Book order

Ok, program update time. I haven't been following my New Year's schedule like I planned. In fact, even my CTFB program was halted midway. Needless to say my tactics have suffered and I have to get back on top of it. I need to finish up CTFB and get back to reviewing WCT and Polgar.

I did modify my program a little however, after reading Heisman's article #19 here. I thought his timeline was really appropriate for me, almost to the month, so I decided to give his recommendations a go. One of the things that encouraged me to do this was the fact that higher rated players who reviewed my games were commenting that I needed to learn more about planning. Heisman basically says the same thing for people in steps 3 and 4 of his timeline. Therefore I ordered three books yesterday to help me get to step 5 by October. They are "Modern Chess Strategy", "Pawn Power in Chess", and "The Amateur's Mind". If things go as planned then I will continue with his book recommendations through steps 5 and 6.

I'm a little excited about starting on these new books because I have been re-reading a handful of books over the last year and I'm looking forward to adding more tools to my toolbox.

So...no suggestions for improvement on my last game? Too boring huh? One of the suggestions I did receive was to work on my knowledge of opening theory. The reviewer thought that it was time for me to spend time on the planning phase of the middle game. He said my tactics needed work as well but I can work on that through more time on my tactics program.

Playing these higher rated opponents has been really good for my improvement. The blunders come less frequently and careful play is the norm. I am less likely to see the wild Queen forrays that I used to see in the 1100 to 1200 level.

EDIT
Correction. I ordered "Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur", not "The Amateur's Mind".