matzleeach
Matzleeach
Chicago IL, United States 
Member Since: Aug 5, 2007
Last Login: Nov 7, 2009
Profile Views: 3077
Points: 801
Status: Cleaning (26 days ago)
Birthday: Sep 4, 1975
Occupation: Seeker of Truth
USCF Rating: 1271
About Me:
Shalom,
I became interested in chess at the age of 6. I had played a little chess in High School. Now returning from a 15 years absent. My goal is to become a Master.
Very useful advice:
Winning Chess Endings by Yasser Seirawan (International Grand Master), page viii
“Studying the endgame will teach you how to land those “won” positions and to avoid the bad ones. Although some middlegames or openings end in a decisive checkmate or perpetual check, most games come down to an ending in which the game is well balanced and ends in a draw, or one in which the stronger side tries to force the advantage and gain victory. You will have a decided advantage if you have a good grasp on ending strategies.
Furthermore, your skills in all facets of the game will improve. By learning in advance all those positions that won or drawn, you’ll be better to steer your way through the middlegame. The more experience you have in the ending, the better your own middlegame play becomes. Then, as you get better in the middlegame, you learn to choose openings that suit your middlegame tastes. In short, improving your endgame improves your whole game.”
A World Champion’s Guide to Chess by Susan Polgar (Grandmaster)
“I highly recommend that beginners and intermediate players work mostly with tactics and endgames and solve tactical exercises every day. Tactics and endgames are the foundations of chess. Opening study is important only at much higher levels such as expert, master, and beyond. It is enough for beginner and intermediate players to understand only the basic principles of chess openings. . . .
My father used to say: ‘Prepetition makes a master. Repetition makes you a better chess player.’ And he was right. Solving thousands of puzzles really helped me become the play that I am today. The point is not to memorize the actual positions but to remember the ideas, to recognize the patterns. Chess is largely a matter of pattern recognition. The more patterns you know, the better player you will be. It is said that an average grandmaster has a mental library of about 20,000 patterns, which includes tactical, strategic, and endgame patterns. The main aim of this book it help you build your own library of ideas.”
My best games as White