Learn Chess Strategy - Prophylaxis

Hello friends,

I would like to share a chess strategy lesson with you on the topic of prophylaxis.

Link to the video: https://youtu.be/tFZ1XcPoUeA

Good stuff!

Hey -- that was a great lesson!  Thanks!  I wish you success in your coaching career!

Different people have different learning styles.  My son, e.g., was one of the minority that learned best by listening, as opposed to seeing or reading.  

I would say, further, that with chess books -- sometimes one gets fatigued by playing out every move of every variation that's printed.  It's easier to sit back and watch the moves unfold with running commentary.  At least just to get an overview.

@Tonya_Hardling I would like to react to this by stating a fact - multiple studies have shown that video, specifically, can be a highly effective education tool. Sources:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0098628311430640

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15512169.2012.667684

https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.5555/2458569.2458622

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867415010223

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563212000131

@sholomsimon Thank you very much. I am glad to hear you enjoyed the lesson

I checked out your channel -- good stuff there for beginners-to-intermediates.  

One that I saw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzAZYyydYe8), I thought the idea was off the wall at first -- but then I realized you were describing a "system."  I tried it with some decent success (I didn't want time pressure, so I played three games in a row with it against a decent bot).  Further -- There's something to be said for getting to move 7 or 8 with essentially no mistakes in three games in a row.  Very nice!

And then I found this quote somewhere:  "There are positives and negatives to such an approach. Firstly it takes a lot of the opening work out of chess, and if you use that time studying the end or middle-game, I'd say it's a better use of your time than learning every possible variation after e4-e5. Another advantage is that systems are usually very very solid, and that's why they can be used against almost anything."

That's exactly right.  I spent the last few days learning about tactics rather than openings, and so it was nice to put my new tactics knowledge into practice without worry about whether I had a terrible position at the beginning of the middle-game

So -- thanks for that video, too!

Video are the best way to learn.

Plus the topic @Kestony was one of the most beneficial topics

Thanks for putting this video up.

Well, we're getting close to simply "agreeing to disagree".  I don't know how you can dispute the idea that different people learning differently.  I have kids, too -- they have very different learning styles, and what works for one doesn't work for the other. 

Further, you seem to be saying that anecdotal evidence is better than "multiple studies" (actually, you went further, to say that they "mean nothing").  That's an overly cynical view that edges towards anti-science.

Nobody here was talking about learning onscreen only.  You started off with "I don't believe in video lessons".  I think video lessons are a great supplement -- and an awesome resource for the beginner who can sample the various offerings here in the lesson section of chess.com, and a gaziIlion other places on youtube for free -- rather than spend hundreds of dollars on books as he or she tries to find ways to learn and improve their game.

Nope the chaps that I learn are most easily understood when I watch videos about it