Becoming a 2300 player

1986 CFC magazine article by National Master Kevin Pacey

  1. Epilogue: My becoming a 2400 chess player in 2010

    by , 07-05-2018 at 07:24 PM (Games, analysis and discussion)
    After becoming a 2300 player in the 1980s, for one reason or another I more or less stagnated at that level until mid-2010, when I briefly was rated at the 2400 CFC-rated level at age 49. I rapidly dropped off in rating since that time, to be currently low-2200 CFC. I have my reasons and excuses for the stagnation and drop off in rating, notably not finding the time to do that I know which will possibly help boost my rating at least for a while. What I would like to share instead is five tips about ...

    Updated 08-20-2018 at 05:44 PM by Kevin Pacey

    Categories
    Becoming a 2300 player
  2. Becoming a 2300 player (Part 3 of 3)

    by , 09-13-2014 at 10:05 PM (Games, analysis and discussion)
    Part 3 – From En Passant #82; December 1986 pp. 12-14 (continued)
    By the way, it was not until 1983 that many of my games were free from large mistakes, but even then almost all of my losses could be blamed on these alone. I recommend sorting your games in terms of types of mistakes. Early games are not worth analyzing beyond a certain point: adding up the obvious mistakes will often suffice. This gives an idea of where to put your efforts. The categories should initially be simple: “Lost ...

    Updated 07-05-2018 at 08:06 PM by Kevin Pacey

    Categories
    Becoming a 2300 player
  3. Becoming a 2300 player (Part 2 of 3)

    by , 09-13-2014 at 09:59 PM (Games, analysis and discussion)
    Part 2 – From En Passant #82; December 1986 pp. 12-14
    In 1977-78 I completed the large step of filling in the rest of what could be called mandatory middlegame knowledge. I studied much of The Middle Game, volumes 1 and 2, by Euwe and Kramer; later I saw a book with similar content, Modern Chess Strategy by Pachman. This widened the number of opening and middlegame patterns and strategies of which I had some knowledge. Also enlightening was Larry Evans’ New Ideas in Chess, which sets forth ...

    Updated 07-06-2018 at 07:36 PM by Kevin Pacey

    Categories
    Becoming a 2300 player
  4. Becoming a 2300 player (Part 1 of 3)

    by , 09-13-2014 at 09:55 PM (Games, analysis and discussion)
    Becoming a 2300 Player
    By Kevin Pacey – Part 1 – From En Passant #81; October 1986 pp. 7-8
    In EP #66, Larry Bevand reported the results of a revealing interview with Kevin Spraggett. Mr. Bevand noted that “Many players spend an incredible amount of time studying chess but don’t advance because they haven’t developed proper study methods.” There is also a startling claim made by Kevin: “Before you are 2300, all you are doing is learning the rudiments of the game.” Having recently reached ...

    Updated 07-06-2018 at 07:38 PM by Kevin Pacey

    Categories
    Becoming a 2300 player