How many per day?

So here we are, the dreaded month 4 (dreaded by me as indicated earlier). But PawnCustodian was right i.e. just focus on "how" to think instead of getting all of the material right.  So far I give myself 1.5 points out off 4 games. Just focus on Piece Quality and convert every problem into an activity-problem. Development, Mobility, Role, Maintainability, remember?

But... how many exercises am I expected to do per day/certain time period? I also want to keep up with visualization exercises (my favorite!) and I have to prep my openings as well. So time management is challenging. So what I the right approach and also... I don't mind extra encouragement. These tests are tough but the approach looks promising. I think Petre did a good job on selecting games for this so far.

I'm retired. You would think that that's a great advantage, having unlimited time to devote to chess, or any other thing I desire. WRONG!

Limited time creates focus. Best advice I received is to: Set a schedule consistent with your life responsibilities and stick to it as best possible; stick to one topic during your scheduled study session; and limit your study time to 30-60 minutes per session (stop when you  feel you are no longer staying focused on the task at hand).

It's far better to address each task with intentionality as opposed to just meeting an arbitrary schedule.

I found the visualization exercises could be taken out of the schedule. They were perfect for idle times, waiting in lines, on transportation, or just waiting to fall asleep. You can recall visualization lessons, create your own problems, or recall fragments of your own games. It worked great for Beth Harmon   .

Other things you can do are make margin notes on areas you want to revisit that are otherwise a distraction to the lesson you are working, and in the openings you can skip some of your alternatives until a later time.

So it's not about the number of exercises per day for month 4 (there's like 60 of them), but just play with them for about an hour a day?

Valmont wrote:So it's not about the number of exercises per day for month 4 (there's like 60 of them), but just play with them for about an hour a day?

Not exactly. It's about  doing what works best for you. If you have the luxury of being able to devote several sessions a day to chess it may work better for you.

I run and occasionally race. On weekends I do a long-run that can take as long as two hours.  I hate running long distance, but it is essential to running well so I do it. At the start of these long-runs if I focus on goal distance or mileage I can come up with a dozen or more excuses to dismiss or shorten the workout. So I just get started and do it, it's easier that way.

These chess lessons are the same; just focus on the lessons during the time you have available and do it...

I have problem of falling behind in the course. I have got month 7 lessons, but I have just started lessons from month 6.

I have asked the ICS-support of how much time you should devote to exercises. And the answer was not to fall behind the course schedule and not get stuck on interesting positions or exercises.

About the visual exercises, they recommend not spend more then 10 minutes on these every other day. Even if the visual exercises are in 3 months, it's not the meaning you should complete them during these months. They should be done and rehearsed during the whole course and beyond.

Month 8, Pawn Structures was the challenge for me.

It consolidates the all of the prior lessons on pawn and piece play in a discussion of the centre pawn structures. On the plus side they really demonstrate their "how to think" approach with centre structures that are representative of the d4 openings course. But, the lessons are thick with variations requiring a game-like focus.

When I went through the lesson ten years ago I made a LOT of highlights and margin notes. We are trying to understand the thinking of many Grandmasters that have spent a career developing the variations being discussed; it's just not going to happen in thirty days.

Hang in there. You are getting to the good stuff!

PawnCustodian wrote:I'm retired. You would think that that's a great advantage, having unlimited time to devote to chess, or any other thing I desire. WRONG!

Limited time creates focus. Best advice I received is to: Set a schedule consistent with your life responsibilities and stick to it as best possible...

This sounds like sage advice!