Author: Joseph Ciarrochi
Date: 12:24:30 02/28/06
Go up one level in this thread
I agree lower rated players spend way too much time on the opening (i do), trying to find the secret line that will beat everybody. However, I don't think that you have to use the memorization approach with bookup. Bookup lets you write alot of comments at different positions, and this is exactly what i do, in order to understand why the opening is being played the way it is being played. The training in bookup helps me to learn certain lines, but i do not choose the lines unless i understand the core middle game plans...For example, i have been choosing lines lately that allow me to get a qside minority attack best Joseph On February 28, 2006 at 10:34:40, Stephen Whiteman wrote: >Mark, > >I'm sorry to have to point this out, but someone in your circumstances shouldn't >be working with Bookup. As all chess teachers (I am one) will tell you, the >worst thing a relative beginner can do is spend time memorizing opening lines, >which is what Bookup is designed for. > >People like the memorization approach because it seems so straightforward: "I >memorize lines, then I get an edge in the opening." But think about it. You >spend hours and hours memorizing, get into a game, and at some point your >opponent leaves the book. Do you then have an advantage? Only if he's >blundered, which you certainly can't count on. Instead, you're both left to >your own devices, only a couple of moves farther into the game than you would >have been had you not spent hours memorizing. And you're just as lost as to >what to do next as you were before. > >Instead, your study time is much better spent on ideas. If you focus on >middlegame ideas the opening will come naturally, since you'll know how to aim >for a playable middlegame. If you like reading books, try "Modern Chess >Strategy" by Ludek Pachman. If you prefer computer study, both ChessBase and >especially Convekta (Chess Assistant) have good middlegame tutorial material. >"Strategy 2.0" from the latter company is the one I'd recommend; their >"Encyclopedia of Middlegame" series is excellent but more advanced. > >Once you've worked on your middlegame, you should read the classic "The Ideas >Behind the Chess Openings" by Reuben Fine, followed by either "Understanding the >Chess Openings" by Sam Collins or "Mastering the Openings" by Byron Jacobs, all >of which focus on ideas, rather than variations. > >Sorry, but you'll be better off leaving Bookup to the professional players. > >Regards, >Steve Whiteman
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