I participated in two chess tournaments this year. One of them was a Blitz tournament, and the other one was a Rapid tournament. In the Blitz tournament, I got 7 points out of 11. In the Rapid tournament, I got 5 points out of 8. I could have gotten better results in both, but I am satisfied with what I got. The results reflect the efforts and time I invested in chess this year. Overall, my score was always slightly above average, which means that I can safely consider myself an “above average” player. But there’s clearly more work to be done.

To get better results in tournaments, I’ll have to study harder. But at the same time, I cannot let chess stand in the way of life. I’ll have to think about this and come up with a practical plan. I’ll have to find the right balance and make a habit out of it.

One of my achievements this year was learning the Bishop and Knight checkmate. The next thing I want to do is master the Queen vs. Rook endgame. If I do this before the end of the year, that would be great.

In the first quarter of 2024, I plan on finishing 100 Endgames You Must Know by Jesús de la Villa and My System by Aron Nimzowitsch. And I must do this while working on a good repertoire.

When playing with the black pieces, I still don’t have a good answer to 1.d4, and I still don’t know if I want to play e5 or c5 in response to 1.e4. With the white pieces, I’m more comfortable with the openings I play. But I still have to work on them to get better results.

After months of playing bad blitz, I’m finally back in the 1700s. But where do I go from here?

My plan was to see the1800s this year. There’s still a long way to go.

Up until now, I do not have serious openings I can confidently play with the black pieces. Against 1.e4, I’ve been playing the Latvian Gambit; against, 1.d4, I’ve been playing the Englund Gambit. I love playing them, but neither of them is considered to be a solid opening.

I also need to start studying middle games. I’ve spent time studying openings and endgames, but I’ve never studied middle games like I should. So, that should be next on my list.

How to get better at chess, then? Here’s my plan for now:

• Solve 5 puzzles (daily)
• 15 minutes of endgames (daily)
• At least 2 blitz games (daily)
• 1 hour session to study openings (weekly)
• 2 hour session to study middle games (weekly)

Finally, my Blitz rating on chess.com is back to where it was 6 or so years ago. The highest I ever got to was 1746. Today, I’m happy to be reading 1701 in the chart I have before me. January 2023 has been a good month. My next goal is to get both my Blitz and Bullet ratings to 1800.

Meanwhile, I’m going to start learning new openings and add them to my repertoire. I cannot keep playing the Latvian Gambit and the Englund Gambit with the black pieces forever.