My 2023 Chess New Years Resolutions

By National Master Evan Rabin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Years, everyone! For accountability sakes, I decided to be public with my three chess-related New Year’s Resolutions for 2023: 

1) 10 Puzzles/Day 

As you likely know, we post puzzles on our Facebook page every morning. Every day in the new year, I will solve at least 10 puzzles, which could be found on many great sites, including Chess.com, and Lichess. There are also some great tactical books listed in this post. When solving puzzles, it is important to take one’s time and come up with the solution, before moving the pieces or clicking the mouse. It is best to write out the whole solution on a piece of paper before checking one’s work.

2) Study Chess 30+ Minutes Each Day

My fitness trainer Josh Margolis, our 97th Podcast Guest, explained to me how consistency is essential; it is better to work out 20-minutes three days per week and than an hour 1 day per week. In a similar vein, it is best to study chess in shorter increments of time if it means a higher frequency. Therfore, I have allocated 30-minutes each night to learning openings, reviewing grandmaster games and reviewing endgame fundamentals.

3) Play Over-the Board Tournaments At Least Once Bi-Monthly

No matter how much a player studies, he will not improve unless he plays regularly. The last tournament I played was the World Open back in July. To achieve my goals, including become a FIDE Candidate master, I will play tournaments at least once every two months. I am going to renew my membership for the first time in several years for the Marshall Chess Club and play in the FIDE Mondays tournament, starting on January 23. This is a great tournament, where everyone plays one slow game each week and one can prepare for his opponents.

In 2023, I will solve 10+ puzzles per day, study 30+ minutes per day and play rated tournaments at least once every month to work towards my goal of Candidate Master. What are your New Year’s Resolutions, in and out of chess?