Day 3 - Feeling Motivated!

Today I added links to all of the sites other than Sancho Pawnza. I also just looked at De la Maza's book, "Rapid Chess Improvement". It's a complete ripoff at $13.00 for a half-inch thin (I'm being generous) book that you can get for free on the internet. Okay, there were a few extra ideas about the drills, some tactical exercises, and confessionals from satisfied chess players, but the necessary content was the same. I really like De la Maza's ideas, and I continue to use them, but the book's price is unfair. Anyways, I also read Silman's review of "Rapid Chess Improvement." I think that Silman's thought process is good when you can't find a tactic. However, De la Maza's inspiring and encouraging book and articles are good for chess players to become motivated, not often seen with boring chess texts! Plus, they aren't as bad as Silman suggests. Additionally, De la Maza's methods seem to work for people other than himself too (see Link to Sancho Pawnza's site, December 28th). Anyways...

1 hrs completed, 3.5 total (rating same)
Today I did 3 Concentric Squares and 1 Knight Sight. My first CS took 15 minutes, while my second go took a little over 13 minutes. My 3rd took 12 minutes 30 seconds. The Knight Sight took no time at all. I think I will start to do the second version of KS, where you try to find the fastest route to a square (almost like concentric squares). I am starting to see the CS much better and faster, but I don't seem to be making much progress on KS. Well, maybe I should just give it more time.

Also ... I realized that it is impossible to get at a rook at a certain distance from the king. With the King at d5, it is impossible to get a rook at b8, f8, h8, a7, g7, a3, g3, b2, f2, h2, a1, and g1. Basically, if the king and rook form a (x) by (x+1) rectangle, when x is greater than or equal to 3. so like a 3 by 4, 4 by 5, or 5 by 6 rectangle.