Best of CLO 2010: #3
January 28, 2011
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Christian Glawe, Photo Betsy Dynako 2010
The #3 article in Best of CLO 2010 is Moving up the Ladder by Christian Glawe. Judges loved his detailed account of raising his rating from 1743 to 1944 in six months. At the age of 42, Glawe helped inspire other readers that improvement is possible at any age.  

Christian Glawe is a TV/Film editor and amateur chess player based in  Los Angeles, California. You can find out more about him at christianglawe.com and icehatcreative.com

One of Glawe's tips was to hire an instructor to study your games with—he gave ample credit to his own coach, IM Jeremy Silman. 

Glawe's most recent CLO contribution was published today, an exclusive CLO video of the Jimmy Quon Memorial in L.A. Christian tweets frequently. Follow him at twitter.com/ChristianGlawe

The Judges Sound Off
Read more about the judges here.

Good ideas, solid writing, and insightful notes to his games, which remain consistent with the themes of the prose.--Howard Goldowsky

The title set me off at first: living in New York for 8 years I have seen many adults players moving up the ladder fast so I thought this would be a story I have heard many times at the NY Marshall Chess Club. Instead the way that Glawe described his road was educational and entertaining at the same time. It is super-instructive but not overbearing, encouraging, positive, practical (yes, 30 min/day of chess training is feasible) and just a great read.---Iryna Zenyuk

Instructive "how to get better" report by someone who worked hard and shows it in his thoughtful analysis—Arne Moll


Most adult USCF members--those who have not reached the master level--should easily be able to relate to the author's description of typical class players in the first paragraph.  As a coach myself, I can attest that the personal experiences shared by the author will help even more middle aged class A through D players gain 200 rating points.  I enjoyed the first annotated game, which clearly demonstrates how pawn structure serves a central role in determining your plans.  A well written piece that was a pleasure to read---Michael "f-pawn" Aigner

I thought this was an excellent article when I first read it back in June, and my opinion has not changed.  I had to discover a lot of these truths through the school of hard knocks, so I’m sure that this article will save a lot of folks a lot of time-Michael Cornett

This article hits the bullseye for the main concern held by many readers of CLO:  How do we improve our own game?   Having read every book printed on the topic of chess psychology, I found all of Glawe's insights and lessons to be accurate and helpful.   They echo many insights expressed by GM Rowson, and his books stand out as the most useful works in the genre--Damian Nash



Best of CLO 2010 Countdown
#2-???
#3- Moving up the Ladder by Christian Glawe
#4- A Parent's Perspective on the Chicago Open by Mark Schein (Judging article)
#5-  2010 Chess Olympiad: Final Impressions by IM John Donaldson (Judging article)
#6-the US Chess School Comes to Seattle Part I and Part II by Michael Yang. (Judging article)
#7- The US Championship in Black and White by GM Joel Benjamin (Judging article)
#8-Adamson on IM Norm #2 at the North American Masters by Robby Adamson (Judging article)
#9-The Sicilian Slayed by GM Gregory Kaidanov (Judging article)
#10- Hilton on Not Winning the Pan Ams by Jonathan Hilton (Judging article)