SRPickles

56-year-old  Hobby player. playchess.com id is SRP178 (same avatar)

Learned the moves at age 7. I played in a chess craze at school for a month with my peers in 1973 and scored 85%. Only the boy Murphy beat me (he had read 3 Chess books, and I had read none). I had briefly looked at openings in the black and yellow teach yourself chess book given to me by my neighbour and chess teacher. The openings I used as a 7-year-old was the QGD Caro-Kann Defense and the Petrov opening. Italian game (Fried Liver attack) My mother refused to spend money on games or sport.  It was only when I was 21 and I had the first full-time job that I started my chess library and spent mine on chess. to my mother's disapproval.

Murphy later became a Correspondence GM in CCLA, He left town in 1973, and I stopped playing the royal game. I started playing at the old Cairns chess club aged 21 for 12 months. the chess club folded. I dropped the game and only began playing every day online since  August 2001. I have only played in 3-week enders (I usually score 1.5 on day one then have 3 losses on day two); back then, I was rated 1284  *provisional). I was aged 21 and was only a novice. Apart from  2 paid one-hour lessons 3 years ago from a friend who was a world junior finalist.

He suggested I play the Vienna Tarrash Closed Sicilian Grand Prix Attack and Klasnikov and Petrov openings. These allowed me to reach 1685 elo Rapid  66.7%, partly due to the white side of Petrov opening. 1397 elo Blitz 5 min 5-sec increment.

I have NEVER been properly coached as I can't afford it since I'm on a disability pension. I am now studying a chapter of a course every week on chessable.com. So I'm doing chess activity for at least 3 hours daily.

FIDE chess Shogi Chinese Backgammon and Poker are my favourite strategy games. I don't gamble; I only use play money. ( FIDE chess is best.)  as for video games, the PS4 Madden gridiron series is my favourite.

I HAVE A POLICY OF SITTING OUT TOURNEYS AND MATCHES WHERE I AM A MEMBER OF BOTH CLUBS. I DON'T PLAY ONE CLUB AGAINST THE OTHER. ALL THE BEST TO BOTH TEAMS...........

HANDSHAKE TO ALL PLAYERS GOOD LUCK

I have a library of 140 books and 80 DVDs 20 downloads (supporting the Masters while they help others). Read very little. But starting to go through them, I started my library when I was 21  years old. I really recommend chessable.com

current goal is 1650 >>> ultimate goal is 1800 then 2000 ELO.

My rapid rating on playchess is 1685 elo PBA is 1701 elo. (by just instinct moves) headway. 35 points max for a win on playchess compared to 15 on chess.com. I don't ply by ply calculate enough (i rely on pattern recognition. If I calculate every move, I get into time pressure. I have a hard time playing sub 10 mins.  I don't particularly appreciate using premove. The competition is much harder on chess.com than the playchess.com site as there is a lot of coaching on the game for players.

My favourite Victorian Player (Romantic era) is Englishman GM Joseph Henry Blackburne.

He learned chess at the age of 19 and beat WCh Lasker in the same year in a tournament game.

I have his book written by himself in my library.  JHB was ranked 2nd  to 5th in the world throughout his entire career. Known as the "Black Death" in tournament play. He was much weaker in Matchplay (he would find moves that worked not the best move.), and He was supreme in simultaneous play even in his late seventies..     (with his bottle of Scotch whiskey and glass at each end of the room.

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MY FAVORITE PLAYERS  circa. 1950-2000 AD

Attacking Kasparov (GOAT greatest Queen exponent at turning the tide))  one big bite or two small bites the best approach with white. 89% Karpov 98% Kasparov (but Karpov never retired at 40 years of age.)

Hypermodern Karpov (THE best with black pieces  68% compared to Kasparov 64%) 

Prophylactic  and nibbles  (putting small lasting advantages together) best approach with black

Classical Fischer >  Destroyer of weaker players  Also, he never used a chess engine for preparation. Only the top 20 in the world had a chance to beat Fischer.

He. A legend and is most likely the best player to study first.

Innovative Korchnoi (the best fighting spirit and counter attacker) prefers minor pieces.

And Powerplay material latency  Bronstein (the sorcerer), who's going to be the apprentice?

Judit Polgar is the best women's player in history and no reason why men and women can't play the same tournaments. At least at the IM level. In future, there will be more WGM's

My favourite Australian Player is Ian Rogers, who was ranked 5 to 10 before he retired.

His PET opening was the Center Counter.

I judge players at the 40+ year of age mark, Example being the 136 game world championship between Kasparov and Karpov >>> Karpov did extremely well against a

much younger Kasparov/ no one would lose more than 200 elo strength with effects of age,

But chess is a young person sport nowadays. I hope they keep our classical game for the seniors. IT will be interesting to see Magnus Carlsen and the others' performance once they reach 40. I wish them all a long prosperous life. I agree Carlsen is the Mozart of chess. The most versatile of this  21st century.

Of the Americans, I like Hikaru Nakamura best. He is supreme at blitz. 

The only thing an OTB World Champion has not done is also to win the World Correspondence title.   I think. Not entirely sure.

 GENS ANU SUMUS

PS  I RECOMMEND The chess players bible  by James Eade  for new players as a PRIMMER

ISBN 0 7333 1483 X

This book is never out of date, and everything is explained in the diagrams. with arrows.

I also recommend the PlayMagnus.app and Chessable.com which Magnus owns both.