2/18/2008But "What About Bob"? In that movie our hero, Bob, wrestled with an assortment of psychological problems. He was able to make real progress by applying his therapists advice to "take baby steps", to take on his problems one at a time and to seek to make progress in small, manageable chunks. Chessplayers can and should do the same.
The "baby step" that we can take on the road to becoming world class calculators is to become thoroughly familiar with all underlying tactical ideas. " The first task of the calculator, then, is to be aware of the possibility of the tactical ideas in the position he holds...the point to remember is that combinations are not invented, they are merely discovered." GM Andy Soltis 1/30/2008Greetings everyone! I have argued that the great masters (past and present) have shown us the way for almost all of us to reach at least expert strength. The task, as I see it, is to recognize these lessons for what they are, and then to apply what we have learned to our own development. To illustrate, I am going to share with you a statement made by Grandmaster Capablanca. In his excellent book "My Chess Career" Capa outlines the stages of his development. In that connection he makes the following statement:
"I also had to acquire the self-restraint and serenity that are only the product of long and continuous victories."
This is, in my opinion, a very profound and far reaching statement. I spent a lot of time over the last couple of days thinking of ways to explain what it is that I see in these words. I finally decided, however, to simply share them and let any readers out there make of them what they will. Here are a few questions that should provide some direction.
- What do you hear Capa saying here?
- Have you ever really thought about this before?
- Can you think of any ways to apply the implications of this statement to your own training?
This should serve to get your juices flowing. Hope you will all find some benefit in this excercise. The basic point I am trying to make is that much of the wisdom that we need to play better chess in right in front of us. But we must learn to pay attention to the way that we listen. We must really hear what is being said. We must develop the art of listening!!
1/26/2008Hello all you fellow chess enthusiasts out there! Hope you have been enjoying the action from the Corus event. Just wanted to make sure that all ICC members check out Ronen Har-Zvi's game of the day from todays round. The game is Kramnik-Carlsen and I enjoyed everything about this commentary. Don't miss out! 1/13/2008Hope everyone is following along and enjoying the action. We will discuss a few of our favorite games as the tourney progresses. Joel Benjamin's game of the day on ICC from Rd. 2 is great! Check it out. Keep up with tourney news here. All the best to everyone. Ken W. 1/5/2008
Hello Everyone,
Am eagerly anticipating the start of Corus on the 11th of this month. There will, of course, be tons of games to examine. I encourage everyone to select a player or 2 that they are particularly interested in and try to follow their games closely. In this way you can follow the ups and downs of the tourney right along with your favorite players. As for me I think I will follow along with Anand and Judith. Should be great fun and very instructive. Take care. Ken W. 1/1/2008
As do most of us, I spend a goodly amount of time considering the subject of how to improve at chess. Perhaps the latest version of Fritz is what I need. Or maybe Rybka or Shredder or... Or maybe I need to update my opening repertoire. I mean, I have been playing 1.d4 for about a century now, maybe my results would be better if I switched to 1.Nf3. Well I just received my new USCF catalog maybe there are some new books there that will help me to get over the hump. Something on the endgame maybe? And round and round we go and where we stop... Does it ever stop?
Well probably not, but let me throw this thought out there. The vast majority of us already have in our possesion all of the information we need to play chess at at least the Expoert level! The problem that most aspiring players face, is not a lack of information ( or instruction), but a lack of direction as to how to put that information to use. In other words, how do we take the lessons contains in, for example, a strong players game collection, and put that information to use in our own games. It is only in this way that a players game actually improves.
Obviously, many players have navigated this hurdle and have learned the secret to bridging this gap between what we know and what we do. It is also just as obvious that many players have not. To facilitate this process is, in my opinion, perhaps the most crucial function served by a chess coach. A player must learn to see how what he is learning is related to what he already knows and how he can implement these new ideas into his own play.
As a coach, this is the basis of the service that I endeavor to provide. I will talk more about this in the future. I hope to soon make it possible for readers to message me with their comments or questions. Hope to be speaking with some of you soon.
Regards, Ken W. 12/17/2007
Until recently, most of us would not have had the opportunity to have contact with players of I.M. or G.M. strength. Now we are in the same room with these players ( online, of course ) nearly every day. How do we make the most of this development? Obviously, there are many ways. Watching live tournament games, listening to online commentary and taking private lessons are some of the more popular options.
But one of my favorite ways to use the presence of these strong players is to watch them battling it out in blitz games. Now I have heard some players argue that there really is not much point in spending time watching any players play blitz. After all, they may argue, how well can anyone play, with say 3 minutes for the entire game? Others may feel that it is a fun and light hearted diversion, a pleasant way to spend a little down time. I am of the opinion, however, that watching these games, with the right attitude and motive, is one of the most excellent ways for the average player ( below 2200 or so ) to improve his game online. Why do I say this?
First of all, if you select a few players whose games you like to watch, you will begin to learn a lot about putting together a high level opening repertoire. At the same time, you will be seeing the types of middle game and endgame issues that tend to arise out of certain variations.
Secondly, and I believe more importantly, if you watch the games as an active participant and not just as a casual observer, you will be training yourself to recognize tactical patterns more quickly. I am a firm believer, that many of these players are so strong, that they are finding tactics at 3 min. a game that most of us would be hard pressed to find at 40/2!
So if you aren't already doing so, pick a few players to follow the next time you are on your favorite online playing site. Commit yourself to be serious as you watch the games. Granted, even the best of players will frequently blunder with no time on their clock. But overall, I believe that if you make the effort, you will find this to be an enjoyable and inexpensive way to strengthen your board vision and as a result, your play in general. 7/1/2007
Greetings!
Wanted to share one of my favorite classic games with everyone out there today. This is, of course, a very famous game that most of you out there will be familiar with. That said, I am still intrigued that there are fundamental questions about this game that remain unanswered. My point is not to try and answer every question about this game ( but I do tackle some), but rather, to highlight how many exciting and interesting possibilities still remain to be explored in our classical history, if we take the time, and make the effort, to bring some of our classic games to life. Strong computer programs make this possible for any players with the patience to work deliberately, ask questions, and then dig for the answers. In this way, I believe, it is possible for even the average player to unearth details about his favorite classic games that no one has ever noticed before. This process will serve to stimulate that players imagination as well as provide tremendous artistic satisfaction. And in the end, isn't this what drew us to chess as a form of recreation in the first place? So, with all of this in mind, let's take another look at the classic game between Botvinnik and Capablanca at AVRO 1938. 5/4/2007
Less experienced players tend to put too much emphasis on material versus active pieces. Here, we'll look at two points in an instructive endgame in the 1927 World Championship match between Alekhine and Capablanca where the players chose activity over material. To see the annotated game, please click here. |
|
|
|
|