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Originally Posted by NL Loki
1. Nope, not a joke. You obviously just read my first week, and haven't looked at my current progress
Day 9-12: watched 70 episodes of a TV show. Day 13, doing "something else". Yeah, I read it all.
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4. You underestimate the importance of openings and understanding the themes that associate with the openings you play. Most people can't pass 2000 because they lack the understanding of planning after the opening and positional theme
I don't disagree with you here, but you should be studying much more common themes than Bd7-e8-f7. The f6 break alone is a theme unto itself in the french that should be studied, not this obscure rarely used supporting maneuver.
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5. Endgames have to be studied in relation with the openings you plan
Perhaps long term, but I would say most 1800s are a long way from having the fundamental understanding of, say, rook endings necessary to study in the manner you're suggesting.
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6. Positional technique are no means useless at any level. They are essentially how you win game, along with tactics
I don't disagree, but again, I think you're much better off studying relevant positional themes than ones like the one you mentioned.
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8. Of course, you seem very confident in your opinion, can you please tell me your experience with chess and training (e.g. rating, past training history). I'll gladly take in your opinion, but you have to give me something more specific than 50% tactics and 50% Endgame (that's very very generalised)
Current FIDE 2136, NM title in Canada. Boring long list of international players faced and tournaments played.
To be more specific:
Tactics:
There are lots of books about "tactics in the x opening" that are very valuable; you are playing the English so it's critical to understand the light squared themes, how to defend against a space advantage, the various pawn levers involved in breaking a central advantage, how to attack the queenside, etc.
Endgames:
I firmly believe most players at your level (and mine) would do much better to simply study pawn endings and rook endings to get a firm base; the benefits of this are multi: 1) the direct value of knowing these endings, 2) the general understanding of time and square control, 3) developing calculating muscles.
re: positional understanding - simply put, at the level you're at (and a fair bit above it), tactics will decide the games. Grandiose positional schemes are nice, but IMO can be absorbed by osmosis through study of standard tactical themes that run through relevant positions to your openings in that you'll start to see where your pieces need to be to generate tactical opportunities.