I really enjoyed my series with GreenCastleBlock and consider it an honor to have been able to do something like this. I know that a lot of people often consider the chess community to be full of pride, which has unfortunately closed down lines of communication and collaboration, but my policy has always been to be open and humble about my personal journey. To come out of 3 games with a US Chess Expert on the verge of becoming a National Master with 1 win and 2 losses is a result I am very happy with, and I am excited about playing more in this series after some training and improvement. I also really like how Matt took them time at the end of the last video to offer some of his personal reflections regarding his training, and I hope many people find that as beneficial as I did! I would like to that Matt for doing this with me, I believe it says a lot about both of our personalities and I have always had the utmost respect for him and his contributions to the chess community since I subscribed to his YouTube channel in 2007.
For my personal training, since the Sparring series began, I have decided to make several changes to my approach to the game. I am going to continue playing E4 openings and I will also re-introduce the King's Indian Attack and Reti lines into my white blitz play to explore those for when I don't feel like an E4 scuffle. For my defense I am making the shift to E4/E5 lines. I have been told by several people that the Sicilian is possibly best left until I reach the next level of the game. I have enjoyed my time with the Sicilian, but unfortunately it creates positions that currently are not emphasizing my playing style and strengths, so I need to explore which defenses align better with my style.
Thanks to all who watched, and please subscribe to Matt if you are not already subscribed! The link to his channel is in all the Sparring videos.
