tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12234625509799646082024-02-07T06:54:23.810-05:00Chess Training for the Advanced PlayerImprove chess tactics and chess strategy. Develop strong chess openings and push your endgame to the edge.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380086342973935367noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223462550979964608.post-25322006719944791602014-06-05T22:16:00.002-04:002014-06-24T23:40:25.089-04:00How To Start Your Chess Training<br><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">There
are many different types of chess players in the world, and there is
a certain level of love for the game that is required if a truly high
level of play is to be achieved. Although applicable to all players,
this blog is geared toward the advanced player; 1500-1800 strength
who is looking to improve their game to 2000 and beyond. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Through
the trials of chess training it is not uncommon to plateau. No matter
how much you play, your game simply goes nowhere. Some players read
book after book, play countless hours and never improve. This is a
topic of interest because it is probably the most experienced
phenomena in chess, but it is almost never addressed. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">What
separates an advanced chess player from expert and master level play?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">It
is an interesting question, because the answer could be a lot and a
little. If a player has outstanding tactical ability, but lacks other
knowledge they could still play at a high level. That being said, a
very strong player can play at a high level with almost intuition
alone. A chess master is typically one who has acquired exceptional
ability in all areas of the game. What separates an advanced chess
player from a chess master is not just the level of their mental
ability to calculate and understand a position, but more importantly
the holes in their chess knowledge. The stronger a player becomes,
the more important chess training is; more specifically study rather than playing.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><h4>Assessing Your Game</h4></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> A
common question asked by a beginner to an advanced chess player is,
how many moves do you calculate ahead? It’s always funny to see the
confusion on their face when you answer, “ehh a few.” It has been
said that grandmasters don’t necessarily play complicated chess,
but rather they play good chess. The truth of the matter is that
knowing what to focus your chess training on is more than half the battle on your road to improvement.<br /><br />An advanced chess player by this point has
most likely at least developed:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Solid
opening fundamentals (development, castle early & often etc.)</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Decent
opening theory knowledge</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Decent
calculation and tactical abilities</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">At
least basic positional understanding</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Basic
endgame theory knowledge (probably mostly king and pawn)</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> The
first thing any player should do is figure out what they don’t
know. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings, serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">
All areas of your game could undergo improvement until the end of
time, so it is important to not only focus on one thing. An example
of this is those who spend all their chess training focused on opening theory; constantly looking for
better ways to approach their game. Another popular example would be
those who almost skip endgame study all together. That which is
measured improves, so do an evaluation of those mad skills of yours.
</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings, serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">
There are lots of ways to do this, but a good way to start is by
getting your hands on “Chess Exam and Training Guide” by Igor
Khmelnitsky.</span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtc1NXuYsL7WFK_6zpkEM8VBMWUI2GuiWXc-OwRO0951SMHsS3wUy7uFR3HP_LUJTQK6fCYKSSwOxsFlDFV0-6Kn-vRFSD6JHWZxfB-Ojoi4DNnVtxD47sGq1HnpkyCDCAFMldu_q2So/s1600/51A48A5EKZL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtc1NXuYsL7WFK_6zpkEM8VBMWUI2GuiWXc-OwRO0951SMHsS3wUy7uFR3HP_LUJTQK6fCYKSSwOxsFlDFV0-6Kn-vRFSD6JHWZxfB-Ojoi4DNnVtxD47sGq1HnpkyCDCAFMldu_q2So/s1600/51A48A5EKZL.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">– <span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">It’s
not perfect but, pretty good. The reader is presented with chess
positions and then asked to choose the best move from a selection of
the statistically most played moves. Each position in the book was
given to players of different rating strength; the most
frequently chosen moves were used as an answer to choose from. After
answering a problem, on the flip side of the page there is a
description of each move, and of course the correct answer. The
ratings that the book presents to you may or may not be accurate;
however it is an outstanding book to show you where the holes in your
game are. Be warned that this book will take a while to get through,
but it is insightful, and will no doubt enhance your chess training. </span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380086342973935367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223462550979964608.post-58307333479655667472014-06-05T22:15:00.001-04:002014-06-24T14:59:12.323-04:00Developing A Chess Opening Repertoire <br><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
importance of developing an opening repertoire is surprisingly many
times overlooked. It is likely that a player of 1800 strength has
developed some sense of an opening repertoire; however it is likely
that it could benefit from some serious improvement. It’s nice to
know a little about all openings, but in high level competition
that’s just not good enough. It is important for a player to have advanced chess opening knowledge. Assuming we have no formal opening
repertoire, how do we choose which openings to use? There are three
main ways to do this:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Select
your openings based on your personality. If you are an aggressive
player then perhaps the Sicilian defense is yours all day long. If
you’re much more of a positional player who likes to slowly take
over your opponent, than maybe the French. If you are selecting
openings based on your personality than a common strategy is to use
similar structures. An example of this would be playing the
Caro-Kann against e4, and the Slav against d4.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Another
option is selecting openings based on how complex they are. Not all
of us have 5 hours a day to study opening theory. If you play the
open Sicilian, black could respond with the Najdorf, Dragon,
Scheveningen, Kan, Sveshnikov, etc. However if you play the Closed
Sicilian, than there is much less variation for you to be concerned
with.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Finally,
you could choose your openings based on the hard facts. Some
openings have historically not performed as well. You can use a
<a href="http://www.chessgames.com/">chess openings explorer</a> to compare the statistics of each specific line. There are a few other sites with
similar databases, but theirs is probably the best. Also you can compare
<a href="http://www.becomeawordgameexpert.com/stats.htm">chess opening statistics</a> from a broader look, comparing major lines by name. Only take
statistics so far. All players perform at different abilities. Maybe
all the not so good Grandmasters used the poorly rated openings. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings, serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">
You can compare the overall statistics with how a specific player
performed using the system. </span>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> After
you have selected the proper opening repertoire to suit your needs
how do you study? A very important aspect is that a player needs to
understand the ideas behind their openings. In fact this is probably the largest factor separating basic and advanced chess opening understanding. What are the positional
ideas behind those moves that you’re learning to regurgitate.
Knowing this helps transition into the middlegame. There are many
different ideas that people have tried and a lot could be said about
this topic, however to keep it reasonably short let’s use some more
bullets. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings, serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">In
my personal opinion, one of the most valuable programs in the chess
world is “Chess Openings Wizard Professional.” If you want to
learn opening theory fast and deep, than there is no substitute. (at
least that I know of) They have opening files you can purchase, or
you can create your own.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Reading
books and watching videos over your openings is an excellent way to
get in the minds of stronger players. <a href="http://www.chesslecture.com/">www.chesslecture.com</a>
is loaded with great videos over all kinds of stuff, but it does
require a monthly subscription. There are many wonderful books out
there written over chess openings, however in my experience the
title hands down goes to the Grandmaster Repertoire Series. The only
downfall is that they have only been written over a select few
openings. The Sicilian, Caro-Kann, English and Gruenfeld are among
those covered.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
method of chess opening study that I would recommend is to watch
videos to get the feel for it. Then get ahold of a good book that
goes into great detail over all of the main lines. Finally as your
reading the book, import all of the moves into Chess Openings Wizard
Professional. This allows you to have a board while working through
the book; the whole time creating a phenomenal study guide. I
personally don’t trust the calculation of others, so I always have
the Fritz interface with Houdini as the engine running to go through
variations. On the infinite analysis setting you can see previous
calculations that others have done using various engines. This is an
excellent tool if you are one who likes to create opening lines
based on what the engine thinks. It is cloud based and always
expanding, so in a way it’s almost like you are participating in
expanding modern chess theory. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings, serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380086342973935367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223462550979964608.post-74441338577355680962014-06-05T22:14:00.001-04:002014-06-25T18:57:19.917-04:00Chess Strategy And The Middlegame<br><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">In
Chess the middlegame is the most complex of all three phases. In due
diligence to not take away from the depth of the opening and endgame,
it could be said that the middlegame requires more raw ability. You
can call on your knowledge of opening and endgame theory, but here
you put your abilities to the test. The most common lacking component
in the average class player’s game is undoubtedly the art of
planning. In fact this may be the single most important factor in
separating class players from their goals of chess grandeur. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif; text-indent: 0in;"><h4>The
Extreme Importance of Planning</h4></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.00in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif; text-indent: 48px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Those
who fail to plan, plan to fail; and planning in chess is positional
understanding in practice. It has been said that a player could reach
the 2000 level with chess tactics alone, but this must be taken with a
grain of salt. Often many players think of planning in terms of
calculating different variations. No doubt calculation is a huge part
of chess strategy, but without knowing what to calculate it loses
focus. The truth is that in good planning, calculation comes last,
and often is not very deep at all. Think about how candidate moves
are decided. When a player selects which moves to consider, where
does this information come from? For most players this comes from
intuition, based on positional understanding. There is no doubt that
an advanced chess player has developed some ability to plan. That
being said, when I was 1600 – 1800 strength I had horrible planning
abilities. When a player focuses too much on calculation and not the
overall plan of action they get stuck in little details and miss the
big picture. <br /><br /> A great summary of
<a href="http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/chess/planning.html">planning chess strategy </a></span><span style="color: #00000a;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">has already been written online saying pretty much everything I could say on the subject.
</span></span><span style="color: #00000a;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings, serif;"></span></span><span style="color: #00000a;"><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><br /> <br /> Referenced
readings in the article:<br /> How to Reassess Your Chess – Jeremy
Silman<br /> The Amateurs Mind – Jeremy Silman<br /> Planning –
Neil McDonald</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">A
few more good sources for developing your positional game:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">Winning
Pawn Structures – Alexander Baburin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">Complete Chess Strategy
II - Principles of Pawn Play and the Center – Ludek Pachma (</span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">if
you can get past the old school notation</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">Secrets
of Modern Chess Strategy – John Watson (</span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Sort
of a follow up on My System</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">The
Art of Positional Play – Samuel Reshevsky</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><br /> So you have done
your intense reading and you feel like a pro; now what? Reading is
great but, you have to practice what you have learned. Obviously
playing chess is a good way to work on your positional understanding,
but aside from that there are two excellent training methods you can
use.</span></div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><a href="http://www.chess.com/">Chess Mentor</a>
is an excellent piece of software you can use to practice chess strategy. It walks you
through entire positions, explaining certain aspects as you select moves. It also will tell you why the move you
selected was either right or wrong. There used to be a stand-alone
version of Chess Mentor, but I think they did away with it.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
second method you can use is to go through Grandmaster games. As you
go through the games take your time at each move and pretend you are
the player behind the pieces. Consider positional ideas, and try to
get in the head of the player who actually played the game. If you
decided to play a move different than what was played, consider why
the move was played instead of your alternative. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>An
important note should be that it would be ideal to go through games
of the opening systems you have chosen.</b> At <a href="http://www.chessebook.com/">Chess Ebook</a> they have a great tool in their "Play like a GM" section that provides a great way to practice this.</span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Another
exercise you may want to consider is learning all of the Chess
mating patterns. This is something that is often overlooked, but can
be great when considering a plan of action</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><h4>
Chess Calculation</h4>
</span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> In
“The Extreme Importance of Chess Planning” section I said that
the lack of being able to create solid plans may be the single most
important factor separating class players from their goals of chess
grandeur. A player’s ability to calculate different variations is
an essential skill that separates the strong from the weak, however
easier to develop than the art of planning. An important thing to
note is that a players chess calculation abilities are a separate
skill from their tactical ability. Most chess players don’t really
have a method to their madness; they just kind of calculate
variations that fit their probably half-baked plans. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings, serif;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> The
super sad fact of calculation & tactics is that there is no
awesome way to learn either one. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings, serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">
Good chess calculation takes tons of practice, and good tactical ability
comes with tons of exposure. Some class players do have strong
tactical ability, however they are held back by other areas of the
game. For most of us though, pulling out awesome tactical shots on
our opponent does not exactly come easy. A lot of books on tactics
discuss calculation, but it’s normally just a small section. Most
of us just practice our calculation by solving problems or playing,
however there are a couple methods you can use to aid in your
training. </span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">First,
two excellent books on the topic are </span>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> Think
like a Grandmaster – Alexander Kotov</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> Play
like a Grandmaster – Alexander Kotov</span><br />
</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Playing
OTB games, but playing several moves behind. What makes chess calculation
hard is not envisioning the pieces move, it’s holding a position
that is not actually on the board in your mind. If you are
considering a candidate move; you play through a few moves and very
quickly several sub-variations must be considered. When you start a
game you don’t make the first few moves. While keeping notation to
check yourself, you are forced to visualize and calculate a position
that is not on the board. This is a great exercise that forces you
to visualize. The better you get the more moves you can push from
behind. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings, serif;"></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Blind
Chess is another great way to practice visualization, however I
think it’s less effective than the first method. Although it is a
great way to force yourself to visualize, there is one little
problem. When you play blind Chess there are no pieces at all. When
you are in a real game not only do you have to picture positions,
but what you picture must be incorporated with what you are actually
seeing on the board.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"></span><br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> Chess Tactics</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> I
look at chess tactics kind of like graduating. When practicing tactics you
are no doubt practicing your visualization and calculation abilities,
but if you can’t do these well already than tactics are out of the
question. An advanced Chess player should be well versed in chess tactics,
and be ready for more advanced material. There is really only one way
to practice tactics, and that is by becoming familiar with them. </span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">As
far as practicing <a href="http://www.chesstempo.com/">chess tactics</a>, Chess Tempo is about as good as it gets. You can do a bunch of random problems,
or you can do a bunch of problems that have been categorized into
different tactical motifs. If there are some motifs that you excel
at, work on what you are not so good at. Practice is key; like an
insane amount of it.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">An
alternative is an awesome program known as CT-ART 5.0. This program
also separates problems into tactical motifs, but has a unique
feature. In some ways I like CT-ART better than Chess Tempo
due to, when you make a mistake the problems are broken down into
similar, but less complicated versions. After you solve the
miniature version, the original problem is presented again for you
to make a second attempt.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Lastly,
two good books to consider if you are looking to take it that much
further. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings, serif;"></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> Art
of Attack In Chess – Vladimir Vukovic<br /> How to Become a Deadly
Chess Tactician – David LeMoir (</span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">focuses
a lot on sacrifice</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">)</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380086342973935367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223462550979964608.post-23785949390599778702014-06-05T22:12:00.003-04:002014-06-24T15:34:28.858-04:00Gaining A Strong Endgame<br><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Of
the three phases of Chess, the endgame is neglected the most in
training. It’s actually rather amazing how little about endings
most players know. Being well versed in endgame theory is much more
important than most players give it credit for. Not only is it just
an important part of your game, but many times the endgame occurs
with little time left on the clock. If you are faced with a king and
pawn situation, how confident are you that you will play correctly?
It’s likely that you understand:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Opposition</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">How
to promote a pawn verse a lone king</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">That
rook pawns are drawish</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
pawn square</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Etc.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">However,
how well do you understand:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Distant
opposition</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
Lucena Position</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The
Philidor Position</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">How
to prevent from drawing with a queen and king vs king and pawn</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">How
about how to play split pawns against a king without your king</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Outflanking</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Triangulation
</span>
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">How
about rook and two pawns vs rook</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">How
about rook endings in general. After all they are very common. </span>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> The
truth of the matter is that this list could be very large. If you
have a solid endgame foundation, odds are that you will be able to
turn potentially lost games into wins. A good strategy when playing
chess is to play for the endgame. Many players destroy their pawn
structures during the middlegame, and then lose it when the endgame
comes. There is a lot that has to be considered when it comes to the
endgame, but a large part of playing it comes down to what you know
rather than what you can do. </span>
</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">It’s
very easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of content that is
available to learn, and probably the best reading to start with is: </span>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; margin-left: 1in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Silman's
Complete Endgame Course – Jeremy Silman</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> This
is one of the few chess books that truly impressed me. Silman does a
great job of presenting key information, and covering a vast majority
of what a player needs to know.</span></div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Second
after going through Silman’s book I would recommend:</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; margin-left: 1in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Chess
Endgame Training – Bernd Rosen</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><br />This
book is kind of a recap on some things, but covers some good topics
that are not covered in Silman’s book. At this point if you have
gone through both of these books and really learned what they
discussed, then you should possess a strong foundation. For those who
really want to take it over the top I have three suggested readings:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Fundamental
Chess Endings – Karsten Muller & Frank Lamprecht</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Endgame
Manual – Mark Dvoretsky (This book is meant for Chess master level
players)</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Secrets
Of Rook Endings – John Nunn (This is an excellent book that
discusses nearly every combination of rook endings)</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> When
it comes to practicing your hard core endgame ability </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings, serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">
there is really only one way I can suggest. Using a computer allows
you to set up any position, and have an opponent that plays nearly
perfect. Stick to different sections of study and replay different
positions. You can add dynamic to your study by further randomizing
things; instead of playing out a position ex: the Lucena position,
play out the position again and again with a different placement of
the pieces each time. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Finally
this brings us to Bridging the Gap</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> What
I mean by bridging the gap is connecting your opening and endgame
studies together. This is a little discussed topic, and the reason is
probably because most players are not ready for such training. Once
you have a solid opening repertoire and endgame it is time to start
finding commonalities. What types of pawn structures are typical in
one variation verses another? What types of strategies exist in each
type of position? Once you have made all these connections, you can
begin to decide if perhaps some of your opening variations are better
than others. Already knowing what type of endgame you might be
playing can significantly help your planning in the middlegame. Such
an understanding is a strong weapon against all of your competition.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380086342973935367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1223462550979964608.post-29788444594799608862014-06-05T22:11:00.003-04:002014-06-25T19:08:46.506-04:00Suggested Reading List & Training Software<br><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Good
solid training software </b></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Chessbase (I use the fritz interface, running Houdini)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Chess Openings Wizard Professional</span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><br />CT-ART 5.0<br /> <a href="http://www.chess.com/">www.chess.com</a>
– Chess Mentor<br />
<a href="http://www.chessebook.com/">www.chessebook.com</a>
– Play like a GM<br />
<a href="http://www.chesstempo.com/">www.chesstempo.com</a>
– Tactics Trainer<br />
<a href="http://www.chessgames.com/">www.chessgames.com</a>
– GM game review</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Suggested
reading list</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">…some
of the best books the chess world has to offer</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> Chess
Exam and Training Guide </span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">– </span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Igor Khmelnitsky</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">How to Reassess Your Chess </span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">– Jeremy Silman</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> The Grandmaster Repertoire Series – Various Authors </span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> Think
Like a Grandmaster – Alexander Kotov<br /> Play Like a Grandmaster –
Alexander Kotov</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">The Amateurs Mind </span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">–</span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> Jeremy Silman</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> Winning Pawn Structures – Alexander
Baburin<br /> Complete Chess Strategy II - Principles of Pawn Play and
the Center – Ludek Pachma (</span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">if
you can get past the old school notation</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">)<br /> Secrets
of Modern Chess Strategy – John Watson </span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">(Sort
of a follow up on “My System”)</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"><br /> The
Art of Positional Play – Samuel Reshevsky</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">Planning </span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;">–</span><span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> Neil McDonald</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> How to Become a
Deadly Chess Tactician – David LeMoir<br /> Art of Attack In Chess –
Vladimir Vukovic <br /> Silman's Complete Endgame Course – Jeremy
Silman<br /> Chess Endgame Training – Bernd Rosen<br /> Fundamental
Chess Endings – Karsten Muller & Frank Lamprecht<br /> Endgame
Manual – Mark Dvoretsky<br /> Secrets Of Rook Endings – John
Nunn<br /> Typical Mistakes – Neil McDonald</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, serif;"> <a href="http://www.chesscafe.com/">www.chesscafe.com</a>
articles </span>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04380086342973935367noreply@blogger.com5