“Moving Up The Ladder” in Chess Life Online

I saw an interesting article [via] in Chess Life Online called “Moving up the Ladder: A Class Player on Gaining 200 Rating Points” by Christian Glawe.

Here’s a bare-bones summary of the key points:

• Study your own games with an instructor.
• Study openings based on pawn structures and plans instead of variations. For example, study the Mastering the Chess Openings series by Watson.
• When reviewing a particular opening line, use a games database to gather 50-100 GM games played in that variation. Play through them quickly. Make a note of the common ideas and motifs. Time: 30 minutes.
• Analyze every blitz game you play.
• 30-45 minutes of tactical training exercises every day. (The author prefers chesstempo.com.)
• Exercise to improve your stamina for those two-day weekend tournaments.