal? How long were many of our top matches? We all already know the answer to that. What does this say about us?

Is this a practical adaption to a results hungary world, or have we all just gotten soft and this is but of a reflection of our own selfs?

post ii:
quote by Rincewind: "But I think the world has moved too far from those days"...

Dear Rincewind, I got on line today not sure if there would be zero or a dozen replies, sincerely with no expectations. To me this is a valid question that I have asked, since we have instant noodles, instant communication, instant lab results... we want our results, and we want them fast. Your reply that I can see is the only one that responds to what is being said, as aside from two friends chatting or grandstanding publically so see who can...

If we go back to Petersburg, New York, London or any of the big tournements, we had truly epic contest of minds. Of course, in tournements, all play all is the big test, if not all play all white and black. Then not only do the leaders go toe to toe, but we get to see who has the best score against the lagging players. And so in the old Soviet Chess Championships, we had gigantic battles. Recently, to be very honest, I was truly shocked to see Dortmundt over so fast... I had been busy in a new relationship, and despite being a good student of the game, failed to see how abbreviated was the contest. Kramnik wins, was the headline. This short tournement tested to see who was the best for that span? Excuse me?

Now Topy and Kramn. Twelve games. Compare that to some other WCC matches, let me go grab my Gelo, Chess Championships, All the Games, All the Diagrams, 1834-1998 compendium (to those who don't know of it, it has all the game of all the matches, in one handsome volume, McFarland, 1999 2nd Edition): I open randomly and cite figures to some major matches:

Alekine-Euwe 1935, 30 games
Botvinnik-Smyslov 1954, 24 games
Tal-Botvinnik, 1960, 21 games
Spassky-Petrosian, 1969, 23 games
Kasparov-Karpov, 1987, 24 games ...

this does not even mention Steinitz or Capablanca, etc.

Of course, now we have big sponsers, luxury resorts, the press, television, the internet, publicity and marketing and coaches, and seconds, and families, the whole works, the entorage that follows....

I respect T and K both. Both are great artists who will furnish beauty for sure. But despite being a unification match, sadly feel that something is wrong, and percieve that T and K are both 'cashing in' (or Kashing in!) while the going is getting good.

And one short note on recent CTS activity:










And one short note on recent CTS activity:

Today I reached 84.65% for 19,831 tries, 1500.4 ELO with 91.6% tonight, 93% last night, 90.6% Friday night, 92.6% Thursday. My sense of what I accept as accurate is changing, and I am not pleased with any result <90.0%, and, like my good friend likeforests, am seeking far higher accuracy, consistently.

I also took my good friend samuraichess mention of his embracing CT-Art 3.0, so resumed Practice level III and am now up to problem #442, and despite fear and terror of getting both bogged down and exhausted, all at once, am resolved to chip away at it, day after day.

david in seattle

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Sweet Eighty Five II



Sweet Eighty Five:

Today: 13f/147s =160 @ 91.98%.
Cumulative: 3,001f/16,361s =19,362 @ 84.501%








Rd: #009
Tries: #34
Percentage: 85% or #164
Rating: 1513.2 or #477 of 1361 active CTS users or 35.05 percentile of users.

Tatiana came to my retail store tonight... what does she say? The very first thing she says (we haven't spoken for a week!) is: "you made a lot of mistakes". How do you define "not contrite" in English?


















Maybe she and chessDog are in kahoots. The boots are the dead giveaway. dk

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Almost, almost, almost



Tonight at CTS I finally passed my dear friend LikeForests at #165 for 84.4375% and



SveJoe of Germany at #34 for 19,200 tries. A large space existed between me and Sve when I got to 17,000 past the 'chasing pack', so this represents weeks of work starring way up at him...

Very soon I will hit 84.501% as so finally post as 85%. Like is #167 and we've joked a bit about who will catch who, or who needs to get moving, but truly, I will enjoy seeing us both at 87.1% or the top 100 next year. Milestones abound: soon I will hit 20,000, and am back over 1520 elo comfortably. To be quite candid, tonight I felt it well within me to push it to 1530+ or >, but decided to hold caution and not 'loose it'.

Today was 11f/127s = 138 @ 92.03%
Last night was 5f/57s = 62 @ 91.94%
Saturday was a disgusting and revolting 27f/123s = 150 @ 82.0%. Talk about a collossal nightmare of unimagined proportions!













Friday was 01f/13s = 14 @ 92.28% mini-session indeed, but a session is a session always!
Thursday was 12f/108s = 120 @ 90.00%
Wednesday I broke up with my Russian girlfriend,













and alcohol free for two years this coming next Monday, opted to binge instead on CTS:


















Worse vices can hit a man: 23f/193s = 216 @ 89.35%
Tuesday was 8f/61s = 69 @ 88.41%

This puts me cumulatively at: 2988f/16212s = 19,200 @ 84.4375%

Friday, September 08, 2006

Sweet Eighty Five



It's actually not so bad doing CTS without a concussion.






I found a chiropractor possessed of true genius, a real subtle guy, who has been doing it for 16 years, and he is still young, so he has absorbed so much knowledge and experience! This is expensive work, but paid by my company, while the 'regular doctors' told me that I could 'expect headaches for a year, and to take Tylenol', after seeing this man, within half a day the headaches subsided, and the neck pain is abbetting:

Today:
12f/108s = 120 @ 90.00%
1503.7 elo

Yesterday:
23f/193s = 216 @ 89.35% (it was way too late to push it on through)

Tuesday:
08f/61s = 69 @ 88.4%

Monday:
08f/73s = 81 @ 90.1%

Sunday:
12s/108s = 120 @ 90.0%



Cumulative:
2944f/15,892s = 18,836 tries @ 84.3704%

Interum Goals, CTS:
20,000 for 15 September, set in late June.
85.0% for 22,000 (advanced from previous 25k goal).
87.0% for 30,000 (31Dec06)
88.5%+ for 40,000 21June07 solstice)

warm regards, david


ps, today I wrote a note to my good friend, GM Yasser Seirawan, in response to another friends email to both of us concerning commentary by Keith Olbermann at MSN about some statements that President Bush had been making. I remind everyone, that I am mellow at age 48, in comparison to how I used to be. :)

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Successivley Accurate Tries


Today:
12f/108s= 120 @ 90.00%
Yesterday:
24f/165s= 189 @ 87.301%

I had my best run ever at CTS, embedded within this:

In the second half of last night, I had a personal best, going for 55 problems in the zone, with none failed in that interval. Inexplicably, both my broadband as well as television connection gave out completely for the next hour, and I went to bed, ending the session, with the last problem credited as incorrect, although I had actually moved the curser to the correct move exactly as it gave out.… And of course, as we all know, and doubtless have all also experienced alike before, I began today with a wrong problem as this system scores a disconnect. When I woke up, service was restored. And it was a rarest, odd, complete outage--as even if my broadband had an outage, as I normally always still have ‘cable television’ service during such times.

I am virtually certain that had this outage not occurred, that I would have gone further to 0f/65= 65, but it’s the past now. Currently I am well on my way to 85.0% sooner rather than latter, or 2,889f/15,421s= 18,310 @ 84.2217%, 1506.8 elo.

In the second half of tonight, I was 2f/53s=55 @ 96.36%, so this trend steeming from being completely refreshed on vacation and accrued practice continues.



I have ‘tried like the Dickens’ to catch Kawala at 84.2 and he is ranked 179th and now I am 180th. It has been one long haul. Recently I have been in the top 35 for tries after running up to--then right through--a huge chasing pack or swarm of high RD CTS users at 17,000, and it won’t take me long to hit the top 27 at 21,000.

But I will have to really “work like a dog” to get to 26th at 23,077 tries, and in so doing *himmmm!* bypass my nemesis, but WE don’t discuss him or mention him, right? But so much the better to look forward to, as is appropriate in response.








Best, David

On vacation this week, and preparing to climb in a few days, to 9100’ up Mount Maude’s glacier.