Man de la Maza

Saturday, November 27, 2004

Playing the Percentages

I see Sancho is posting his percentages which I think is a good idea. I will do that more religiously on Circle 2. In the beginning, I was returning to problems where I missed something and redoing them. As such, the stats of CT ART are not entirely accurate (Level 10 shows a 100% solve rate for example).

These are approximations based on my memory:
Level 10: 95%
Level 20: 85%
Level 30: 75%
Level 40: 65%
Level 50: 60%

Elo Start-Finish
Level 10: 1525-1820
Level 20: 1820-2056
Level 30: 2056-2103
Level 40: 2103-2165
Level 50: 2165-2240 (current)

It would be nice if there was some way to rework prblems you have missed without it affecting your overall score. Something for CT Art 4.0 perhaps.

Cruising along with Level 50. Doing 17 a night at current. Takes me 2 hours and change. Idea of the combination usually comes pretty quickly, but it is rare that I don't miss a move or two. Even rarer is when I have seen solutions in all variations. Seeing the whole solution feels like owning a problem to me and usually what I require before I will sacrifice material over the board. Perhaps I should take a few more chances.

Life after Michael?
I must admit I have begun to think that there are other things that I might like to try to accomplish after this is done. 1-2 hours per night for 5 months is enough to conquer a lot of things. Some thoughts (in random order):

1) Learn to touch type -- I type all day long. I could get about twice as much done if I bit the bullet and learned to type
2) Read the bible cover to cover -- Probably the most important piece of literature and spiritual instruction of my culture. I've never read it cover to cover.
3) Exercise -- Need to lose about 25 pounds. Should probably do this before my first heart attack. Five months or one hour a day exercise would do this easily.
4) Meditation -- I have wanted to establish a regualr mediatation practice for about 10 years. Hell, I could do this in 30 mintues a day.
5) Learn to play the guitar -- I could probably achieve a basic proficiency in guitar if I worked at it every night for an hour for 5 months. Could at least play "Puff the Magic Dragon" and "The Boxer".


62 Days down, 93 to go
866 probs down, 343 to go in Circle 1

1 Comments:

  • Don we must be twins separated birth, or it's some sort of side effect from doing too many chess problems.
    Because I've been thinking about what I could do with my time once this journey is completed.

    I think I could live without your idea number 1 for a bit longer.

    Idea 2 is a good one. I'm currently reading a book called "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas a' Kempis.
    I read a chapter each night right after the chess exercises.
    I have never read the Bible from cover to cover but I think I will start once I have finished the Kempis work.

    Idea 3, also a very good one and something I plan on adding to my daily routine as soon as we finish renovations on the new house. Get everything moved into it. Then complete renovations on the current house so that we can place it on the market. Hopefully we will have this done by the end of year. Like I said my plate is full. I used to race road bikes back in my teen years. I have just traded one USCF (Cycling to Chess) for another. I plan on squeezing in at least a 30 minute ride each day, and slowly build up from there. I didn't lose my fitness overnight, so I don't expect it to return overnight.
    Since its dark now by 5:30 I will have to ride indoors on a trainer.

    Idea 4, also a good one.
    Idea 5, I haven't played or practiced in many, many years. It is something I plan on doing once the move is complete. I already have plans to convert one of the barns into a jam room out at the new place. (So if you hear any noise it’s just me and the boys...) I also have plans to convert the attic area into a mini studio/chess lab/computer area. Once I get the whole pesky load bearing wall thing straightened out. I don't want to land on the dinner table unexpectedly.

    Here's the fun part. I have plans to continue on with
    some sort of chess training, but not anything as daily time consuming as Mr. de la Maza's program. I already have the course of study mapped out. It’s too lengthy to post tonight but I plan on revealing our next quixotic adventure here shortly. So prepare to pack your bags because we are heading into the perilous land of "Opening Preparation".

    By Blogger Sancho Pawnza, at 8:42 PM  

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