Seirawan Strategy

I am now a 1350 player going downhill. Someone suggested I try winning Strategy by Seirawan. Horrors. The prose is beautiful and it has changed my thinking, but the examples make no sense. Tactics are fun and understandable, but I know I need stategy, too. Pachman is great but alas in descriptive notation which I don't read. How does one make sense of Seirawan's exercises? He is a great writer so I know there must be something wrong with me to find his exercises so confusing and unhelpful.

hi Stwils

i have all Seirawan books,at least the series you mention ie. the winning chess.My only criticism is he maybe tries too much humour but that is a small problem.He is a very good writer and i,d suggest strongly you persevere with him and in fact consider the other books in the series.I have many other chess books,like most low ranked players always thinking a new book will cure all my probs but since concentrating onhis books i have gone from from roughly 1100 rating (i was never offically ranked )to up or down a bit from 1700 in about 18 months!

I am playing small local tournaments,entering almost everything availlable and have actually won three !

I would imagine the exposure to other players ,some much higher ranked and some lower has helped a great deal but the thought processes encouraged by Seirawan are definately the main reason.I am not nearly good enough to advise you on anything specific in your game but thought i would give my thoughts on Seirawan and his books.

There is no magic cure of course and i wouldn,t want one!

Keep battling away and put a bit of work in and you will definately climb up the rankings,Good Luck

I just don't understand the exercises. Very confused trying to figure them out.

Just from the Seirawan series of book? I heard they were good but for beginners. What else were you doing besides reading those books?

What do they teach in the way of openings, and which order did you read the books in? And are you talking about OTB rating, turn-based online rating, or live time-control rating?

hi Chicken Monster

no,i did not just rely on his books.I had what many will have .A couple of Dan Heisman books ,his best amateur games was far better than you might think.I also had a couple of annotated game books ie:Logical chess which most people have read and John Nunn,s one which is maybe not so well known.As i said it was more the thinking side which helped i feel and also playing more than i ever did.It has taken me a long time to feel i,m actually getting a grip on the game though plenty i don,t know yet!

After my first ever tournament i kept my cards and was given a 1200 level for my next tournament which i didn,t do too well and my third tournament i was down to 1150.Still i was getting more confident and relaxed playing in a controlled atmosphere albeit still small local tournaments.I,d made 1350 after about six months or so and actually feel its been easier getting to where i am now than it did at the start.When i played online ie.Playchess and Chess.com i bumped along going up and down at about 1000.I dont know if ratings differ around areas or if my rating would hold up in different leagues and such but i doubt if it would change much.Quite a few tournaments were under the Scottish Chess Association so i,m sure my current ranking must be fairly accurate.

I,ve been told it might be a bit harder to progress a lot further without really hitting the books and playing a lot more even than i am.I have the time as i.m only working part-time(i,m 64 by the way).What i dont have is the energy!I actually feel i will end up going back more to online chess than over the board,though i would humbly suggest OTB is by far the best way to improve.

There may be many better writers and teachers than Seirawan,perhaps Sillman i have heard is very good.I was merely giving my thoughts on Seirawan,s books which most certainly helped me.

However Stwils decides to go i wish him well and hope his whole playing carreer is not dominated by rankings which come and go.Enjoy the game for what it is,a wonderful pastime and a great help at retaining the grey cells!

I wish you health and good luck

Thank you, grandad567,

I have read three other books by Seirawan and liked them and felt they helped my playing. However this book on Strategy is giving me a lot of trouble. I just can't figure out the exercises.

Try to read again all the lessons of that strategy book by Seirawan. Patience and persiverance is the key for your understanding. The Pachman book about strategy is also good but it's a harder read compare to the strategy book by seirawan.

Aside from reading again all the pages of the seirawan book. Additional examples of the chess pattern that you learned from that seirawan book might clarify things to you.Often times for a concept to sink in, you need lots of examples of that concept.

You can try the book Chess Training for Post-beginners: A Basic Course in Positional Understanding to get more examples.

When I have problems such as yours, I take steps back. I think that sometimes one step back, could help to go two steps forward.

Try watching Seirawans Lectures on Youtube, they may help.

I already have Chess Training for Post-beginners: A Basic Course in Positional Understanding

on my list to read (heard it was great), as well as the Silman books of course. If I could do it over I might have started with seirawan, but I only have time to read so many books, and i think i might be better off reading something just slightly more advanced since my time is limited.

I read Dan's Everyone's 2nd Chessbook. He is good at teaching and writing. I heard good things about the amateur book.

Too many book to decide.

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(Comment deleted because of language- Mod)

i dont know why my comment was deleted but here it is again.

heismans material is terrible.

here's heismans stuff summarized in a forum post.

dont hang your pieces.

ask yourself if a move is safe.

if a chess coach does coaching for a living he probably isnt very good... unless he's coaching Super GMs..

stwils, I'm no expert, but I think I can help a bit.  I really enjoy Seirawan's books.  I own four of them.  What chapter of Winning Chess Strategies is giving you issues?

Here's an idea from Chapter 2 that feels confusing, but maybe just needs a little further explaination.  Problem 2 of this chapter looks like this... I've added notes after most moves...

OK, so take a look at what is left.  White has three connected pawns and one isolated pawn.  Black has two isolated pawns.  All other material is equal.  With perfect play, white would win this game.  That's the whole idea of this section of chapter two "Trading Pieces for a Winning Endgame".  Seirawan writes, "When you are materially ahead, trade, trade, trade!  The concept of trading pieces is particularly useful if you can wind up in the endgame with an advantage of a pawn or more."

This book is not a tactics book.  Instead it tries to convey general strategies, and the puzzles can be longer and murkier than tactic puzzles.  Getting the puzzle 100% correct is great, but probably not the point.  The point is to drive home the idea.  If you looked at this puzzle and concluded, "I am up in material... I see no immediate tactics... perhaps I should trade pieces... maybe queens if I can find a way..." that would be a great start!

^ Good advice above me.

@OP- maybe you are just flipping pages and do not read all the contents of the book? For you to really understand that Seirawan book, you must play all the examples on a chess board. Read all the words in the book.

I would also echo jamyvedar.  You gotta use a real board and pieces to work through Seirawan's books.  Despite his folksy humor and friendly tone, this is not nightstand reading.

I realize all that.making a real effort.

Judging by some of your games, i see a few things you need to work on:

1. Opening Principles:

Control the center

Develop towards the center

Castle

Connect your rooks

2. Simple Tactics

Youre hanging pieces

Youre missing simple check mates

3. Learning to read descriptive notation

"...descriptive notation which I don't read"  Then learn how to read it.  If youre not willing to put in the effort to learn it, then how do you expect to put in the effort to improve your chess?