2013-07-16

Coaching myself

When I decided to do my best at the Swedish Championship this summer, I wondered how I could best use my time. So I read my book and learned that I should work through an exercise-book with rather easy exercises. And start all over again when the book was finished.
I started the 1st of June, solving exercises four hours per day. I wish the outside life could have stopped for a month, but it didn't, so some days I didn't sit down until past midnight and finished with the birds singing outside the window.

It would be a lie to say that I haven't also spent time with the openings. I decided what to play already a year ago, and since then I have held on my secret during every tournament. When I played Jonny Hector in Växjö a few weeks ago I preferred to confuse him with a bad line. But my pawn sacrifice against him in the Swedish Championship wasn't a novelty, as I thought. He had seen it in Quality Chess' newsletter! Thankfully, I had a stronger 17th move prepared and got a pleasant position.
The next day was the best opening wise: after the novelty at move 12, Michael Wiedenkeller followed one of the prepared lines until move 21, where I actually had nine more minutes on the clock compared to when the game started, and 85 minutes more than my opponent. So what did I do during those hours? Walk around and look at the other games, while relaxing and enjoying? Never! I was scared to death to forget the 4 000 prepared moves, and didn't want to let any other thought into my head.

I won some games and was satisfied with my coach. However, my friends from Lund knew my weaknesses very well. I lost to both of them and finished a point behind the GM-norm.
After the tournament, many players congratulated me on the elo points I earned. I tried to explain that it didn't matter to me, until I remembered the title of the book...

When you have prepared for something in a year and it's suddenly over, you feel quite empty. I am physically tired – after running a lot and losing 3 kg in Örebro, but also mentally exhausted.
I will play one more tournament before I focus on other things again, SS Manhem's GM-tournament three weeks from now. But now I asked the coach for a break. He permitted two days.
I look forward to start again! The first thing I will do is reading the book about analysing the games from the tournament.