Striving to be the best you can be at chess.

Submitted by JCoombs1972 on Sun, 06/29/2008 at 2:15pm.

At the age of 17 years of age I learned the moves of chess and how to play this funny game. I soon became addicted to this amusing board game, later in my 20's I found that this hobby was quickly becomming a passion of mine. So I began to fuel the fire of this passion by looking for a chess club and a few good players that could take my skills beyond the hobby level to a more serious level. I met several players who took me under their wing and began to show me the basics and the finer points of the game by lending me books to read in my off time and playing a game or 2 with me in the club at Walla Walla WA. I was preparing for a club championship in 1995 when my american chess coach loaned the book "How to reassess your chess" to me to study for a solid year. I still read this book every 6 months and I must say that International Master Silman knows what he's talking about when it comes to training.

I like the approach of studying the games of attacking players. I also like the way Silman breaks the positions down into their individual imbalances and shows you how to plan in a logical manner and not according to what a person wants to do. I have given a basic overview as to how to analyze a game, So there will be no need to do so here. Another way I find that helps me train is to study tactics and strategy together. And yet another way is to study middle games of players even your own to see where you can improve on your attacks and such. So If you have questions or just need some good advice to help you overcome a rating slump please feel free to email me, you know how to find me as my email is listed in my profiles here on chess.com

» posted in For Beginners

| 775 reads | 4 comments |

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Comments:

by spurg - 2 months ago
Los Angeles United States

Member Since: Jul 2008
Member Points: 21

thank you for your guidance

by JCoombs1972 - 3 months ago
St. Louis Mo United States

Member Since: Jun 2008
Member Points: 101

Purdy's material is very close to what Silman teaches in his book How to reassess your chess. Yes I agree Silman is very Good Phil.

LikesForests I have a universal style; I was trained by 4 awesome coaches at my 1st chess club where I was tested and at that time my strength was at around the 2200 mark in the middle game, I train alot on Chessmaster 10th edition and he seems to think the same, Not to brag but I tend to give the computer at the 2500 strngth a run for it's money. I am also a former chess club champion. I can mix up the strategical and tactical with the positional styles quite well. I study a little bit of all aspects of the game for 3 hours 4 days a week. I also analyze my own games. So my USCF rating isn't really accurate. I am more like around the 1800 area.

by likesforests - 3 months ago
United States

Member Since: May 2007
Member Points: 3182

It's great that you enjoy chess so much, and you've shared this enjoyment with others. But don't you ever wonder if, you put more time into tactical study and less time into strategy, you would go far beyond a 1001 USCF rating?

"How To Reassess Your Chess" is an excellent book, but less so for players <1400 USCF. In that range tactics books usually help the most, although Silman's "The Amateur Mind" is a strategy book targetted at that rating range.

I'm not the only one with that opinion; for example:

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/where-to-start-again

Cheers & Good Luck! :)

by Phil_from_Blayney - 3 months ago
Blayney, NSW Australia

Member Since: Apr 2008
Member Points: 153

You are fortunate to have been given the right introduction to the game.

Silman would rate as the 2nd best chess author that I have read, the first would be Australia's own, the late Cecil Purdy, that man was amazing in how he could impart wisdom with the written word.

His books have recently been re-released and though some of it may be dated, it is still worth reading, though Silman is more than a suitable replacement.

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