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Wise words

Submitted by DrDave on

The wisest things anybody ever said about chess improvement:
"
 ...Almost all players lose the overwhelming majority of their games not because of things they don#8217;t know, but because of not consistently applying things they do know.

Summer Coaching 2009

Submitted by DrDave on

Some members have asked if I plan to do some coaching sessions again this year and I am of course :br / 1 flattered to be asked,br / 2 happy to do it,br / 3 hopeful of receiving your suggestions, andbr / 4 grateful for any offers of support.br / br / You all know the starting point by now:br / br / List three things about playing chess that you are good at (or likebr / doing):br / 1br / 2br / 3br / br / List three things about playing chess that you are not so good at and want to improve:br / 1br / 2br / 3br / br /

How Not to Beat Jack Rudd

Submitted by DrDave on

Local International Master Jack Rudd, known as the fastest pawn in the West, visited us recently to give a simul.nbsp; In characteristically quick time he defeated all challengers with a score of 13-0, leaving most wondering what had hit them and a few mournfully looking for crumbs of comfort in a post mortem dissection.

Annotating games

Submitted by DrDave on

A recent email:
I've never annotated a game. Could be interesting. Perhaps you could
send me a game and I'll try to annotate it without computer. Might show
you my thinking.

The games that are most valuable to annotate are your own games, (but maybe in future it might be a good exercise to look at somebody else's). I think it's a good discipline to look at all of your serious games at least briefly after the game with your opponent, then again at home with some software, and record your thoughts.

Returning to chess

Submitted by DrDave on

I just had a nudge from an old sparring partner who is looking to get back into chess again. What advice might you give?

Practise, study, review your games...  So much, so obvious.

DVDs: is it just me?

Submitted by DrDave on

I treated myself to a ChessBase Fritz Trainer DVD recently, 943Mb of files crammed into one corner of a 4.7Gb disc.  Nearly all the space is taken up with movies of a balding middle-aged guy stumbling through commentary like:

Chessboxing

Submitted by DrDave on

Following Andy Costello's good performance and much interest in his other sport at Torbay, I wondered if people would be interested in knowing more about chessboxing :
  • Chessboxing article in the Guardian
  • Chessboxing feature on the BBC
  • One of Andy's fights on YouTube

    • The Seven Deadly Chess Books

    Submitted by DrDave on

    Jonathan Rowson is a young Scottish GM who has written two of the best and most important books of recent years: The Seven Deadly Chess Sins and Chess for Zebras.  They are important because they are some of the best discussions about how chess is actually played that I have ever read; often Rowson seems to be writing for the first time about things that have rarely been mentioned, let alone explored in any detail.  The books are also confusing, pretentious and irritating by turns. 

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