One big issue is deciding whether I am going to focus on one game exclusively or if I am going to play many games. In my previous post I mentioned "games" plural. And that is basically where I am at. I feel like limiting myself to only one game is an artificial limit. I am interested in many different games. And having many games is kind of an advantage in that I can play different things when I am in different moods.
*Chess: This remains the main game. I like it and the discipline it involves.
Daily Chess: (this is like postal chess that you take days to make your moves)
-This is the main type of chess I am interested in right now. I don't play much blitz because I prefer to have time to analyze. There are no slow time control over the board tournaments in Taiwan and slow leagues online require scheduling that is often challenging and runs into the problem that sometimes I don't feel like playing at the scheduled time. But I am open to doing that again.
-I am below my peak rating and I would like to get back to it. One problem that lowers my rating is that I have a tendency to just whip off some moves without thinking. The opposite problem is that if I set the bar too high then I don't get around to making my moves and I time out. So I have to find a balance but would like to gradually increase the amount of analysis.
-My experience shows that 5 games is about the right number of games to have at one time.
-As far as opening go I have decided to not use books during the game (although that is permitted) because I find it produces weird positions that I have no idea how to play. I have a settled repertoire that I stick with because I want to learn it well. I play d4 as white following Watson's "A Strategic Opening Repertoire for White", the French as black against e4 with some variety in the lines I will play, and the Tartakower as black against d4 using mostly Ntirlis' book as my main source. I am kind of unsure what to play as black against c4 but I am thinking of picking up the Hedgehog.
-I review the games after I play. I first analyze by myself without an engine and then use the chess.com engine review to check my analysis. If there is anything I am unsure about I check with Stockfish. I check the openings with various resources. Then I make "Wetzell cards" for any key moments. This is described in "Chess Master at Any Age". Basically you find places where you had some kind of mistaken thinking and try to figure out what was behind the error. The card should remind you of the mistake and the correction using a diagram and some snappy tag line.
Tactics: I use chess tempo. I like the features especially standard mode which means untimed. I like a lot of the features though. My main goal is to keep a streak alive as I mentioned in the previous post. I would like make it to a rating of 1700 and keep it around there. I would like to maybe get comfortable doing a few more problems per day but am not in rush.
Reading books: I like reading chess books. I would like to read more chess books cover to cover. So I am trying to pick one book and stick with it. I am currently reading John Nunn's "Understanding Chess Endgames". I am kind of leaning away from reading game collections just because they seem to have very little impact on my playing strength but that is not a rigid rule.
*Magic: Basically I have a pretty casual attitude to the game. I play Commander (a multiplayer format) with the twins fairly regularly. I have given up playing with the group at Growlife because although they are friendly I feel they are on a different level. I like the idea of deck building and would like to do more of that but it is challenging. I have been in lull with it lately. I would like to get back to playing a bit more and trying to make some decks. One problem is that it is a pretty big money sink.
*Video Games: I am pretty casual with these also. Stardew Valley is my new go to when I am tired. I am kind of mixed about this just because there are a lot of different games and some take quite a bit of effort to learn to play well. So it is kind of a question of how much effort I am willing to put in. Basically I want to maintain a casual attitude. So I am ok playing games on lower difficulty settings and mostly just playing for fun. That being said, I do like finishing games and I would like to have a bit more stick to itness when it comes to figuring out how to get through places when I am stuck. I don't want to make any rigid rules though.
*Go: Go has mostly fallen out of favor. I think the reason for this is because it seems to compete with chess in that part of me really wants to take it seriously and like get good. The main difference is just that there are so many more resources in English for chess. That said I like playing go and wouldn't mind having some correspondence games going. But I think the main thing is that similar to chess I would like to avoid using joseki books in the opening during the game although of course I can look up stuff afterwards. But overall trying to maintain a casual attitude.
*Board Games: This another mixed one. I like playing correspondence online with these also. Basically the main problem I have found with these is just that if you just jump into a game then you really have no idea how to play. So in some ways these games are not that interesting until you have played a few times and have some idea of strategy. It can vary how long it takes to develop that. Also there are so many games available online that is a real challenge to decide how long I want to stick with a game before trying something else. Part of me wants to climb the ladder in the meta game on Yucata but I have shied away from taking that seriously. I would like to learn to play some games better. I am also interested in exploring solo boardgaming with real physical games.
*Solo roleplaying: I like reading GURPS materials particularly Pyramid magazine. I haven't really done much actual solo playing in a while. I would like to develop some story lines I like and feel happy to get to. I am also interested in exploring some other systems but GURPS is my main go to. The main thing with this is that it can connect up with other interests. I have big ambitions for developing a whole multiverse full of different timelines and worlds. I have put in some effort on that but not a whole lot.
So basically the main problem here is that I have a lot of gaming interests and I have some ambition for each of them but limited time and energy. I think I just have to accept that basically most of them will come and go. I will get interested in one of them for a little while and then I will lose interest. So what goes along with that is accepting that I probably won't be able to get good at most of them. I guess in general I would like to spend more time playing. I spend a lot of time writing in my journal. Although that has some positive aspects, sometimes it is little better than wasting time. I think going along with my previous entry that energy levels are an issue. If I had more energy from a healthier lifestyle then I might be able to do more. I think the main thing is just not expecting too much. I just have to see if I can play a bit more here and there and try to be a bit more consistent. I think the temptation is to want to get really serious about any one of them but then not stick to it and then feel disappointed that I am not getting good. I think basically the plan is to maintain the priority on chess but find time for other games.
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