2000 Challenge – Discover ways to improve at chess and attain the rank of expert.

As my fall 2019 semester wraps up, I am completing my EDCI336 free inquiry on improving at chess. I was appreciative to have choice in this inquiry, and I remained motivated because I was so in love with my topic. As a teacher candidate, I have learned the value of giving students choice to improve their engagement and motivation. At the end of my studying, playing, and reading, I did not achieve an expert rank (2000 rating) as I had hoped. However, I learned the path to 2000, and when I have more time to commit to reading and studying, I am confident in my ability to reach expert rank.

My chess inquiry taught me a number of skills that will really assist my teaching practice. An attribute of a successful learner is persistence, and chess is a tough game. It’s easy to feel discouraged after a loss, but the satisfaction of improving and learning new strategies makes my experience pretty balanced. I like the game of chess, so I’m motivated to persist. Even though I didn’t achieve my goal within my “allotted time”, there’s no limit to how long I can persist at this challenge in my own time. Finally, I learned the value of an open resource. I found an online open chess resource that I’m excited to continue to use. I think my experiences as a learner in this inquiry are not unique, and I’ll remember this learning journey when I am nurturing students’ independent inquiry skills.

To wrap up my inquiry, I’m returning to my initial question: In what ways can I learn to become a better chess player and attain an expert rating? I have 3 simple answers to my central question.

    1. Continue and finish reading Silman ~ I was unable to finish this book this semester, the translation and comprehension of chess notation was too arduous a task. There is great value in this reading, it is perfectly suited to a player at my level looking to improve to expert rank.
    2. Use a database ~ Using historical game data is critical to studying and analysing chess positions.
    3. Continue playing and puzzling ~ Playing is the only way to improve my elo rating towards expert rank. Also, playing and doing puzzles is great practice looking at unique or useful positions, which is important when improving at chess.

I enjoyed this process. I enjoyed improving my notation reading skills, and I enjoyed playing my friends and classmates. I enjoyed rekindling a love for a game that I had when I was younger, and I enjoyed experiencing gratifying improvements to my game. Thanks for reading.

Mike Warren – Fall 2019