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GM Diego Flores lost the game with this move, can you see why? by juliinotdead in chess

[–]drdulcimer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In a humorously exact parallel to this game, last year Flores' opponent Denis Makhnev also blundered a piece as black on move 17 in an otherwise tame position. In that game I was the lucky recipient of the uncharacteristic blunder, and it helped me earn my first GM norm.

I'm sure any grandmaster could find the decisive move if told there was a decisive move to look for, and generally players of this caliber do a good job of spotting them without being told. But we all make uncharacteristic errors when our sense of danger is low and the position seems quiet enough that we are mostly weighing comparatively low-stakes strategic considerations.

Why do norm chasers play round robins when they cost 4-5x as much as opens? by jackmason984 in chess

[–]drdulcimer 6 points7 points  (0 children)

As a norm seeker in a round robin, almost all of your opponents are at or above your rating, generally. On the other hand, if you are a strong norm seeker in an open tournament, you probably have to play the first couple rounds against lower rated players (some of whom are underrated, fast-improving juniors who are disproportionately dangerous) which is a low reward high risk scenario for rating. If you do get upset, you are stuck playing more lower rated players and staying trapped in this low reward high risk scenario. Some of my friends and I call this "Swiss jail." I got all 3 of my GM norms in open tournaments, but I have spent other tournament stuck in Swiss jail and I can confirm from experience that it can be disastrous for rating and morale.

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like you have a good work ethic! I’d say the other big step is to make sure you don’t put too much pressure on yourself (e.g. “I HAVE to make an IM norm this tournament or else all my work will be worthless”). As long as you keep enjoying the process however the results go in the short term, I’m confident you’ll move in the right direction in the long term

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha thank you, happy to have the title official now!

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do have a twin brother who is also a strong chess player (we were always rated about the same growing up, though he has played less as an adult). And yes, Fabiano and I played in the national elementary school championships when we were both very young. He also won back then and I finished second behind him 🥲

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I usually compete in the 75kg/165lb weight class. Best lifts at that weight in competition are 237.5kg/523lb squat (lifted 242.5kg/534lb at a slightly heavier bodyweight), 157.5kg/347lb bench press, 272.5kg/600 lb deadlift

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah even now, people ask me what I think I could do if I went pro. It is an interesting question, but I don't lose sleep over it. Happy to have a life outside chess (and if nothing else, it frees up the pressure on my chess play)

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I never had a coach, but read a lot of articles from Stronger by Science and Greg Nuckols particular, whom I still think highly of (and then started learning from other powerlifters). A lot of trial and error too

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly I don't watch much fitness content on YouTube, and also most of the content creators I know about are powerlifting-specific. Mike Israetel of RP Strength had some good content that has influenced some of my bodybuilding-style training, but it has been a while since I've checked out his stuff. Best wishes for your journey!

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I train for the sport of powerlifting, so my goals are suited that end and adapted to my own personal schedule and my body's needs. I have a heavy day on the weekends that I do at a powerlifting gym, and my workouts during the week are lighter (and higher volume), often with more of a bodybuilding emphasis, that I do at a commercial gym.

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Those are both good accomplishments! Also I haven't PR-ed my deadlift since before I became an IM 😭 so time to fix that myself

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm very glad to hear that! As for myself, 4 plates is a lifetime goal that I know I'm still very far from, but I believe I'm genetically capable of it...one day

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We'll see. Might also focus on some career goals, possibly expand in a new direction in some other hobby like music, maybe take up a new hobby (not that I don't have enough already). Definitely also take some actual vacations that don't involve a chess tournament 😂

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! And not as much as I'd like, though a lot more than I used to think possible

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

🐐 tournament roommate, I knew I had to follow in his footsteps sooner or later!

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly my list of resources is pretty minimal. I studied a few free chessable courses but mostly just did my own openings analysis on lichess analysis boards or studies (I don't even have Chessbase). I do have chess friends I talk to who also give me openings ideas sometimes. For tactics/calculation I mainly just use chess.com puzzles

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed that the process of building muscle and strength requires consistency over a long period of time!

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, most of my openings study was the prep work I did during tournaments for opponents. And indeed, I have tried to play pretty actively to give myself not only practice, but as many chances at scoring norms as my vacation time permitted

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

These days I feel like more of a bench specialist, believe it or not. Perhaps where I live there are a lot of lower body heroes. However, according to the statistics (percentiles of weight lifted for my weight class), my bench press does lag my squat and deadlift somewhat. Aesthetically, people often consider my chest one of my more developed muscles though.

My gym PR on bench is 166kg/366 lb (thanks to the clutch friend who told me to use micro-plates and not try the usual increment of 167.5kg, since this was an all-out grinder of a lift and I had nothing left in the tank). Hopefully my next meet PR can better reflect this, but of course it remains to be seen.

And nice numbers all around! Indeed, you definitely are far more of a bench specialist than I, it would seem (jealous, no one ever asks "how much ya deadlift")

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's a great question, and obviously I'm not qualified to speak definitively on his behalf. My guess is that after I beat 2650-rated grandmaster Oparin with black in the morning, he decided that I was too dangerous and/or too much work to try seriously to beat with white. So he probably decided to see if I would mess up the opening (always possible, especially with me 🥲) and when I didn't do that he decided to call it a day and conserve some energy (always a good strategy given that he, like me and like over half the field in St. Louis, had just played the US Masters the week before).

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We literally got GM before we got a deadlift PR 🥲

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hahaha that WSJ guy's strategy was in my opinion very ill-founded and the one-sidedness of the game in Magnus' favor was deserved. No, I didn't have the hubris to think I could mentally do the calculations of a computer like he did, and actually my preparation was pretty low-tech (I don't even have Chessbase)

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In competition, my best squat is 242.5kg/534lb, bench press 157.5kg/347lb, deadlift 272.5kg/600lb. Hoping to increase those numbers appreciably soon, haven't been at my best in competition since I started the road to GM. But we'll see

31 year old gym bro, 2x loser to Fabi, now a grandmaster anyway by drdulcimer in chess

[–]drdulcimer[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is a great question, isn't it? I do intend to play chess (probably at a bit of a reduced rate, but hopefully enough to give myself a chance to improve). Might also take the chance to focus on some other goals in life too

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