What I Learned from Spending 1,000+ Hours Writing an Opening Course

Cool read! I am glad you took the effort to write it. I was always aware of the idea of a structured routine to achieve anything, but I am anything but structured so I either drown in the flow for hours or not get anywhere. Perhaps I will try your method soon.

Having been a long fan of yours, I am glad to see you expanding with the Chessiverse platform. I've even been inspired by it in my own work and now LiChess Tools has a search in the move list function.

I believe not only work, but a shared perspective helps a lot. That is, finding out what the thoughts and feelings of people doing that work were. That's why I like reading biographies and that's why I loved your article. You keep being an inspiration, John!

Very kind of you to drop this comment.

Glad the description of my writing routine was helpful, and glad you're incorporating a Chessiverse feature into Lichess tools! We're big fans of Lichess over at Chessiverse :)

@TotalNoob69 said in #7: > Cool read! I am glad you took the effort to write it. I was always aware of the idea of a structured routine to achieve anything, but I am anything but structured so I either drown in the flow for hours or not get anywhere. Perhaps I will try your method soon. > > Having been a long fan of yours, I am glad to see you expanding with the Chessiverse platform. I've even been inspired by it in my own work and now LiChess Tools has a search in the move list function. > > I believe not only work, but a shared perspective helps a lot. That is, finding out what the thoughts and feelings of people doing that work were. That's why I like reading biographies and that's why I loved your article. You keep being an inspiration, John! Very kind of you to drop this comment. Glad the description of my writing routine was helpful, and glad you're incorporating a Chessiverse feature into Lichess tools! We're big fans of Lichess over at Chessiverse :)

IM Fins

#12

@TomasThrainsson said in #8:

It's a fantastic resource John and you're to be highly commended for putting in all the hard work to getting this up and running. I really need to wrap my head around the 3...Qa5 Scandi, as I've been working through the Qd8 variation for a relatively long time now. It may be stable, but it lacks dynamic drift in a way. I hope to get my hands on your course in due time, it's looking like a fantastic platform to work from.

Keep up the good work man

Thanks Tomas :) You know where to find me if you need any pointers on 3...Qa5 vs. 3...Qd8! I think retreating to d8 remains reliable, but 3...Qa5 offers some dynamic potential that you mind refreshing.

@TomasThrainsson said in #8: > It's a fantastic resource John and you're to be highly commended for putting in all the hard work to getting this up and running. I really need to wrap my head around the 3...Qa5 Scandi, as I've been working through the Qd8 variation for a relatively long time now. It may be stable, but it lacks dynamic drift in a way. I hope to get my hands on your course in due time, it's looking like a fantastic platform to work from. > > Keep up the good work man Thanks Tomas :) You know where to find me if you need any pointers on 3...Qa5 vs. 3...Qd8! I think retreating to d8 remains reliable, but 3...Qa5 offers some dynamic potential that you mind refreshing.

#13

TotalNoob69

#14

@Fins said in #11:

Very kind of you to drop this comment.

Glad the description of my writing routine was helpful, and glad you're incorporating a Chessiverse feature into Lichess tools! We're big fans of Lichess over at Chessiverse :)

LiChess Tools is a browser extension I am developing. Try it out. I think you'll like it!

@Fins said in #11: > Very kind of you to drop this comment. > > Glad the description of my writing routine was helpful, and glad you're incorporating a Chessiverse feature into Lichess tools! We're big fans of Lichess over at Chessiverse :) [LiChess Tools](https://siderite.dev/blog/new-chrome-extension-lichess-tools/) is a browser extension I am developing. Try it out. I think you'll like it!

NM MasterChessDojo

#15

Great and amazing work John!
Congrats on finishing - although I'm sure 1k hours is a conservative rounded estimate, as since I've spent 20(!) years on mine (since before Marc Arnold) I'm positive that many of your work's pre-composition years and youthful experience also went into this epic accomplishment!
Thank you so much for the notes!
Possibly with your wisdom, my works may still see the light of day and not just grace my student's desktops.
-John MacArthur

Great and amazing work John! Congrats on finishing - although I'm sure 1k hours is a conservative rounded estimate, as since I've spent 20(!) years on mine (since before Marc Arnold) I'm positive that many of your work's pre-composition years and youthful experience also went into this epic accomplishment! Thank you so much for the notes! Possibly with your wisdom, my works may still see the light of day and not just grace my student's desktops. -John MacArthur

IM Fins

#16

@MasterChessDojo said in #15:

Great and amazing work John!
Congrats on finishing - although I'm sure 1k hours is a conservative rounded estimate, as since I've spent 20(!) years on mine (since before Marc Arnold) I'm positive that many of your work's pre-composition years and youthful experience also went into this epic accomplishment!
Thank you so much for the notes!
Possibly with your wisdom, my works may still see the light of day and not just grace my student's desktops.
-John MacArthur

John, it's great to hear from you - been awhile!

You're right, the 1,000+ hours is only the documented time...given that I've played and studied the Scandinavian for 20+ years I'm sure the true time is multiples of that number :)

Hope you are doing well, and I would love to purchase your work whenever you get around to publishing it!

@MasterChessDojo said in #15: > Great and amazing work John! > Congrats on finishing - although I'm sure 1k hours is a conservative rounded estimate, as since I've spent 20(!) years on mine (since before Marc Arnold) I'm positive that many of your work's pre-composition years and youthful experience also went into this epic accomplishment! > Thank you so much for the notes! > Possibly with your wisdom, my works may still see the light of day and not just grace my student's desktops. > -John MacArthur John, it's great to hear from you - been awhile! You're right, the 1,000+ hours is only the documented time...given that I've played and studied the Scandinavian for 20+ years I'm sure the true time is multiples of that number :) Hope you are doing well, and I would love to purchase your work whenever you get around to publishing it!

The_CelestialKnight

#17

I'm thoroughly enjoying the reading thus far; excellent work!

Tantalus

#18

I was beginning to think that this Scandi course was just like the phone icon above that chat box here in Lichess: something mysterious and forever elusive. I'm glad I was wrong! Now I hope people don't learn what to do when I play Bc4 and d3 with white (learned from Danya!) vs the Scandi!

IM Fins

#19

@The_CelestialKnight said in #17:

I'm thoroughly enjoying the reading thus far; excellent work!

Thank you for reading!

@The_CelestialKnight said in #17: > I'm thoroughly enjoying the reading thus far; excellent work! Thank you for reading!

IM Fins

#20

@Tantalus said in #18:

I was beginning to think that this Scandi course was just like the phone icon above that chat box here in Lichess: something mysterious and forever elusive. I'm glad I was wrong! Now I hope people don't learn what to do when I play Bc4 and d3 with white (learned from Danya!) vs the Scandi!

The Bc4+d3 setup is insidious for sure - if Black plays normal moves White can get a big initiative.

And LOL! Truly nobody has ever clicked on the phone icon, yes :)

@Tantalus said in #18: > I was beginning to think that this Scandi course was just like the phone icon above that chat box here in Lichess: something mysterious and forever elusive. I'm glad I was wrong! Now I hope people don't learn what to do when I play Bc4 and d3 with white (learned from Danya!) vs the Scandi! The Bc4+d3 setup is insidious for sure - if Black plays normal moves White can get a big initiative. And LOL! Truly nobody has ever clicked on the phone icon, yes :)