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Berthold Chiang
12-08-2008, 06:27 PM
Hello,

I'm a player of around 1350 CFC and would like to bring my game to a higher level.

Currently living in Vancouver, BC and is desperately looking for a chess tutor. :confused:

Any feedback will be appreciated.

Berthold Chiang
12-08-2008, 07:15 PM
I've been playing in tournaments on and off for the last 9 years without much success and the study of various chess books have been a failure.

The great Capablanca once said that the study of a book would not teach a student how to play, and that it merely acts as a guide. Wondering if there's a grain of truth in what he said.:o

Egidijus Zeromskis
12-09-2008, 05:20 PM
I've been playing in tournaments on and off for the last 9 years without much success and the study of various chess books have been a failure.

It might mean that your books were too advanced for you. What are percentages of correct solved problems by you in these books? (My hardest book was Dvoretsky's Art of Analyzes in Russian. I could not manage it. Soon I will try his Analytical Manual (probably it is updated/revised version). Wish me luck :)

From my experience with a low-level (low-rating) players: their most weakest point - non ability to see the whole board what leads to sore blunders.
To overcome this issue for my son (~1000cfc), I'm helping him to solve a lot of simple problems. His is getting more excited about chess when he does that, too.


I wish you to find a person who will go through your games and will point your weakness, and will build a plan for improvements. [I looked through your CFC records - you should play more :)

Christopher Mallon
12-09-2008, 06:16 PM
I agree, you sortof have to learn how to read the chess books, and even then read ones at the right level for you. I have quite a few books that are too advanced for me, which I read out of interest and now they sit on my shelf until I'm ready to read them for real.

If that sounds like an area you'd like to improve in you might consider trying some online lessons, which aren't great for a lot of things but for this they work fine. Plus it gives you options!

Berthold Chiang
12-09-2008, 06:54 PM
hey guys,

I do have some books on tactics such as Alburt's "chess tactics for the tournament player". I learned quite a bit from it and scored okay when going through the exercises; however, while going through some tougher combinations online I usually lose the thread.

Maybe I studied books that are too advanced for me. One of them, "attack and defense" by Dvoretsky and Yusupov, was quite tough. The general discussion is pretty straightforward, while the analysis... :confused:

Christopher Mallon
12-09-2008, 07:21 PM
Dvoretsky exclusively taught people already over 2000 rating level. So you might want to save that one for later :)

I recommend the four main Silman books to anyone around your strength (Reassess your chess + workbook, Amateur's Mind, and his endgame book). They're really easy to read and go through but lots of pertinent info in there!

Berthold Chiang
12-09-2008, 08:21 PM
Sure. :)

I own "reassess your chess", but not the other 3.

Right now I'm going through Capa's "chess fundamentals". Is it a book for players of my strength? I found out that some of the endings given in the book are quite advanced.

Oh, when studying endgames, is it necessary to memorize some of the endgame positions and their solutions?

Christopher Mallon
12-09-2008, 09:25 PM
It's all about patterns at the lower levels, other than a couple key positions (like the Lucena) to aim for. The Silman ending book is good because it takes the endgames from easier to harder so any level can use it.

I'm not familiar personally with "chess fundamentals" so I can't comment on that. I'm also not nearly the strongest player on here but you weren't getting a lot of replies :)

Berthold Chiang
12-10-2008, 12:14 AM
i have the revised edition of "chess fundamentals" which is in algebraic notation. The publisher of the book, random house, gave it a rating between beginner to intermediate. But of course, such ratings are crap to most people.

Egidijus Zeromskis
12-10-2008, 01:40 AM
Right now I'm going through Capa's "chess fundamentals". Is it a book for players of my strength? I found out that some of the endings given in the book are quite advanced.

I found the Capa's book too concise and refined. He gave good advices but without extended backing with various positions or games (My edition has the chapter with Capa's own games, however he stated that these games are for advanced players.) I would suggest to read this book before sleep (you may come back later for his games) and move on to another one.


Oh, when studying endgames, is it necessary to memorize some of the endgame positions and their solutions?

It would be better to connect moves into idea (rule), without memorizing them.

Berthold Chiang
12-12-2008, 06:23 PM
What are some of the best ways to settle down for the ending after an exciting middlegame struggle? One book I read long time ago suggested players to wait for a few minutes and settle down before carrying on.

In one of my recent tournament games I had winning endgame positions but played too quickly and lost. On two other occasions I only managed to draw some completely won positions, both with a pawn up. About a year or 2 ago such problems don't exist in my games. ~sigh~

Jason Lohner
12-12-2008, 07:41 PM
Hi Berthold :)

I remember playing you in one Vancouver tournament, it was a draw if I remember rightly ....

I would recommend getting some good software. I use Fritz to analyze my games, Personal Chess Trainer for problems (has tactics, endgames and strategy) and play against Chessmaster 11 (GM edition). Some people like the convekta software but I personally hate the interface and don't like its 'forever blink' if you get the problem wrong .

As for books I know how you feel, I have finally decided to read the books that were designed for my level of play :) I would recommend Logical chess move by move (chernev), any of the Winning chess books by Seirawan/Silman, Amature Mind (Silman) and Silmans Complete Endgame Course. One tip is pick out about 4-5 books and read them, then reread them several times. The material will sink in and it will keep your book costs down!

Berthold Chiang
12-12-2008, 08:36 PM
Sure. I'll consider purchasing Fritz if the CFC still has it.

Our game was played in the spring of last year. It was a KID and you played...e6. Kinda unusual...:)

Christopher Mallon
12-12-2008, 10:36 PM
I find Chessmaster to be better for training at lower levels than Fritz, for the record, and you can find 10th Edition around for $20 or less.

Jason Lohner
12-15-2008, 03:11 AM
I find Chessmaster to be better for training at lower levels than Fritz, for the record, and you can find 10th Edition around for $20 or less.

Chessmaster is great to play against, I like how it 'dumbs down' its play. But when it comes to analysis of games Fritz beats it hands down. I picked up Fritz 10 at futureshop for $20. I like to setup engine vs engine matches using my favorite openings, let it run overnight (3-4 games) and then run analysis on all of them the next day.

yeah I still play the KID and I used to play e6 because I didn't want my dark square bishop hemmed in... I don't play that move anymore because of the cramped position it leads to... I remember I was up rook for bishop and there was No way to break through to utilize my material advantage so I offered a draw...

Christopher Mallon
12-15-2008, 07:47 AM
Oh yeah I agree about analysis and Fritz, that's what I do myself. But Fritz's method of dumbing down is... well, dumb. It will play a perfect game, make one massive blunder ("Here, have my queen!") then go back to playing perfectly.

David Lavin
12-15-2008, 10:42 AM
I've alsways thought that the best reason for studyigng endings isn't because it helps you play better endings -- its because it helps you understand simple tactics without a lot of pieces cluttering the board.

Learning to mate with B+N+K vs K will teach you a great deal about the strenghths and weaknesses of minor pieces. R + P vs R will also teach you how to anaylse concrete variations cleanly without cluttering up variations with too many variables.

A book such as Keres' practical chess endings could be useful but any basic ending book. You can even practive these things before checking your analysis with a book.

Good luck and I hope this helps

Kevin Pacey
08-01-2018, 12:57 AM
Andrew Soltis advised in his Grandmaster Secrets: Endings (Thinkers Press, 1997) that as soon as an endgame is reached, a player should get up and go for a walk (presumably if he's not in time trouble). That is indeed so that he can switch his thoughts to 'technical (or endgame) mode'.

One thing about this book is, it lists the 'basic' ending of K+B+N vs. K as having a 1 in 3000 chance of happening for a given year, and so it's one ending not much worth worrying about. Most serious players would seem to disagree. I've had it come up in my career twice, although when I was on the superior side my opponent went to the wrong corner even before I'd won his last pawn, and resigned besides, having assumed I'd mastered it in the adjournment that had happened. The other time I was on the inferior side, albeit in a training game vs. an 'A' class player (Eric van Dusen), who somehow knew how to play it cold and won with seeming ease(!)

Here's the wiki on chess endgames:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_endgame

Kevin Pacey
08-01-2018, 01:09 AM
I've been playing in tournaments on and off for the last 9 years without much success and the study of various chess books have been a failure.

The great Capablanca once said that the study of a book would not teach a student how to play, and that it merely acts as a guide. Wondering if there's a grain of truth in what he said.:o

In Capablanca's day I don't think there were too many good chess books around, let alone taking into account the lack of computers back then. I recall at least Kevin Spraggett crediting the study of Euwe and Kramer's old thick 2 volume work on the middlegame phase as allowing hime to finally beat his rival Leo Williams back in the day.

Kevin Pacey
08-01-2018, 03:45 AM
hey guys,

I do have some books on tactics such as Alburt's "chess tactics for the tournament player". I learned quite a bit from it and scored okay when going through the exercises; however, while going through some tougher combinations online I usually lose the thread.

Maybe I studied books that are too advanced for me. One of them, "attack and defense" by Dvoretsky and Yusupov, was quite tough. The general discussion is pretty straightforward, while the analysis... :confused:

I think unless you're gifted, getting better at positions with a tactical solution available (noting that during any point of a game there is no loud warning that this is possible, of course) will require lots of practice solving them (or trying to, then looking up the solution, to at least learn a new pattern). It's like physical exercise - do more and it may get easier over time, until you may even do things you formerly thought were beyond you. It also helps to be steadily playing chess, too.

Another approach besides looking at books strictly about tactics is to try to find wisdom in book(s) about how to calculate in general. Lasker's Manual of Chess, (though dated like the book by Capa) has some pointers here and there on calculating, I seem to recall. I'd advise having a dictionary handy for some of it though, and sometimes the book seemed murky to me when I was a young class player, regardless. One of Andrew Soltis' better books, I think, is The Inner Game of Chess (David McKay Company, 1994), a 359 page text which is about how to calculate, largely re: finding tactical solutions that arose in actual games. Another, really great, Soltis book is a 1975, 262 pages long one (same publisher) called The Art of Defense in Chess; it's about way more than pure tactical devices used in defending oneself. Of course, there is also the classic 422 pages book The Art of Attack in Chess (Pergammon Press, 1965) by V. Vukovic. These last two books had a lot of things I'd already figured out, usually by hard-won experience, plus way more. Eye opening stuff for sub-2300 players.

I once wrote an article for the CFC print magazine (when it still existed) on how I became a 2300 level player over a number of years, starting from a low class player rating. For those interested, it's in 3 parts on my blog on this CFC Discussion Board (I recently added an epilogue part, about how I briefly became a 2400 CFC-rated player in 2010) - bear in mind this was before computer software, engines and the internet, but I imagine it could still prove useful these days, and give an idea of what level certain books may be just about right for, i.e. for learning from:

http://www.chesscanada.info/forum/entry.php?43-Becoming-a-2300-player-(Part-1-of-3)

Kevin Pacey
08-01-2018, 04:29 AM
Sure. :)
...
Oh, when studying endgames, is it necessary to memorize some of the endgame positions and their solutions?

Fine's Basic Chess Endings, though regarded nowadays as somewhat obsolete and having the odd mistake (relatively few IMO), is a book I played through as a junior during the course of a year, when I wasn't doing other things on a given day. The general and specific rules that are given here and there can be helpful to try to remember even nowadays. Perhaps someone can recommend a better and more modern single general endgame book that tries to cover as much ground, though. In any case, it's always good to at least know if an endgame that may arise in your game should be winnable/drawable (hopefully for you) , and if so how difficult it might prove. Otherwise, once into the endgame, you try to figure it out from there. Of course, it helps to have a fallible opponent, too.

Vladimir Drkulec
08-01-2018, 11:06 AM
I like Improve Your Chess Now by Jonathan Tisdall. The mating patterns and tactics in the appendixes are usually lesson two and three for new students. I am surprised how often the patterns come up in my games and the games of my students and in grandmaster games that I observe online. Keres book on endings, "Practical Chess Endings" was my first endings book and contributed to a reputation of being a good endgame player.

Matilda Dawson
08-20-2018, 09:00 AM
I would also like to find myself a teacher. True, I'm completely new, tell me some literature or something. I will be very grateful. To thank you, I want to share a very cool site. I found interesting essays about chess there, here it is https://paperleaf.ca/pay-for-essay/, I think it will be as interesting to read as me.

Aris Marghetis
08-20-2018, 09:26 AM
I would also like to find myself a teacher. True, I'm completely new, tell me some literature or something. I will be very grateful.

Hello Matilda, I don't know you, but if you're completely new, then I would suggest visiting your local chess club, asking there for potential teachers, and just having a chat with each of them, to see if you're comfortable with anyone. In my opinion, players rated rather low don't need a Grandmaster for a teacher, just a seasoned tournament player. When my students get to about 1600, that's when I pass them on to an International Master I know. If that doesn't work, then ask around for teachers who might not only teach in person, but also online. I personally much prefer in person, but when students (even my teacher) moved away, well then the online option makes best sense.

Egidijus Zeromskis
08-20-2018, 09:29 AM
I would also like to find myself a teacher. True, I'm completely new, tell me some literature or something. I will be very grateful.

Location?
Your local library might the good starting point for books.
Chess.com would a good overall website resource.

Matilda Dawson
08-21-2018, 08:09 AM
Thank you very much for your reply !!:o