Almost ready ...

The video series I am going to be producing on the 'Broken Arrow' is almost ready to be released ... or at least the first episode! I've got the first six episodes planned out (yes, I want to do things that 'in depth'), but I would still like some feedback on how to finish off the series (and in fact the plan has the final episodes to be feedback-driven). I'm hoping to have the first episode uploaded within the next few days, with the plan at present to be roughly one video per week, although I'll see how things go around the New Year, so that schedule might change.

As for the other series of though patterns that I mentioned in my last post, I've since found out that something similar was done over 50 years ago (1946 in fact, in the Netherlands), with the results (what was at the time a university thesis) published as 'Thought & Choice in Chess' by Adriaan de Groot. I've managed to locate a PDF of the book, although at over 450 pages, I suspect it might take some time to get through it all. Although my aim is not quite the same as de Groots would appear to have been (I've read the Preface & skimmed parts of the book), it would be interesting to find out what impact computers have had in terms of evaluating positions. Do players now think in 'concrete' numerical values (similar to a computer assessment of say +0.8), or do they still think in terms of ideas & advantages (eg: I have a queenside pawn mojority & a good white squared bishop)? I have a feeling that this idea of mine may become more than simply a handful of videos, but I'll see how things develop over time.

I'm also going to be running the Victorian Lightning Championship on the weekend. I'm not sure exactly what extend I'll be able to provide coverage here, but I'll try and record a few videos of the action, similar to what I did for the MCC Allegro Championships.