r/TournamentChess

I could be biased, but at amateur level (i.e. me, 2100 FIDE), I don't think I have ever faced this line before, while I've had a fair amount of Breyer and Chigorin (and of course the Marshall move order). I also can't remember seeing it in any notable master games in the last decade or so, although looking at databases it does seem to be played a fair amount.

I suspect the draw repetition is the main problem. But aside from that, it seems like a decent mix between dynamics and soundness. Does White have a modern line or way of playing that has lessened it's popularity?

I have a big tournament in 2 months. Chess and marathon running are my 2 main hobbies, I'm more passionate about running, and as I've ramped up my milage, I sort of realized my brain is never *that* on, so I can't realistically play my best chess and expect it to take more of a backseat role in future years.

That said, I have a big classical tournament in 2 months and want to give it my all as sort of a last hurrah. I played a rapid tournament yesterday and it was the worst performance of my life (1950 fide, I had a 1700 performance rating with some swindles, could have easily been a 1600 performance rating). It was the push I needed to get into gear.

I'll have about 25-30 hours per week to dedicate to chess. I haven't really studied much chess in the last 5 years, I sharpen up my openings a bit here and there, I get some coaching, but I largely just play).

- how much would you play vs study? What time controls would you play online? How much analysis would you do on online games?

- how much otb would you plan on playing? Any unrated or just a waste of time? Does rapid help much or try to stick to classical otb?

- how much time would you spend on tactics? I'd say my tactics are stronger than my rating, and I'd say with endgames I'm above average at endgames that are "tactical" and MUCH below average at endgames that are thematic (ie the types of positions where a specific technique is required to secure a win or hold a draw that is complex enough that a player at my level can't reverse engineer it on the spot- I'm much below average)

- my openings are relatively poor. I think I'm good at prepping for opponents and finding holes in their game, but I'm quite poor in having stable openings myself. Within my club I definitely can see opponents trending toward targeting holes in my repertoire

- how much of the time should be spent analyzing my games vs analyzing strong players games?

- in general how would you allocate your time?

I feel like with 2 months its probably enough to go from playing some of the worst chess of my life yesterday to being in form I can be proud of soon