2025 is the year I hone my grinding skills.
Last week I returned to Middleton Wisconsin for the North Central Open. I was surprised to see one of my old friends were signed up after a 5 year break for college. His name is Rithwik and he was rated 2245 at the time of the event. His specialty is the London System and I am not totally sure what he goes for with the black pieces. He only participated for the first 3 rounds before dropping out of the event on the basis of him being sort of a ‘House Player’. This tournament was set to go very well for me after beating the 2nd seed Trevor Magness. I did a good job paying attention to the details and was able to put him away with a substantial time lead. The final round had me facing a kid by the name of Artemii. This would go down as my second loss to him and it stung because I decided to change my preparation at the board and it resulted in me getting and mishandling a complex position. The goal was to try and outplay him from such a position but it was irresponsible given the tournament situation. I was in a sole first with a full point over 2nd place…
It was not necessary for me to try anything special. I put myself in a compromising position because I do not have a ritual to ensure a consistent approach to each game. I am planning to change that for the new year. My adjustment is to load only my base e-books to my digital study devices. I want to avoid distracting myself with endless interesting ideas and focus on my primary repertoire. It will include 4 books: 2 London Books, French Defense, and the QGD. I also call it ‘base’ because I have a multitude of ideas that branch out from these systems. You might be a little surprised that I choose the London as my opening books but it does fit my approach with the black pieces. I typically play king’s pawn but very few of the games I played in 2024 had me controlling the opening. For the most part, I found myself outplaying my opponents and I realize I could do the same thing within the London System with the added benefit that the London System is basically my defenses under ideal circumstances. I prefer pressing my opponents with slight edges over time rather than demolishing them in the opening and a Queen’s Pawn opening best reflects that desire.
Ritual: Find my opponent and review a game relevant to what I could play against them from by base books. It is not necessary that it reflects the exact line but more that I am putting myself in the proper mindset to play a similar position.
Also, this year I am planning to focus on refining my repertoire so I can be in great shape to shine at the National events in 2025. Hopefully, I will be strong enough to win the US Open in July!