Author: Bob Durrett
Date: 09:33:27 11/18/00
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On November 17, 2000 at 17:00:59, gerard sanchez wrote: > > I am an average chess enthusiast. However; lately I've been thinking of >becomming more--to reach Class A rating. I am asking for help with regards to >your best suggestion of any chess puzzle book that illustrates different themes. > I am quite particular about these themes as I believe I am severely lacking of >such. > > >Any book suggestion is much much appreciated. Since this is a chess computer group, I feel obligated to urge you to turn to your chess computer for help. Not only that, but it is a really good idea!!!! First, get on a chess server, such as ICC, and play games. Then let your chess computer software examine your draws and losses. This is what I do. It really helps a lot because, for chessplayers [humans] rated below "Class A," the games are dominated by tactical errors which are easily caught [in psot-mortem analyses] by chess engines. Obviously, the stronger the engine the better will be the findings, but just about any reasonably strong engine will suffice. By striving to improve your tactical abilities in this way, you will eventually get to the point to where you play tactically as well as a class A player. Chess engines used for post-mortem analyses also are helpful for helping you to spot your strategical and positional errors! The fundamental idea inherent in the above suggestion is the assumption [which I believe to be valid] that "bad thinking habits" are the primary cause of blunders [or poor moves] of chess amateurs. The first step in eliminating these bad thinking habits, and replacing them with good thinking habits, is to first recognize them for what they are! The chess engine, used for post-mortem analyses of your non-won games, is a very useful tool for taking the first essential step: To become aware of your bad habits. Lest anybody wonder what I mean by "bad thinking habits," I am talking about things like: failing to look to see what opponent might do, in response to your preferred move, BEFORE you make the move. There are several dozen such "bad thinking habits" which are extremely prevalent in amateur chess. Looking at printed books should supplement the above but not take the place of it. Books are useful for making you aware of strategic and positional considerations. The "solve this problem" category of books are also very useful for improving your tactical skills. Incidentally, as an afterthought, I feel obligated to state the obvious: You learn a lot more from your slow-time-limit serious games than from blitz. Bullet is completely useless, in my prejudiced view, for learning how to play better chess. [To be fair, playing a lot of bullet chess will may make you better at bullet chess, for whatever that's worth. But don't waste your time on post-mortem analyses of bullet games!]
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