Analog-Theater 2.0

Just to report, I did 40 push ups yesterday (not the 100 I want to do each day, but its a start).  I had to come into work at 7am today (after getting home at midnight last night), so I didn’t play any chess this morning, but I will play a game when I get home this afternoon.

 Now, here are the next ten goals.

            People who know me know that I am really into chess.  In fact, one of the first ten goals was about chess.  When I started putting together this list, I had several goals about chess.  I ended up getting rid of a few because they were repetitious.  Like playing in the US Open and the World Open (I’ve listed a couple different tournaments already) and playing against Hikaru Nakamura (I’ve listed enough different people I want to play with).  I think that the ten goals I kept are enough to represent that facet of my life and my dreams.

11) Get my rating on Chess Master over 1200 – The first step I need to do to complete all my chess goals is to become a stronger player.  Like real chess ratings, the ratings on Chess Master go up as you win and down when you lose games.  Right now I have a rating around 900.  To get it over 1200 I will need to continue to win games and win games against higher rated opponents.  Part of my plan to get stronger to become an International Master is to play a game every day.  As I play games and beat higher ranked opponents, my rating will increase as will my strength.

12) Play a lot of pick up games – While playing daily against the computer is great for getting a lot of practice in, chess is best when there are two players involved.  I used to keep a chess set in my car so that I had it handy if someone wanted a game against me, but I have since taken it out.  It is time to put in back in my car so I can start playing at work, at the anime club, and at my friends’ houses whenever someone is up for the challenge.

13) Win the Virginia Open – The Virginia Open is a chess tournament that I have gone to a couple times.  It happens every January.  Both of the times that I played, I lost every game.  While I did learn something from those loses, I also realized that losing sucks. After the last tournament I decided to quit competing until I got better at chess.  I plan on attending the one next January.  By doing what I mentioned in goal #9, I should have improved my skills considerably and might be able to win some rounds, if not all of them.  It will be my triumphant return to the world of chess.

14) Play a game against Gata Kamsky and

15) Play a game against Susan Polgar – I’m going to talk about both of these goals together.  Gata Kamsky is currently the highest ranked chess player in the United States and Susan Polgar is one of the highest ranked players in the world.  Both of them have competed in various international tournaments, included the World Championship.  It would be an honor to have a chance to put my soon-to-be-improved game up against their championship level game.  I don’t expect to beat either of them, but it should be a learning experience.

16) Play a game against Josh Waitzkin and spar against him – Josh Waitzkin has been a hero of mine.  He was a chess prodigy.  He was the US under 18 champion three years in a row and was on the verge of becoming a grand master when he quit playing chess professionally.  The movie Searching for Bobby Fischer was a dramatization of his childhood.  He has since started practicing pushing hands tai chi and has won several tournaments.  I would like to be able to test my skills both over the board and on the mat against him.

17) Get a grand master norm in the Gibraltar Open – I have read about the Gibraltar Open several times in Chess Life (a monthly chess magazine).  It has been something of my dream tournament.  It happens each year at the end of January or the beginning of February (it is too late for me to plan on competing in this years tournament, but I have time to start preparing for 2011) and it seems that everyone goes there to get grand master norms (a grand master norm is a requirement to become a grand master in chess.  You have to play in tournaments against grand masters from different countries and receive favorable results). Many of the prominent chess players compete there, including Irena Krush.  Which leads me to my next goal…

18) Go on a date with Irena Krush – if I’m lucky, I will have a chance to meet her at the Gibraltar Open.  Irena is a rising star in the chess world.  The twenty-five year old international master first got a name for herself on the message boards during the Kasparov vs. the world match where she demonstrated considerable analytical skills as everyone discussed the next moves.  She’s been on the cover of Chess Life a couple times.  The last issue I saw her in was about her earning a grand master norm in the Gibraltar Open.

19) Become a grandmaster of chess – if I can achieve all of the above mentioned goals, this one should be easy.  Of course, I probably will have to be a grand master or at least an international master before I can consider playing seriously against Kamsky or Polgar.

20) Play in the World Championship – I think this goal might be one of the hardest to achieve and I’m not sure I should even include it on the list, but it does give me something very high to shoot for.  To play in the World Championship you have to be one of the best players in the world.  I would have to be able to beat Kamsky and Polgar and any other player I have mentioned.  I will keep practicing my game and see how far I can go.  Maybe you’ll see me on the cover of Chess Life after I beat Anand.

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