tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23075362.post6202476697348282075..comments2024-01-29T13:41:11.764-05:00Comments on Blunder Prone .... Imagination, Inspiration and Improvement: BlunderPronehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08316158004635698398noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23075362.post-59049940360683715422020-04-24T12:14:35.977-05:002020-04-24T12:14:35.977-05:00Thanks everyone for reading my post. It's been...Thanks everyone for reading my post. It's been a while. LinuxGuy and Robert you both make some great references here. I do have a vast library and I'll be touch base on these in subsequent posts... during my quarantine. <br />BlunderPronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08316158004635698398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23075362.post-48906730308034623792020-04-24T00:12:23.910-05:002020-04-24T00:12:23.910-05:00I love this post, and the comments, keep up the go...I love this post, and the comments, keep up the good work! :-)<br /><br />Don't forget the Stoyko method, since it is even more real for improvement than Kotov's method.<br />http://diamondbackchess.blogspot.com/2009/06/steve-stoyko-chess-training-method.html<br /><br />There aren't that many real teachers of chess improvement out there. Even this blog, and the comments, show a rare striving.<br /><br />This is a video from one of the best (adult improver) chess teachers out there:<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuKYgi7agic&fbclid=IwAR056wsh-vCB7s7hTzsGfs6_-t3CUF9JGGX1xq8UeCBIx7hpuHljKhN6DiM<br />LinuxGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15764940044950170053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23075362.post-92195549255514837062020-04-18T13:21:11.044-05:002020-04-18T13:21:11.044-05:00PART II:
How to Calculate Chess Tactics - Valeri ...PART II:<br /><br /><b><i>How to Calculate Chess Tactics</i></b> - Valeri Beim<br /><br />Part 2 - <b>The Technique of Calculating Variations</b> is a direct investigation of Kotov's suggested process:<br /><br />How do we set about finding the solution?<br /><br />First of all, let us consider what Kotov himself says about his theory of calculating variations:<br /><br />"1) In beginning our calculations, we must first of all list all of the possible moves in the position - the 'candidate moves' - so as to ensure that we do not overlook some important possibility.<br /><br />"2) Having done this, we then calculate each variation in turn. The order in which we do this depends on the character of the player and the characteristics of the position. Every player has his own way of doing this. One prefers to start with the most difficult lines, and only then turn to the easy ones, while another player prefers the opposite.<br /><br />"3) All of the possible lines can be pictured as a ‘tree of variations’.<br /><br />“4) The main rule in calculating is that the player must train himself DURING A GAME to go over each branch of the tree only once and must not be tempted to return to lines he has already looked at.”<br /><br />Beim then analyzes these steps and gives the problems with it. His conclusion is:<br /><br />He then analyzes several positions and proposes an alternative process. He dismisses Kotov’s third point out of hand.<br /><br />BTW, I have Kotov’s book <b><i>Think Like A Grandmaster</i></b>, but have never done more than get a “feel” for the components of his proposed process.<br />Robert Coblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12427520849707914818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23075362.post-6969085337301542412020-04-18T13:20:25.549-05:002020-04-18T13:20:25.549-05:00PART I:
Certain books can be useful for evaluatin...PART I:<br /><br />Certain books can be useful for evaluating and developing a "thinking process" in chess. I'm not trying to present a series of book reviews; just an idea of where to look for additional information.<br /><br /><b><i>The IMPROVING Chess Thinker</i></b> - Dan Heisman<br /><br />Chapter 10 - <b>The Thinking Cap</b> covers just about every possible consideration regarding what you should be thinking about. Unfortunately, it's too easy to get mesmerized with the idea of making complete detailed lists that are unusable at the board. If you spend most of your time making sure you're following the "best" thinking process, you are obviously spending too much time on something other than playing good chess.<br /><br /><b><i>Chess Tactics from Scratch: Understanding Chess Tactics</i></b> - Martin Weteschnik<br /><br />Chapter 10 - <b>Status examination</b> "simplifies" the process to examining what each individual piece is or can be doing in a concrete position. This is part of the orientation (getting a "feel" for interconnections between pieces) in a preliminary overview, done prior to selecting candidate moves and calculating variations.<br /><br /><b><i>Improve YOUR chess NOW</i></b> - Jonathan Tisdall<br /><br />Chapter 1 - <b>The Fabled Tree of Analysis</b> directly addresses Kotov's thinking process. He proposes a technique called "variation processing" as an alternative process. The components of this technique are:<br /><br />1) To aim towards the choice of a single critical variation (heresy!). Branches are dealt with when unavoidable, and primarily to navigate the chief variation.<br /><br />2) The constant application of abstract assessment.<br /><br />3) A scan for critical candidates.<br /><br />If attacking, eliminate the less critical possibilities first. If defending, evaluate the most critical possibility first. (Figuring out which to do first is not critical to success: If you picked a move other than the most (least) critical, bad luck (it happens).<br /><br />I was very stimulated by considering the question posed to GM Tisdall by GM Anatoly Lein: "<i>I don't think like a tree - do you think like a tree?</i>"<br /><br /><b><i>The Enigma of Chess Intuition - Can YOU mobilize hidden forces in YOUR chess?</i></b> - Valeri Beim<br /><br />Chapter 3 - <b>The Elements of Chess Intuition</b> provides a general step-by-step process for examining a position:<br /><br />1) the quantity and quality of the forces on each side, in other words - material;<br /><br />2) the king: its degree of safety in the middlegame, and of activity in the endgame;<br /><br />3) the coordination between the forces of the sides, which means: a full note of <b><i>WHAT IS ATTACKING WHAT</i></b>, and <b><i>WHAT IS DEFENDING WHAT</i></b>;<br /><br />4) an assessment of the coordination of the forces and the development of the pieces;<br /><br />5) long-lasting factors, such as various forms of weaknesses and strong points, the quality of the pawn structure, etc.Robert Coblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12427520849707914818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23075362.post-2139091069433823822020-04-18T09:21:24.157-05:002020-04-18T09:21:24.157-05:00Yes, It's a bit old school but I felt I need t...Yes, It's a bit old school but I felt I need to back to basics and for chrissakes, if I did use an analog clock, which I do have, I'd scare off the young folks. <br /><br />I'll be posting about the journey I have already taken with Kotov and the limits I found with his analysis ( I have Zurich 1953 also... and he references games from this but I found Bronstein better at annotating) as well as his ideas on coming up with candidate moves. BlunderPronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08316158004635698398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23075362.post-77491739969400468392020-04-18T03:08:15.633-05:002020-04-18T03:08:15.633-05:00If you were really going full-on old school, you&#...If you were really going full-on old school, you'd be using an analog clock rather than digital...but I suppose allowances can be made. ;)<br /><br />Looking forward to further thoughts on the method and on Kotov. I was impressed by "Think Like a Grandmaster" when I first read it, but it ultimately didn't help my thinking process very much in a practical sense. You may have put a finger on it re: candidate moves, as I've found analyzing my own games with several options presented by a strong engine (Komodo) to be most helpful in that regard. It's otherwise very hard to find moves/ideas you wouldn't ever have thought of in the first place. The engine functions as a coach in that sense, not as a final arbiter of the "best move".<br /><br />One potential caveat in comparing your own analysis in detail to Kotov's, is that old school (pre-modern engine) analysis is often found to be flawed. I enjoy going through older books as well, but more for ideas than long calculated variations.ChessAdminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02231584333139931889noreply@blogger.com