Ametanoitos, that story sounds like it's most certainly fiction--but pleasant fiction .

And Bryan, yes this was a looonng time in coming, and was probably long overdue.  Life gets in the way of chess sometimes, unfortunately!

It is truth or a legend the story about Churchill giving titles for money back at WWII days when the British needed money. when someone wanted to give money to get the "Chess Master" title and Churchill said: "I cannot give you this title. I can make you a Baron, a Duke etc but i cannot give you the title of Chess Master, this title you should earn it!"

I sincerely think that it is a legend, but it is a nice one. 

Congrats!

Congrats!

I hope to start a similar thread when I get IM some day. 

Congratulations!

Congrats!!!

Congrats Eric.

Can you tell me what is needed to get this title? I know it's only awarded in the US...

Congrats, Eric 

Everybody says to me the same: having a minimum knowledgement about openings... the better way to improve your chess is study endgames.

But it's a little boring 


PD: Instead of this... maybe I will try to read My System... 

Thanks guys!  It's hard to say exactly what I did to improve, though I've mentioned some things elsewhere.  I finally read My System, which helped tremendously, I think.  I did some work on endgames, which I think help your power of visualization and calculation a lot since the positions are generally more clear and sometimes solvable.  But I think in my case, I've had Master-level knowledge and "culture" for a while, it was a matter of actually playing better at the board, not acquiring more knowledge.  

Other than that...I got divorced and had more time for chess (though I didn't study that much).  I just thought about the game differently.  I had a critical look at my own play and tried to correct some things and avoid some of the same types of psychological mistakes that I've made for years: trying to force things, being a perfectionist, fear of losing, etc.  Getting over the fear of losing was a big step; I won quite a few games over the last year that I would have drawn in the past by just staying calm and keeping a clear head.  I trusted myself and my position when complications began and didn't try to clarify things quickly, which I often did in the past.

Mostly, I think, I learned to concentrate better.  After the divorce I was depressed for a while, and chess was a nice mental escape, so it became easier to fully lose myself in a game.  I learned to out-sit people, which is a huge skill.  If you keep plugging away for 4, 5, even 6 six hours (my last-round win over a Master yesterday saw each of us down to about 5 minutes in a 40/120, G/60 time control) and maintain your focus the entire time, your results will improve.  Not many players can do that.  I also learned to conserve my energy better, take walks from the board, and play moves like Ra1-c1 without much thought so that I have reserves of time and energy when the critical points of the game actually come.  That's extremely important, I think.  Sensing when those critical moments have arrived is, perhaps, the most important "non chess study" skill for a player to have.

I'm going to take a break from playing for a while, but maybe I'll try to earn the FM title next; we'll see!