Use the Force, Luke

I "finished" Circle 5 last night. It became apparent very quickly that there was no way I would be able to do all 147 level 70+ problems after work, so I decided to call it quits in level 80 and review the problems I missed in prior circles in preparation for Circle 6.

Here's the schedule for two-day Circle 6, which I started today:

Circle 6 Schedule

Day  # Problems  Total
---  ----------  -----
1        828       828
2        381      1209

Of course given my performance on prior circles I don't expect to complete all 381 problems on day two, but I will get as far as I can and then move on to the final circle.

Circle 6 has started off well. Here's the latest statistics:

Level  1 %  2 %  3 %   4 %   5 %   6 %
-----  ---  ---  ----  ----  ----  ----
10     96%  99%  100%  100%  100%  100%
20     91%  93%   95%   97%   98%   99%
30     74%  80%   87%   93%   96%   99%
40     69%  74%   82%   88%   95%   98%
50     67%  72%   81%   89%   90%  (in progress)
60     55%  64%   75%   83%   93%
70     60%  58%   68%   --    79%
80     57%  --    64%   --    --
90+    55%  --    58%   --    --

I think it is safe to say I either understand or have memorized most of the problems in levels 10 - 40. Of the 828 problems I did today, I missed a total of 16 (2 in level 20, 4 in level 30, and 10 in level 40). Most of these mistakes were either due to carelessness or forgetting a problem that I don't understand and have had to just memorize (yes, there are still a few I have no clue on, even after doing them at least six times). After I'm done I may go back and try to understand these troublesome problems, but for now I just don't have that kind of time to spend.

Interestingly I saw a huge jump on level 70 for Circle 5, so I suppose I'm improving there though it sure felt like I was tanking when I was going through it.

Here's my average time per problem (ATPP) so far that I have recorded:

Level  Circle 5 ATPP  Circle 6 ATPP
-----  -------------  -------------
10       17.5 sec       14.2 sec
20       30.2 sec       22.2 sec
30       53.8 sec       31.8 sec
40       58.2 sec       45.3 sec
50        1.5 min     (in progress)
60        1.4 min
70        3.4 min
80         --
90+        --

Doing problems this quickly makes me feel like Luke Skywalker in Star Wars practicing with his light saber with his helmet blast shield down so he can't see and has to go "by feel" using the Force. It's a bit weird going through the problems so fast, but I have to go pretty quickly to have any chance of finishing.

Anyway, it's after midnight so I'd better run. I still need to review the problems I missed on the last circle for tomorrow.

Goodbye Don, Man de la Maza
Before I sign off I wanted to say thanks to Don for getting me involved in the MDLM blogosphere. The Knights have been a lot of fun so far, and having the peer pressure not to let everyone down has also helped keep me on the straight and narrow. I'll certainly miss his hilarious posts, but I wish him well in his future endeavors, chess related or otherwise.

Once I finish the program I don't know what I'll do with my blog. Maybe I'll "finish" it like Don so it will be a record of my MDLM adventures (and maybe start a new one for my post-MDLM chess training) or perhaps I'll just keep it going. Hmmm, something to think about...

For now, however, fare thee well, Sir Don, Knight Errant de la Maza. Bon chance!

P.S.
I haven't see Mikhail Tal again.