Author: Albert Silver
Date: 14:55:44 02/04/02
Go up one level in this thread
On February 03, 2002 at 13:51:57, Otello Gnaramori wrote:
>I had a confirmation of the importance of tactics (especially for class level
>players) reading the article by Michael De La Maza in ChessCafe.com, titled "400
>(elo) points in 400 days".
>You can have a complete look to it at
>http://www.chesscafe.com/text/skittles148.pdf , but I would like to report an
>excerpt very enlightening, IMHO ,here following:
>
>"Here are some other reasons to focus on studying tactics:
You won't find me arguing against tactical study as a means of quick progress as
this was certainly the key to mine. I'll also add that without a proper
methodology your progress won't be nearly so significant, so here's my personal
advice, based entirely on how I made the leap to a 2200 rating:
1) Method means a gradual increase in difficulty and persevering effort.
Approach it exactly as if you were at a gym with a goal in big muscles. Start
with something within your range (too easy or too hard is pointless), and
gradually work your way to harder material. This also means that a lot of
material out there is fairly useless as most tend to be helter-skelter material
of all levels. My magic books were those by Livshitz in 3 volumes: Test Your
Chess IQ. Perfect in their organization and approach. Study them consistently
and you'll get there. I have no doubts. In terms of computer material, the
closest I have seen is CT-Art 3.0 published by Convekta. It allows you to select
tests according to themes and difficulty. It also doesn't just give the answer
away but tries to help you get there by showing lines of attack and even
simplified patterns, and on longer solutions will test you on subvariatiosn as
well.
2) Your mental attitude is very important IMO. Be stubborn. Don't look at the
answer if you don't find it at first. Push harder. Visualization is a skill that
can be developed, so in time it will get easier to see further ahead. Still no
luck? Then even test out every legal move in the position. That may sound crazy
if this idea is new to you, but many professionals recommend doing exactly that
when confronted with a tough position or one that they feel may be a turning
point. Do NOT stop at the key move and jump to the solution. Treat it as a real
game where there is no taking back moves. If you're wrong, it could cost you, so
be sure you try to take into account the toughest defense you can find. The key
things you should look for when readying a tactical sequence IMO are: order of
moves (amazing how the wrong order can screw everything up), what if they
accept, and of course what if they don't.
The Test Your Chess IQ books are organized in tests of 8 positions on a select
theme, each test harder than the previous and all are timed. Livshitz discusses
deducting points for overtime, so don't hesitate to go beyond the limit in order
to try to find the solutions yourself. Remember that whatever your material: the
purpose isn't to "finish the book", the purpose is to learn.
Albert
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